Red Wine Woes!

Just hours after I took this photo I spilled a glass of red wine all over my best thrift find. My vintage runner is a great example of a quilting method called Cathedral Windows--which fill it with amazing little bits of fabric texture that just makes me happy. After the accident, I immediately rinsed the runner under warm water and sent my hubby to the store for OxiClean Free. 

While he was gone I reached out to my Instagram buddies for advice.

Boy, did I get some great tips...

welshhillmarket: Try Borax... it is what I used to remove stains from my 40+ yr old christening gown...
fadedvelvet: ... Era with bleach pored directly on the stain. It won’t take the color out.
picturethisearth: Put the whole ting in red wine so it all the same color. Then bleach the whole think for a couple of minutes only. Then it will still look vintage. I saw this done in Real Simple. That was 3 years ago.
meghanhcarroll: I’ve had luck with either toothpaste or backing soda.
reagangoodnough: Foaming shaving cream - rub it all over the wine stain. Works like a charm on white carpet.
sewlindsaysew: Dunk the whole think in wine. Run with it!
summerkiser: Oh no!!! Peroxide?
rachelwiygul: Hydrogen peroxide. It takes red wine out - also what the hospitals use to remove blood from sheets and towels.
dagmarbleasdale: Recolor the whole thing with a pink.
recycledrevamped: I like the pink too!
glassymama: Get wine away - available at wine stores or if you cannot find it soak in water until you can it from Amazon.
sew_nicole: Got any white wine? Some how it counter acts the red stain. Found some other solutions here: http://www.redwinestainremovers.com
kholland: oxy and color catchers!!! It’s totally fixable (since you haven’t dried it yet, right?)

So, here's what I did. I diluted half a scoop of OxiClean Free in a bowl of warm water. I dipped the runner into the concoction, and the purple stain turned green! You know, I freaked out, right? I rinsed it out thoroughly. The bowl of detergent and water was a pretty funky color, so I poured it out and made a new batch. I let it soak for 30 minutes and the stain was now gone. My sweet hubby rinsed it out and hung it to air dry.

OK, not only was the stain gone, the vintage runner was brighter! Check out this smaller piece for comparison. I'll clean the new one and give them both a good ironing and it'll be back to pretty in no time.

Hope this helps you save a treasure someday! Don't forget to follow me on Instagram, I'd like to follow you too!

XOXOX,
Kelly