[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: random bleeding of dye

Does anyone know how these sheets work?  Are they saturated with a solution that bonds with the dye?  Not unlike RIT dye remover which I think uses Calcium Carbonate.
 
Ann Frisina
Textile Conservator
Minnesota Historical Society
345 Kellogg Blvd. W.
St. Paul, MN. 55102
 
651 259-3385
 
http://www.mnhs.org/preserve/conservation/index.html

From: Textile Conservators [mailto:TEXCONS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Sharron
Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2008 4:01 PM
To: TEXCONS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: random bleeding of dye

I can't speak for the randomness of the fugitive red, but I can say that I never wash fabric without a color sheet in the washer with it.  I also recommend to my customers to use a color sheet for the first few times they wash their quilts.  I believe the color sheets are made by Shout.  I find them in the laundry soap isle of my grocery store.  To date, I have not had any bleeding problems.
 
Best regards,
Sharron
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Textile Conservators [mailto:TEXCONS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Jan Vuori
Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2008 1:14 PM
To: TEXCONS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: random bleeding of dye


Hello,

I am posting this on behalf of a quilter. The problem is random bleeding of colour in some quilt blocks that she has already spent a considerable amount of time working on. She prewashes her fabrics in cold water with vinegar. This is followed by rinsing. If the colour runs she continues rinsing until the water runs clear. She has used this method for many years working with fabrics from a variety of sources and has never before encountered problems with the dye bleeding randomly afterwards.
 
In this instance she used "Easy On" spray starch on a few colours to facilitate working with small pieces. Then she washed the quilt blocks in cold water to remove the spray starch. Upon final drying some dye bled from the cranberry and some similar colours but only in random areas. There was no correlation with fabrics to which spray starch had been applied and seemingly no correlation with any other factor (such as thickness of fabric).

She was able to remove  much of the dye bleed by further washing in cold water but had to take apart some of the blocks to replace areas that remained stained or to prevent further staining

Does anyone have an explanation for the randomness?

Any suggestions to prevent this from happening again?  

Jan Vuori
Senior Textile Conservator
Canadian Conservation Institute
1030 Innes Road
Ottawa Canada K1A 0M5
tel:  613 998-3721
fax: 613 998-4721
www.cci-icc.gc.ca