Vicki Welsh’s method didn’t work so well for yarn but I think it did improve the way it looks.
Remember – this is what it’s supposed to look like.
The red has turned into a muddy brownish red color. The light blue is now purple-ish pink.
There’s only one area where it’s obviously an ugly fade.
I will keep it, at least for a while. I may wear it. The problem is that it really makes me mad and every time I look at it, it makes me angry. I just don’t want to be angry! I paid a lot of money for that yarn and even though it’s almost impossible to make a red not run, this yarn wouldn’t stop bleeding. I put it in the sink yesterday using Vicki’s method and left it 10 or 11 hours. The water was brilliant red and at that point, the skein of yarn had been soaked several times and the finished piece had been soaked probably six times. I rinsed it and the water was still bright red so I did Vicki’s method again, left it 12 hours and this is what I got. It is pretty uniformly faded now except for that one row.
In my use, Madelinetosh yarn almost always had a fading problem. It was a yarn I loved for so many years but for more than one reason, I won’t buy it any more. Madelinetosh has a new owner and hopefully they’re doing a better job of setting color.
Carolyn says
I’m so sorry and now I’m worried about all my Madtosh yarn! Has this happened with all colors or just reds?
Judy Laquidara says
Just about everything I’ve used of theirs has faded at least a little. This red (Tart) was just horrendous. If you’re mixing colors, definitely soak the yarn before using it. I did that with this one but even though I thought it was done, it obviously was not.
Dot says
Have you considered taking out that one striped section with the bad bleeding, and grafting in a replacement section? It doesn’t look like there’s any shaping in that part. You could put in lifelines before taking it out. The main problem would be that all the colors are now changed a bit from the pre-washed state.
And now that you’re cross stitching, beware of red floss!
Suzette Harris says
I’m sorry it didn’t work. I wonder if you could overdye it to brighten it a little.
Nelle Coursey says
This is terrible and I think you should show them just what this did! They charge enough for their yarn that there should not be ANY problems with it. I would be really mad about this. Just give it to someone who doesn’t know it is not supposed to look like this. It is very pretty until you see the original picture. If you don’t tell them, they will not know the difference. Maybe give it to someone you like but don’t love??