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Fabric washing and "bleeding" of fabrics

Both RJR Fashion Fabrics and Jinny Beyer have spent considerable time researching the fabric printing process and Jinny Beyer has worked directly with the plant that prints her fabric to make sure that the best possible dyes are used.

Fabric users have long been plagued with the problem of bleeding, and for quilters who combine and mix wide arrays of color it is of particular concern. The fact is that any dark or bright colored fabric will have a certain amount of residual dye that will come from the fabric when it is washed.The darker the color, the more inclined the fabric is to bleed, and the hotter the water used in washing, the more dye that will run. However, some fabric dyes that bleed from the fabric will contaminate other fabrics in the same wash and others will not, and the important consideration is not how much dye runs out of the cloth when it is washed, but whether that dye will stain the other fabrics.There are several steps one can follow to control and avoid discolored fabrics due to bleeding.

The method by which one should wash a fabric is of primary importance. First and foremost, always use cold water when washing your fabrics and quilts. Use a phosphate free detergent. Detergents with phosphates actually encourage bleeding.

Remember to always wash a fabric before using it and to unfold the fabric before washing to avoid a line along where the fabric was folded.Soak all dark and intense colors in cold water prior to washing with soap.Do not rinse or wash a dark or bright colored fabric in hot water for this will only increase the likelihood of the fabric to bleed. It is important to monitor how much color comes out of the fabric when washed. If the wash water is colored, wash the fabric again in cold water along with small pieces of lighter colored fabrics to see if the darker fabric will contaminate these lighter pieces. If the lighter pieces do not pick up any of the color, then that fabric would be safe to use in your quilt.

The most common cause of a fabric bleeding onto another one is leaving excess water in the fabric. If you wash a quilt by hand, it will be impossible to get sufficient water out to assure that one fabric will not bleed onto another. Some people use a blue marker to mark their quilts. We do not recommend this, and people who use those markers often spray their quilts with water so the marker will disappear. This puts excess water onto the fabrics, and if any of them have a propensity to bleed, this will encourage it. Therefore we recommend washing quilts and fabrics on a delicate cycle (a few minutes only) in the washing machine. By using a machine, excess water will be spun out.This in turn will prevent bleeding since the fabric avoided staying wet long enough to bleed and contaminate surrounding fabrics.

Some fabric dyes have a propensity to melt when ironed at too high of a temperature. As the dye melts it can run onto adjacent fabrics. Be careful to always place the iron on a perma-press setting when pressing all 100% cotton fabrics.

If you have had a problem with bleeding in completed blocks or a quilt, wash your quilt or blocks again following the above procedure. Our experience has been that the staining will usually disappear.