I live in Douglas, Alaska and am hoping that you can help me.  I am a quilter and when I was in Tibet two years ago I bought 5 meters of the vibrant burgundy material that the Tibetan monks use to make their robes. 

I am now getting ready to use this fabric in a quilt, but cannot seem to get the fabric to stop bleeding when I wash it.  I do not know what kind of fabric it is, but it washes beautifully.  I have now washed and dried it at least 12 times at different temperatures and the piece of white t-shirt that I have tossed in the washer is still coming out pink.  At the suggestion of an artist friend, the last 4 times I have washed it, I used Arm and Hammer’s Washing Soda.  This didn’t work either.  Washing in only cold water doesn’t seem to help either. 

What can I use to stop the bleeding?

There's a whole page on this subject in the FAQ on my web site:
How to Set Dye in Purchased Fabric

The short answer is, buy some Retayne, or a similar product, to seal the dye in. If you have a local quilt shop, ask about Retayne there, or mail-order from one of the companies on my list of Sources for Supplies.

It's a very good thing you've been serious about pre-washing. I hate it when people write to me with this same problem after they've made the quilt, and ruined the lighter sections with color bleeding from the darker fabric. There's not much that can be done, then!