On the weekend, I was doing some hand stitching when my finger met with the wrong end of the needle - ouch! I wasn't quilting at the time, but I remembered this trick I learned many years ago so wanted to share it again.
Ouch!
When you prick your finger, the blood comes quickly and sometimes, before one realizes, you have blood on your work, not a lot, but of course, it usually happens in a most obvious spot like on a light background fabric. A few years back, it happened to me on a very light background so it was most obvious!
Blood on my quilt
Even though I was reasonably quick at getting cold water on it to rinse it out, there was still a stain left behind. Can you see it near the middle of the square?
Cold water attempt
Do you know the best way to get this out? This might sound bad, or different, or whichever way you want to take it, but the best method of getting this blood stain out is to chew up a piece of cotton thread and then dab the spot with the wet bundled thread. Look for yourself.
Your own saliva works
Apparently, your own saliva will take out the blood stain. If you ask someone else to chew the thread for you, it won't work. It must be the person who did the bleeding. This is a great tip to remember with hand applique. I don't know about you, but I often prick my finger when doing that.
I use 100% cotton fabric for my quilting so I know it works for that, but has anyone else tried this on other fabrics or fibers? I'd love to hear whether it works on those too.
