Name: Seane
Message: Water was spilled on a batik design (on cotton) I have.  The water made the colors bleed and you can see the perimeter of the water mark.  Is there any way to fix this?  Thank you.

I'm afraid the answer is probably just the same as if you had spilled water on a watercolor painting. If unfixed dye colors have bled, there may be little you can do about it.

A properly done batik has its dye colors permanently attached to the fabric, and all excess dye washed out, so that there is no danger from getting wet. From your description, it seems that one of these essential steps was omitted.

Perhaps if you wash the batik in hot water, you will be able to remove all of the excess dye. This will work if the dye was fixed properly but not adequately washed out afterwards. If the dye was not fixed at all, though, you will remove the design. It's a very bad situation. I'm sorry.

Some people swear by the use of a special dye removal detergent called Synthrapol for removing excess dye. It is an excellent detergent, but it will probably make very little difference to your results.

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