A question about choosing quilt colors (from and old book)

[sewingsince9]

I have a question about quilt color choices. I do not mean such in choosing values or blending fabrics, etc.
I have an old book, nearly 90 years old, that suggested that certain colors were not the best for quilts. Specifically the green colors, the book claims greens of that day were the most unstable of dye. That with age, use, and sunlight; green was the first color to fade. Leaving a quilt or any other household soft furnishing to lose its attractiveness faster than other colors.

I have also experienced my favorite green kitchen rug, come out gray when I washed it with washing soda (15 years ago, perhaps) A huge shock at the time, it was truly gray with not a hint of green left.

This left me to wondering if this old bit of passed on knowledge still held true. Have modern dying processes changed this, or have any of you had something change color completely.

I love green, I want to use a green backing fabric , but honestly, I am now a bit afraid that it won't last or that it will result in disappointment years from now as something that did not hold up, or hold its color.

Are there any other colors that may also be the first to fade years from now?
I ask only because I think we all want our work to last and be passed on and cherished.

[LauraP]

I have never had a problem with green and I have numerous antique quilts that have green in them. They faded like all the others.

[jjkaiser]

I don't have any answers for you but I would love to get my hands on an old book like that. I think it would be so interesting to read.

[justLyn]

I have a green and white quilt I made at least 20 years ago. It spent most of the time on the bed, washed many times, yet no more faded than any other color.

[JCY]

You might direct your answer to Jeananne Wright. She's a quilt historian & appraiser & is AQS certified.. She happens to be a member of our quilt guild. She's very knowledgeable about the history of quilts, fabrics, colors, etc. I think she has several hundred vintage quilts in her personal collection. Her e-m is: oldquilts@comcast.net Her phone no. is 303-772-7684.

[midnightline]

There was a time when green dyes were arsenic based, and these were later replaced with less colorfast green dyes, and later by modern dyes. I have not heard anything about modern greens being less colorfast than other shades of colors.

[GuitarGramma]

We have a Saint Patrick's themed quilt that hung in my MIL's dining room for years before she passed away. It really has not faded.