How to Clean, Repair, and Store a Vintage Quilt
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- Опубліковано 6 лип 2024
- Did you find an old quilt in your attic or closet during quarantine this past year? Follow along with me as I show you how to clean and repair your favorite old quilt. I'll also share with you how I determined this quilt's age and why I'm taking special care with it!
Please note, I am not accepting anymore quilt repair commissions at this time.
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I see that others are commenting long after your posting date so I thought it might be helpful to add this hint. Lay a flat sheet in the tub before you wash an old quilt. You can lift the quilt out of the tub with the sheet. If the weather is nice take the quilt outside to dry.
You can protect the fragile quilt by folding a bathtowel over the ends of your drying rack so they don't poke through. How about peroxide to get brown stain out. They could be blood. Age usually doesn't make a difference. Put a towel under the stain part, dilute the peroxide if you worry about the strength. Put another towel over the top of the peroxide and weight it to absorb from both sides. Make a paper template of the new patch. Keep the scissors far away from the old quilt to avoid catching the scissor tips in the old cloth. Don't lay scissors on the quilt at any time. Thanks for sharing. You will keep many old fragile quilts from the burn pile. I'm sure you've heard that happen to many.
One strategy to lighten the water weight is to gently roll the quilt in big beach towels. Sometimes a series of beach towels will help soak up the water and then the quilt can be laid flat on an unused shower curtain or plastic tarp. Loved your video!
Great video! Very informative!
I realize this video is a year old, so you may not see this. But this was so helpful! I'm getting ready to restore three of my great- grandmother's quilt tops, and then finish them by hand-quilting them. They are all in the Grandmother's Flower Garden pattern and were made with fabric from the '30's, sometime before her death in 1979. I've had them for twelve years and they were stored in my Grandma's home for thirty years before that! They are in pretty good shape, but have a lot of brown stains. I'm hoping that I can remove most of them. Thanks for all the info, especially about storing them. I had them folded in a plastic tote! 😬
I love that you share information with us!
I have just inherited my great great grandmother's quilt, and I will be taking a deeper look at the shredded parts.
I appreciate you showing us how to clean an antique quilt. I would love to see a demonstration of how you mentioned rolling instead of folding, and proper storage.
this was really interesting about the historical quilts
What a wonderful video! I have 4 of my grandmother's quilts and most of them need some type of repair. I've just been a little afraid of attempting anything because I'm not experienced at this kind of thing. Thank you for your time and advice!
Very informative! Thank you for this tutorial.
Thank you for the information provided here! It will certainly help me when I tackle my own!!!
This was so interesting! Thanks for the history!
Thank you so much for the information. I received an old (maybe 1940s?) quilt from a customer who asked if I could repair it. (I make quilts and sell them but have very little experience with washing and repair). I learned a lot from your video and think I can proceed with the washing and repair.
I would love to see exactly how you placed the fabric over the damaged piece and what stitch you used to sew it…::newbie here
Hi, Susie! I made a rough cut of a triangle slightly larger than the one on the quilt, folded the edges under, pinned it in place, and used an invisible stitch along the whole edge. (It's also sometimes called a slip stitch or ladder stitch.) I use a similar technique in my mending video! You can get a close up look in that tutorial. 😊 Thanks for your question!
Fascinating. I found this video after calling one of our local drycleaners and hearing a quote of "$50, possibly more" to dry- clean my 100% cotton antique log cabin pattern quilt. For anyone who loves quilts, I wish you could get a look at mine. It is SO WONDERFUL. Tiny strips of REALLY old and fabulously intricately printed cotton. 63" x 87". Everything looks good, too (no rips/tears). My washing machine has no agitator, but I am going to take your advice, Joann, and stick my lovely old quilt in my enormous (long) old claw foot bath tub and wash it that way. No worries here about any frozen quilts on our clothesline(s), so all will go well.
Thank you *so much,* Joann. I learned many useful tips and much about quilt history from your most excellent presentation. (My new vocab word: "mordant.")
I've had luck soaking vintage quilts in water with oxyclean powder. After several hours, i replace the water and oxyclean and soak again until all the brown is out.
