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| Brynwood Needleworks - Pineapple Repair |
I spent Saturday tying up loose ends with my quilt show entries. Just when I thought I had everything under control...
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| Brynwood Needleworks - Pineapple Repair |
I'm always been of the "Do Not Prewash Fabric" school, until now. This hasn't happened to me before, but I'm sure not going to put myself in the position for it to happen again.
See those two sections in the photo? The red batik bled when I took my steam iron to it. It bled onto my white fabric, and try as I might, I couldn't get it out. Peroxide, Oxyclean, Dawn soap, alcohol - not all at once - but still, nothing budged it.
At 7 pm Saturday night, I decided to put on my big girl panties, suck it up and replace those two pieces. I carefully cut them out, and then measured new pieces to replace them.
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| Brynwood Needleworks - Pineapple Repair |
In this picture, I've already placed the new pieces back into the quilt. Next it was time to break out my silk thread, applique' needles and my made applique' stitching skills. This was going to require my most accurate, teeny, tiny stitches to make it disappear into the block. I didn't want the repair to be visible at all...especially to the quilt judge who will give it the eagle eye today!
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| Brynwood Needleworks - Pineapple Repair Accomplished |
It's all finished here, and I think the only reason I can see the repair (other than I placed it front and center in this image) is because it's more pressed than the rest of the quilt. I ironed the whole quilt again, but this time I used a dry iron!
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| Brynwood Needleworks -Birds In The Pineapples Quilt Label |
I made the label (with a border of the same backing fabric) and sewed that onto the back of the quilt. Of course, I immediately had to cover it with muslin because all show entries are judged anonymously.
I'm sure that, by now, you're no longer confused by my post title. Fact of the matter is, that from now on, I'm going to prewash those gorgeous reds (and blacks)...especially if they're batiks. I've learned my lesson on this project. I managed to save it, but I don't want to be in the position to have this issue ever again!!
Whenever I'm not sure about the colorfastness of a fabric again, I'm gonna wash that sucker fabric until the extra dye is gone...gone...gone!!! Oh, and I'm going to start working on show projects (for the next show in 2018) this year. I'm not going to be sewing on anything at 11 pm the night before turn-in day ever again. (I hope.)
Quilt Show Week has officially begun! Today is judging day for our guild's quilt entries. Judge Mary Zeisiger is returning to critique our pieces. I'll be working as a scribe, taking down everything she says onto the judging forms. There are usually two scribes taking notes for each piece. I signed up to scribe all day, and we usually get the judging finished in eight hours.
Tag will drop by with his witty repartee tomorrow. Like me, he's always got something on his mind, and he's also happy to share. I'll just have to check his work before he posts. He's always prone to TMI. lol
Oh Dear! I am happy to see you were able to repair your beautiful Pineapple quilt. I know I would not have remained as calm as you. I don't like to pre wash my fabrics either, however, I am doing so for the Dresses. Some of my vintage fabrics never look as fresh and pressed after the washing. May your day of scribing be a wonderful learning experience. Embracing Creative Bliss...
ReplyDeleteBeautiful quilt. Such vibrant colors. I also love your label :)
ReplyDeleteThat must have been super scary! Glad you came up with plan Z to save the day!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear that you have had the problem with fabric bleeding. I must own up to being one of those "wash everything first" advocates. My lesson was quickly learnt some years ago when I was a little suspicious of one piece of fabric which I had bought for a project. Luckily, I decided to wash it first. Could I get that fabric to stop shedding dye? No. It ended up in the bin.
ReplyDeleteAll my quilts are made to be used and so I have to ensure that they are colourfast. It is surprising just how much colour is shed by even the paler fabrics.
Donna, when I used to quilt I learned the hard way too! After that no matter what I did quilt, sew clothes for my girls, etc. I prewashed. The quilt is gorgeous and good luck today on the judging :)!
ReplyDeleteYour quilt turned out beautiful! It sounds like it really put you through your paces from start to finish!
ReplyDeleteWorth noting: This hasn't happened to me, thankfully, but a friend had a similar problem with embroidery floss bleeding on her beautifully finished needlework. She tried everything like you and then remembered she had some "Shout Color Catcher" in her laundry room.
That did the trick. It might be worth experimenting with for future emergencies?
Glad you were able to save it. I generally don't prewash my fabrics either EXCEPT red. Good luck on you quilt, hope your show is a success!
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