World Wide Quilting Page

Question of the Week

Question for the week of December 6, 2004:

Our question this week comes from Linda:

I have been advised to use white vinegar when washing my new fabric for the first time to set the dye. I have also been told to use salt in the wash to set dye. Which one works the best?

Louise :
The only way I know to really guarantee that fabrics won't run is to use Retayne. It's a product many quilt shops carry. You pretreat fabrics in your washer. It's easy and inexpensive. You can get details about Retayne by putting the name in a search engine on the web. (I have no $$ interest in this product, just a loyal customer.)

Chris Farmer :
I would say the salt works better, put it in the last rinsing water.
Vinegar works to keep the colours bright.
Greetings from Berlin/Germany

Kathy in WA :
Those are old methods that worked with the dyes of years gone by. Most modern fabrics don't really need that special treatment, but for those that do have excess dyes that can migrate to other fabrics in your quilts, neither vinegar or salt are likely to do the job. These are especially reds and dark blues or blacks. There are two products which control these dyes. Synthrapol suspends the excess dye in the wash water and does not allow it to resettle on other fabrics. Hand dyers usually use this product in their final rinse. Retayne seals the dyes to prevent migrating colors. You can get them at most quilt shops, sometimes at Joann's, or online. They may seem expensive, but you use very little in each load.

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