Is Sewing Your Love Language?

AND Why You Need Dawn Platinum Dish Detergent In Your Sewing Room

With the arrival of Valentine's day, we're celebrating the art of sewing as a true love language!

Whether you're stitching up heartfelt gifts for loved ones, or yourself and expressing your creativity through fabric and design, every seam you sew is a little act of love.

Sewing is absolutely one of my love languages. I am a garment sewer by heart, but I've enjoyed learning about quilting too. Years ago, I bought a playful collection of fabrics to make a quilt for my daughter, Lauren. However, arranging them to fit my chosen quilting design proved to be more challenging than I expected. Each time I became committed to finishing the quilt, I felt overwhelmed and would take a break, convinced that finding and ordering more fabric would solve my problem.

Over the years, this became a running joke between us. Whenever I told Lauren that I had just ordered more fabric for her quilt, she'd respond with a knowing eye roll-it also became a belief in the family that I would never finish the quilt.

Between other garment projects and theater productions, my time was often filled, and the quilt would find its way back to the unfinished project shelf. As my daughter's high school graduation crept closer, reality set in-I had to finish this quilt. I finally tamed those playful fabrics into a cohesive nine-patch design with sashing.

The process took so long, that when it came time to create the quilt's label, there was only one fitting name: The Seven-Year Nine-Patch Quilt.   

The day Lauren left for college, she packed the quilt in her car-only to accidentally spill her water bottle on it. To my horror, the red dye from some of the fabric began to bleed, leaving pink streaks across the quilt.

Desperate for a solution, I discovered the absolute magic of Dawn Platinum dishwashing detergent. Following the advice I found, I filled my bathtub with the hottest water it could provide and added 1 1/2 cups of Dawn, then I let the quilt soak. To my amazement, it worked like a miracle. Much like Synthrapol or Retayne, Dawn Platinum contains surfactants that suspends excess dye in the water and prevents the dye from being absorbed by other fabrics. When I pulled the quilt from the water, it looked as good as new-no sign that the dye had ever bled.

If you ever think a fashion fabric might be planning a dye rebellion, I highly recommend a pre-soak with Dawn Platinum. It's a game-changer for preventing a disaster, and maintaining the fabric's original beauty....And if you ever suffer a full-blown laundry catastrophe (you know, when one rogue fabric turns everything pink), Dawn Platinum just might save the day!

If you are located outside the United States or Canada and Dawn is not available, check to see if something very similar is available.