I washed her this morning. I had read that today's fabrics do not bleed like fabrics of old, and since this was all new fabric, I trusted that. I had also read that when washing red for the first time, put a towel in with it to absorb the red, and I trusted that, too ... trusted, as in "past tense" ... I don't trust those bits of *wisdom* anymore. The floral vine fabric, which used to have a white background, is now a pleasant pink! The amazingly weird thing is that the solid white chains and the solid white backing did not take on any red - none whatsoever. Sew I am thankful for that because the white chain helps maintain her beauty, but I am disappointed because I really did like the white! So the notion of prewashing is proved again, but I likely won't listen unless quilting with red and very light fabrics ... or maybe I'll do a presewing colorfast test to see if any of the fabrics take on red.
Another consequence of washing is that she shrank 6" in width and 7" in height! Yikes! I wonder if this has to do with using the 118" wide backing on the opposite grain in order to use less of it? Any thoughts? She still qualifies as a twin / full size, but barely the full. The washing step does ensure that my customers get what they are expecting and that it remains the size and color that they first desired, which is very important to me.
And that 118" wide backing? It's Kona Premium Muslin Bleached White purchased from Fabric.com, and I love it! It is so soft and smooth, has a slight sheen to it, and has a tight enough weave so no colors show through, and like I mentioned above, it didn't take on the red in the wash! So don't let the word *muslin* in its name deter you from trying it out! I will be using it again, for sure!
Quilt Stats:
Pattern: Double Irish Chain
Size: 72" wide x 90" tall, twin / full
Quilt Top Fabrics:
- Red Fabric is Kona Bay Marble in Deep Red
- Vine Fabric is Bordeaux by P&B Textiles
- White is a tone-on-tone from a LQS (local quilt shop)
Binding: Kona Bay Marble in Deep Red
Batting: Hobbs 80/20 cotton/poly
Quilting: All-over meandering in deep red cotton thread on my vintage 1896 Singer Sewing Machine
Value: Precious!
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8 comments :
You mean that pretty pink fabric once had a red vine on a white background??? It's hard to believe - it came out even, not patchy (Which would happen to me!) Ah well. I pre wash all my fabrics but still worry.
@ Viridian - Yes, the bleeding came out perfectly in the white vine fabric, not patchy at all. I hadn't thought about it being patchy, and I am sure glad it isn't! You can view a previous post about this quilt in progress at this link: http://busyhandsquilts.blogspot.com/2011/11/wip-double-irish-chain-in-red-and-white.html
I really like this quilt, you should be proud of it! It's a beautiful quilt! I don't listen to those who say you don't have to pre-wash your fabric. I always do and find some bleeding from time to time, even the best quality. Some say you should put dye-catcher sheets in with the first wash. Maybe you could try that too.
Your quilt is beautiful!
Thanks for sharing it with the quilt world!
Love the quilt. When I saw it before your explanation, I thought I want to make that quilt. I dindt see the before!but the completed is eonderful.
Beautiful work! That IS weird about the washing, but the color is lovely! I'm not big on prewashing, either; I like working with the crisp newness of unwashed fabrics, and I haven't had many strange adventures with washing. Gorgeous finish! Love the quilting, too!
It's a beautiful quilt, no matter what it did in the wash! But I have had good luck when a quilt runs in the wash by re-washing it with Color Catchers by Shout and using Oxy-Clean in the wash water. You might be able to get some of the pink out still...
Thanks for linking up with Whoop Whoop Friday!!
Those tricky reds! It's pretty either way!
I like the Color Catchers, too.
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