I'm a total idiot

I made my JRR top, added borders, found the perfect backing, quilted it with gorgeous thread and bound it with diagonal stripes cut on the bias and brought it home to wash. Dumb dumb me didn't check the washer before I put the quilt in and there was part of a bleach tablet in the drum that was undissolved and well, you guessed it.....several bleach spots on the back of the quilt.

Is there anyway to fix this mistake???? I was going to give the quilt to my husbands cousin as a late birthday gift but I am not sending it looking like it does. I could honestly kick myself!!!

oh no!!! Bleached out the color? Nothing I know of hmmm DARN I'm so sorry!!!!! Is the backing a solid color? Maybe do a "spot" dye really carefully? ugh I would probably make him another one since they are pretty quick, but hope someone comes along who has a better idea :-)

Are there just a few spots? Could you do some kind of applique on it to cover the bleach spots? That's all I've got to offer, sorry this happened to you after all that work.

I was just going to suggest adding some theme-related applique too. Have you done your label yet? Could that possibly cover the spots? Better an odd placed label than a ruined quilt. Good luck.

Applique to cover the bleach spots really is your only choice. Will take more time, but you could turn that mistake into something extra special!

A sharpie? (And I know that sick feeling you get with mishaps like that. So sorry to hear of yours. I think the appliqué might work or you could give it as is with a "funny story" about the one of a kind back!)

Thinking of some of the things that can wind up on a baby blanket, I would just go for it. As I tell some, it's a design element. What a feeling you must have had when you saw this . . .

Show us a pic if you can with the color of the back showing and some of the bleached spots. Someone can come up with a clever solution. You could try using some diluted dye to touch it up if the spots aren't too big. You might use some paint pens and create some sort of design ontop of the spots. If you have extra fabric of the backing you might write meaningful words on that and place those to cover the spots and applique them down. Good Luck.

Brenda in Alabama

I just made a chennile quilt and cut through the backing fabric 4 times. I made circles out of similar material and just appliqued them on. I would try that or any other design would work.
Sorry this happened.

Hugs,

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Originally Posted by a1angiem

A sharpie? (And I know that sick feeling you get with mishaps like that. So sorry to hear of yours. I think the appliqué might work or you could give it as is with a "funny story" about the one of a kind back!)

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I've fixed several bleach mishaps with a Sharpie. They come in every color imagineable.

If the spots aren't too large I think covering them with a Sharpie would do it.
If they are bigger, I would applique over them. If the backing is a small print cut circles out and applique them over the spots or if there are large images in the print cut them out as appliques.

Fabric Pen/Sharpie or Applique - It's a creative designer OOOPS I meant it to be come out that way! :)

On my Sharpie packet it states "not for fabric" so I would be careful with Sharpies. But there are plenty of fabric markers you could "update" the spots with. If the spots are too big, I would also vote for applique. I wonder if applique wasn't invented because someone made a booboo a long time ago,

I'll post a picture in a bit-I'm at the grocery store lol. I was thinking mixing up some rit dye and trying to spot it in by the fabric marker seems like a better option.

The first picture is the worst of it. There are several small spots spread throughout the quilt back, but it appears this corner got the brunt of it. Its weird, because only the greenish color bleached. The blue dots inside the bleached area are still blue.

http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/...pse5418105.jpg

http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/...psdcf14b14.jpg

Applique is really an option-I'd have small little applique patches randomly across the quilt back, and my label is stitched into my binding.

I think the fabric marker or dye is my best bet. I bought some Kelly green dye, so I am going to test it on a scrap piece of the backing to see how it looks.
Otherwise, I get a new quilt for the couch and I get to make another for the cousin.

Make it a Tie dye backing, lol, use some more bleach, here, and a bit of dye there and all of a sudden "special hand dyed fabric" is on the back.:icon_heh:

or more bleach to make it look uniform

See what happens when you watch Honey Boo Boo?

Hon, I'd just leave it. If you try to match it. you take the chance on making it worse. If you try to add bleach spots to the rest to balance it out, you risk ruining the front. I'd leave it, and consider it a wink to keep you humble cause it was too perfect maybe?

These things happen. It really is a nice quilt. It could grow on you.

Wow, I don't know what I would do if this happened to me. I am sorry about your situation and really hope it gets resolved.

I don't think they are that bad. As time goes by with washings that back will lighten more anyway.

It happens to the best of us.. and you couldn't be an idiot if you tried. Not even watching Honey Boo Boo would do that to you!

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Originally Posted by kensington

I don't think they are that bad. As time goes by with washings that back will lighten more anyway.

It happens to the best of us.. and you couldn't be an idiot if you tried. Not even watching Honey Boo Boo would do that to you!

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I hate to imagine how dumb I would be if I watched that stuff lol.....

Luckily, no bleach spots on the front so I am thrilled about that, and I now check, double check and recheck the washer.

Hi! just wanted to check in and see how you are doing today. Sometimes after we get over the shock, and have some time for things to settle in, we can relax.... I was thinking about you and wanted to show some support. :icon_wave:

I did think of a string of balloons to applique over random marks, but they come very close to the binding. So maybe I'll just keep quiet and commiserate. I wish you luck - keep us informed. Annie

I decided to use the rit dye and a small paintbrush and dot the color on in the bleached spots. i diluted the dye until I got a color that was a very close match. I just put it in the wash again. I'll see in a bit how it turned out, but it looked pretty good (at least better than it did). I'll post pictures when done to see if it passes M*forum inspections lol.