Bleeding fabric in a twin size Dutchman's Puzzle

by Randi
(Washington State)

Randi shares...

I had my son help me choose fabric for his quilt. Red was/is his favorite color, so of course, it was a bright solid he chose.

I prewashed everything separately because I was a new quilter and had heard tales of bleeding reds.

It took me 10 years - through various intercontinental moves - to finish the quilt. I was so proud of the way it turned out! Then I washed it to remove the quilting lines.

AARGH!!!!

So I went online to find out how to remove the bled dye. I purchased dye magnets and washed the quilt again. It was no use.

The quilt—to this day—has pink ombre white patches. (I don't have any photos to share since the quilt lives across the country now.)

P.S. To my eye the bleeding in the penguin quilt photo looks good on the white on white. Perhaps in person, and knowing the original intent, it seems worse than it really is?

Julie commiserates...

Hi Randy!

I totally feel your pain. And especially after you had taken the time to prewash a suspicious fabric.

As for my poor little penguin quilt, it looked much worse in person. I couldn't bear to keep it. It is no more and has gone to the great 'UFO pile in the sky'.

Prewashing and checking for bleeding fabric is the bane of a quilter's existence. Who needs the extra work, right? Unfortunately, for those of us who've experienced the dreaded bleeding fabric in a finished quilt, it's not quite as bad as others claim.

I hope that this hasn't stopped you. 'That you've gone on to make many more quilts. It's just too much fun not to.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

To my readers, use the links below to learn more about:

• Prewashing quilt fabric


• How to check for bleeding fabric before you cut


• Instructions to make your own Dutchman's Puzzle quilt block in three sizes

Piecefully,

Julie B.

This article was printed from Generations-Quilt-Patterns.com