janRN

I have no idea if this would work but is there a way you could dye the whole quilt a very light blue? Would that blend in any of the bleeding areas? I don't know what other colors you have in your quilt or if this is even feasible for you but I hope someone can help. Keeping my fingers crossed for you.

nativetexan

can you get synthropol anywhere? it removes excess dyes.
dharmatradingco.com sells it. not sure if they ship to Aussieland though.
if you don't find a way to get all the excess color, just go with it and say the fabric is supposed to be splotchy. and don't shop with that lady 'helping' again.
hope it turns out well.

Crlyn

Can't help with your problem KiwiQuilter, but I just have to say how sorry I am this has happened to you, that is just heart breaking.

Mattee

I recommend not letting the quilt dry until you've exhausted your options. Letting it dry may make it harder to get the dye out.

clem55

Many years ago, I had washed a new red cotton shirt and also some pale blue shorts. Layed them side by side on the counter, and promptly forgot to take them outside to dry. I had red bloches all over the shorts. Mom put some bleach in water, and soaked them, the red came out and the blue was like new.

Love my stash

A COUPLE OF MEMBERS MENTIONED AND ONE OF THEM GAVE YOU A WEB SITE THAT SELLS IT. THERE ARE TWO ITEMS EVERY QUILTER SHOULD HAVE, AND LOTS OF QUILT SHOPS CARRY THEM.

One of them is SYNTHRAPOL which removes excess dye and sizing. I had made a table runner for my DIL with a Burgundy and a Cream colored fabric. Well my DIL didn't take care when washing and it bled into the cream colored fabric. Now mind you, before I got it. the table runner had been dried and set in a box in the garage attic for who knows how long before my son asked if I could do something with it. Enter SYNTHRAPOL, and it came out looking just perfect!! NOTE: I've never been able to bring myself to use really hot water like they say to do. I usually use warm water and it has always worked great.

The other one to have on hand is RETAYNE. It is also made by the same manufacturer. Retayne SETS the COLOR so that it doesn't bleed later.

Good luck and I would love to hear back. I've used the vinegar process and the salt process, but have never had the success that I've had with Retayne and Synthrapol. Send me a PM and let me know your success.

God Bless
Cheryl

klgreene

Oh my, that's so sad. By any chance does the cream fabric look like it could have been a batik? And maybe when you've washed it enough, and it's dry it won't look as bad to you. I know if my daughter spent that much loving time on a quilt for me, I wouldn't care what it looked like. I'd still love it. Good luck and be sure to keep us updated.

KiwiQuilter

Okay - a few more washes later.

An application of unsweetened natural yogurt. More time... More washes... and the problem is minimized - not fixed.

I phoned my Mum and broke the surprise :( and you were all right. She was in amazed at how much work and effort I had done for her. She's promised not to wear her glasses around the quilt :)

I'm going to put a photo of the finished quilt in the photos section shortly.

Here's the offending fabric (it's the backing)...grrrr...

If anyone thinks about buying this fabric... beware! :)

C.Cal Quilt Girl

Sorry, have had such a hard time with this!! Sounds like Mom wouldn't care if a bus ran over it, as long as it came from you! Lucky Girl :)
Don't know what the rest of it looks like but the part that has been posted is Fantastic, Great Quilting !! :)

aorlflood

I had a red bleed on a handquilted quilt...I was mortified!

To get rid of the red that had bled, I soaked it multiple times in Oxyclean. I don't know if you have that product there or not.

The first time I soaked it I soaked it overnight. The next time it soaked for about 4 hours. The third time I soaked it for about 2 hours. Then a final wash and the water finally was clear in the rinse...and the dye that had bled was gone!