The Knitting Fiend

I love Shout! Color Catchers. Love them!

I was discussing felting with a knitter the other day. I told her that if I ever mixed two colors, I would first test the swatch for color fastness. Then even if the colors didn’t run, I’d always use “those color catcher sheets” when I felted the item. Belt and suspenders you know!

She said “huh?”

I thought everyone knew these existed. Turns out I was wrong.

I said: “Hmmm… Maybe I should mention these to people.” She said “You sure should!”

Anyway I mentioning them now.

If you read the box, you’ll see it claims the sheets “absorb and trap loose dyes to keep colors vibrant.” Well, believe it or not, they do. If you accidently drop an item that bleeds in the wash, the sheet will trap the dye. And let me tell you, you’ll know you dodged a laundry because the color catcher sheet turn color. If the item was red, the sheet will be red; if it was black, it will be black.

Now, I wouldn’t go hog wild and intentionally drop a half load of bleeding red shirts in with your husband’s undies hoping these will be enough. The fine print on the box does warn the manufacturer can’t guarantee effectiveness if large amounts of dye bleed, so I still try to remember to sort. But, I’m not the most careful person with laundry, and I have screwed up. These have saved me on a number of occasions.

Anyway, I bought this box at Walmart, right there by the detergent. If you are a haphazard laundress like I am, give these a try.

Now, I better go start knitting that baby poncho Mom wants me to knit!