I was dumbfounded. What could've caused this problem? After much deliberation, and after determining there wasn't a crayon or pen or some such thing in the machines, I realized that the culprit was probably this cheap rayon print from Hancock's:
I got it to make a dress for the Flute Player, and threw it in with the pinks/reds/purples for a pre-shrink before cutting. It never occurred to me that it might run in a cold water wash.
So, since the tops were pretty much ruined at this point anyway, I ran them through a wash cycle w/a packet of Carbona 'run remover'. The PJ top did well; there's still some very slight purple spots, but they kind of disappear in the print. It'll be ok.
All the purple spots came out of the coral top, though. Unfortunately, so did most of the dye. The fabric wrapped around the hanger is the remnant of the piece I cut it from.
Sigh. The thread is still the original color; it looks red now.
There *might* be enough on that remnant piece to make a new top. And, maybe I can throw the faded one into a batch of Rit dye and turn it back into a wearable color.
But I don't think either one is going to happen in time to wear the shirt this weekend....
Sorry to hear about your washer mishap!
ReplyDeleteOhhh bummer!!!
ReplyDeleteGrrrr . . . . so frustrating because you never know when those fabrics are going to run. I usually throw in one of those color catcher things, designed to absorb the excess dye. You can reuse them many times, they look like a wash cloth. I think RIT makes one, and some other laundry product maker, can't remember.
ReplyDeleteMy Mother-in-law swears by those dye catchers, but from the way this looked the rayon got twisted up with the shirts that got spotted; it was a case of direct contact, not just picking up the dye that was floating around. It's pretty remarkable that nothing else (including some cotton jersey pants and cotton knit polo shirts) picked up any of it.
ReplyDeleteYou can bet I'll be more particular in the future!
Whoa!!! That cream/yellow shirt at the bottom was the pretty orangish color one BEFORE you threw it in the wash to get out the purple??? That's crazy! It was such a gorgeous shirt. I would def. dye it and see if you can't color it up again. Sometimes the washing machine is not our friend!!!
ReplyDelete