The bleeding is quite visible from the back in the photo below. If I wanted a blue halo this would be the fabric I'd choose! Because I don't want to remake the whole block I've been thinking about un-stitching the applique and putting it on a new piece of background fabric.
These are the questions I have:
- If I remove the stitches from around the edges, does it look like the rest of the pieces would still be stitched together?
- Do you think, if they are, that it's possible to lift all the applique pieces and successfully put them on new fabric?
- Have you ever done this?
Click on the photos to enlarge them if you want to see details. They'll open in a new window where you'll be able to click once again to enlarge even more. (But please don't judge my applique stitches!)
It looks to me like all the pieces are stitched together well enough that only the stitching around the outside edges would have to be removed but I'd love to hear your opinions and experiences about doing this.
This is the back of the whole block.
Thank you for any help and opinions you can offer about this idea!
--Nancy.
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I'm not sure what you're asking but here is what I would do: I would remove the blue that ran and make a new flower oval that is larger to cover the run. It could have the smaller oval on top for more interest; OR I would wash it again w color catchers, "just to see" if the blue might come out. [but it could be worse.]; OR I would make a whole new block, bec I d always not be happy with imperfection. And throw out the bad blue! imho.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your suggestions, Lizzy. The blue fabric has been washed several more times and seems to be okay but I'm going to wash it one or two more times, just to be sure.
DeleteI thought about replacing the blue flower with a larger one but decided it would be out of proportion. I also considered cutting a corner off the background fabric and replacing it with a different fabric there was no easy way to do that, either. I may end up making a whole new block but I hope I don't have to.
I like Lizzy's idea of just taking the blue flower off and replacing it with a larger flower. That way you wouldn't have all the extra work of taking it all apart. I was also thinking you could embellish the blue ring around the blue flower with embroidery but then if you don't remove it you run the risk of it bleeding on the finished quilt some day.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your ideas, Robin. I appreciate them. I tried a new, larger flower (just laying it in place) t cover the one that was there, and decided it was out of proportion with the rest of the flowers. For sure, I need to get rid of that blue flower. The fabric I used for it is headed to the washer this evening. This is about the 4th or 5th time it's been washed.
DeleteWhen I finished this block originally I really thought I could live with the blue bleed but looking at it again I realized I wanted to get rid of it.
I'm with Lizzy and Robin, from what I can see in the photo it looks like you could just remove the blue fabric and make a larger flower to cover the bleeding. Hope that works as it would be the simplest. Love the block!
ReplyDeleteThank you for both your kind words about the block and for your suggestions about fixing the block, Wendy. A larger flower seems out of proportion to the others but we'll see what I can manage.
DeleteI agree with the gals above - and hope you find a solution that will work for you and not cause too much trouble! The block is great - definitely worth saving!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Cynthia. I have some playing to do!
DeleteThat is so disheartening when that happens! I have replaced applique pieces several times and as long as you keep things flat to avoid distortion you should be okay. If you are worried about that, you could stitch your new larger shape over the offending fabric and then remove the blue from the back when you are done. If you don't want to make a much bigger flower, maybe a few strategically placed petals could cover the bleeding? I wouldn't redo the whole block, though--too much work--lol!
ReplyDeleteIt is disheartening, Karen. When I made this block in 2017 I though I could live with the bleed but after pulling it out again I decided I couldn't. Then or now, I would have been faced with the same decisions, but after being away from the blocks for a while I think I have more enthusiasm again to make this block better. I appreciate your suggestions. Thank you.
DeleteTry washing in a bit of Era before you decide to take pieces. Era detergent has worked for me when reds bled onto whites.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this suggestion, Anonymous. Perhaps it will work!
DeleteJust for future reference, I have had some luck using Spray and Wash and then a cycle with at least a big towel in my washing machine. I do pink the edges of the block so it dos't ravel a whole bunch. And with applique, I cut a larger background than needed so I can trim to size after the block is rinsed and pressed.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for this information, Karen. I hope I don't have to deal with bleeding fabrics again but this will be helpful if I do!
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