raedar63

Dangit, I always have been a scrap quilter, Often making things from clothing, yardsale finds etc so I do usually wash these finds(it can be a pain ironing then though lol)Anyway I bought my first ever quilt shop quality fabrics, Batiks to make a quilt I fell in love with. So will one washing be enough and then do you iron and starch the yardage after washing?I am afraid to even cut them so far because or the cash I spent lol

lalaland

I bought some beautiful turquoise eyelet fabric once and washed it and it bled like crazy, now looks like a tie dyed fabric. You just never know.

MsEithne

Genuine batik is done by a process of creating patterns on the fabric with melted wax then dying with fibre reactive dyes, then making more patterns on the fabric with melted wax, more fibre reactive dyes, etc, until the designs are complete. Then the melted wax is removed from the fabric and the different layers of dyes are revealed.

Regular printed fabric is actually printed by an industrial version of an inkjet printer,which is why the dye is only fully seen on one side of the fabric.

If the fabric *feels* clean and not unduly stiff or oily, then the wax and trapped dyes have probably been fully removed and it will forever be as beautiful as it is now. The process of dyeing, re-dyeing and then removing the wax means that the dye fully penetrates the fabric and the fabric does as much shrinking as it will ever do.

But! There are two things to watch out for. One is a genuine batik where the layers of wax were not fully removed, which also means there are layers of dye that were trapped between layers of the wax still present. The other thing to watch out for is a fabric that is imitation batik, not done by the time and worker intensive process of genuine batik but simply printed on the fabric in the same way other prints are printed on (if you can easily see that there is a good side and a back side to the fabric, then you've got a printed fabric in a batik-like pattern).

In either case, I believe the best course is the same: prewash in hot water with a colour catcher, just in case. If it is a genuine batik that didn't have all the wax removed, the heat will help remove the last of the wax and trapped dye. If it is a printed fabric with a batik-like pattern, then the process of washing and drying will take care of any over-dye and shrinking that might need to be done.

As for being afraid of cutting into it, remember that fabric is like new cars: the instant you take it out of the store, it automatically loses a significant percentage of its value. Would you feel so hesitant to cut into that $12 fabric if it had actually cost $4-6 yard? Well, that's an optimistic estimate of what it's worth now that you've "driven" it off the lot!

So pre-wash and make merry with your new fabric, turn it into something you will enjoy.

OmaForFour

I think you hit the nail on the head! I wash in cold water but I also ALWAYS put white vinegar in the water with the first washing. My MIL said to do that and I think it works.

19angel52

oh yeah - been there. I honestly thought REDS were the only problem. Oh no, not the case. Bought some beautiful blue batiks - not at a cheap price either. Overdyed....and didn't prewash. Thank goodness when quilt was washed, it didn't bleed overly badly over the entire quilt....used something someone recommended for the 2nd wash and came out clean as could be. That was years ago - so darn if I remember what in the heck that stuff was.

Now everything gets prewashed...even if it means soaking as a means of washing in lieu of the washer!

bisseau

Can't agree more....I was born in Fall River MA...a textile town, with many mills ....today: All Gone! There was even a mill in the little town I grew up in....my mom worked in it when I was little. We have lost so much of our great country.

grannie cheechee

Ditto. That explained a lot. I had one FQ that I really wanted to use a midnight blue black. I tried everything to get it to stop bleeding. Nothing worked. I ended up throwing it away.

Sandra-P

I prewash everything. Even batting. I put my 2.5 strips in a lingerie bag and wash them. Sorry this happened to you.

jpwagner

I pre wash everything in cold water before it goes into a quilt.
Once, while in Paducah, I ran into Mr. B from Benartex fabrics. He asked how I like their fabric. I told him that the designs were great, but I had a problem that nearly everything Benartex bleeds, except the tans. His exact reply was. "Well, that's the nature of the beast." and he walked away from me. I don't buy much Benartex anymore.

Some of us have bleeding problems and some don't. Even with the same fabric. I wonder if there might be some difference in the water--minerals, etc.

Alondra