I made this quilt a while ago and decided to quilt it for our upcoming show at the NC Arboretum. I really like this piece and was very excited to include it in my offerings for the show...
It is primarily Indigo fabric; when I ironed it with steam...
this is what happened!...So I'm upset to say the least and don't know where to go from here...Someone suggested to spray the whole thing with water for a new look...another friend suggested a paste of oxi-clean on the area. My thought was to take it apart and remove all the solid blocks throughout the quilt - I can't take a chance on it happening with another block. It's a bit overwhelming at the moment. I don't want to put it away as I'm thinking I won't get back to it and this is one worth saving...What to do...any thoughts?
Indigo continues to lighten with each wash. I'm with the friend who says to spray water on the whole thing. This way it won't be a surprise to a future purchaser, if they ever wash the quilt.
ReplyDeleteGo to Vicki Welsh's Colorways blog and see her instructions for removing wandering dye in quilts. It's worked for me a couple of times and may work for you too. Good luck. I loved your quilt the first time I saw it but didn't realize that you hadn't quilted it yet.
ReplyDeleteIt’s worth trying to save it…….I know you will!!
ReplyDeleteYou're probably not going to like this, but I'd bite the bullet and wash the whole thing in synthropal and cross fingers that it will pull out and suspend the excess dyes. Either that or you will have light blue sashings rather than white ones. To prevent additional bleeding, follow with retayne. Next best suggestion would be to yes, take it apart and treat each indigo rectangle with synthropal followed by retayne. But since it is already quilted, that seems like too much work. I know others have had good results with the synthropal routine. I did a quit google and came up with a couple of helpful sites that explain the process in a bit more detail.
ReplyDeletehttps://suzyquilts.com/fix-fabric-bleeds/
And a more comprehensive one with test results: http://www.colorwaysbyvicki.com/save-my-bleeding-quilt.html
And this: http://quiltsoflove.blogspot.com/2016/07/what-to-do-when-your-finished-quilt.html
Basically, you just have to be brave and dunk that whole thing in water and soap to resolve the problem. Good luck!
It seems as though your vision is for the pure blue and white and you can try to remove that color...or you can embrace it as part of the charm of working with indigo! I don't think it's ruined, nor do I think you should take it apart. Love your happy (unhappy?) accident!!!
ReplyDeleteGeeezzzzzz....this would be upsetting...have you tried washing the entire quilt in synthrapol or even just Dawn detergent? The dye will release and not run into other areas of your quilt. Sometimes you'll have to wash/rinse several times but I would give it a try before I start 'unsewing'!
ReplyDelete