I love this and wish I had found it so much sooner, sorry it took the algorithm so long to bring you up. I do have a question for you though. When my father-in-law passed away I inherited a crazy quilt bed topper, it is not a quilt but rather more like a doily of stitched together fabric scraps with finished edges but no batting or backing.
There is debate as to whether it was the DH's great-grandmother's quilt or his father's great-grandmother's quilt. So plus or minus possibly 30-50 years on the age of it lol. The patchwork is beautifully hand embroidered together, it contains threadbare fabric, delicate lace and unfortunately heavy stains.
I have had it a little over 2 years now, untouched from how I received it, because while I want my granddaughter to receive it, I am terribly frightened the thing is going to disintegrate upon even the most gentle of washing.
And I have not been able to decide if I want to turn it into a quilt with all 3 layers or leave it as it is. We certainly will not be selling it and I don't imagine my granddaughter will either, but still I think for such a heritage peice for her, I would like to do the least possible in "repair" and focus on conservation.
Is it better to stabilize highly frail fabric with tulle before washing? And would it be better if keeping it as just the bed topper instead of a "quilt" to do tulle to both sides and sandwich the topper between?
Or should I listen to the hubby's family who keeps telling me do with it as I please and if it dissolves, or repairs look hideous oh well...? They are not sentimental over the piece, though they do like the idea of if it can be handed down to the granddaughter great! Since at 8 years old she's already quilting herself (really started at age 3 on my lap lol)
It sounds like you have a beautiful family heirloom there! I hesitate to give any advice without seeing the quilt in person. Beyond the methods I describe in my video, I'd recommend taking it to an antique dealer or professional quilt appraiser/restorationist to ask for an in-person opinion. They also might be able to give you a better ballpark figure on the age of the quilt.
Fantastic because most homemade quilts do not come with care labels!!
I saw where you washed the quilt twice with the quilt soap, but was wondering if you need to rinse the quilt after washing it? If so, how many rinses? Also, where do you purchase the quilt soap? Thanks
Hi, Lois! I'd definitely rinse the soap out as much as possible. There's no benefit I know of to leaving it in, and it might even leave a residue on the quilt unless it's rinsed out. I just gauge it by feel. If it still feels soapy, slimy, or slick, it probably needs another rinse. You can buy Orvus or similar quilt soaps online or in fabric and quilt stores. I think I found this packet at Joann's in the discount section!
What is your background in fabric restoration?
What should I use to get yellow stains out of a vintage quilt top? Thisisa family quilt top I have been asked to quilt. We believe it was made in the 1940"s. Thank you.
Hi, Hestia! I would start with the quilters soap and do a good long soak to see what you're able to get out with that. Many white fabrics will yellow over the years, but Orvus soap brightens them up quite a bit. If it's a defined stain with an edge, I'd try to determine what caused it before attacking it with any other cleaning products.
I was given a civil war quilt! I am now going to work on restoration gently. It has only hand stitching with tiny stitches which I am very good at luckily. However the lady who gave it to me had let her dog lay all over it! So there are tiny dog hairs on it!!! So I have to get those off plus gently wash it. There is some machine stitching used on an area that I will remove. I have to work on what is the best thread to use? I have a high quality organic cotton thread...
That sounds like a good strategy! Cotton thread works fine. I've found that tape or a lint brush (feels like velvet) are good for pet hair. You can also try gently vacuuming the quilt (low suction setting!) to get some of the hair and dander off before washing. Best of luck!
I just purchased a new all cotton lightweight quilt with cotton batting. The queen size is 8 pounds. The manufacturer claims easy to launder. That seems to go against everything I’ve read.
What is the best way to display a quilt
Hi, Sharon! Great question. I think that all depends on what you'd like to do with your quilt. I personally like to display mine wrapped around my person while I'm sitting on the couch. BUT there are other methods! They can be hung with curtain rods or with magnetic or velcro strips on the wall like a tapestry, folded and draped over quilt racks and ladders, or spread on a bed. If the quilt is very old, just be sure to not leave it folded the same way for very long (as noted in the video).
What are the chances that this was made at a quilting bee? Would such a large size be done by one person?
Thank you. And… Your bathtub… needs a bit of magic eraser in its crevices… and caulk.