CARE & USE OF YOUR ANTIQUE QUILT

Washing antique textiles is truly an art.  If you're unsure of how to launder yours, you may want to consider hiring a professional textile conservation expert to do it.  Hiring a professional can be very expensive - it's not unusual for the cleaning of an antique textile to cost several hundred dollars.  The majority of our quilts have been professionally hand laundered, and the cost is already included in our quilt prices.  Steve has learned this lost art from several experts and spends anywhere from several hours to several days on each quilt!  He has hand laundered thousands of quilts and has lost a few to the angry "Laundry Gods" over the years!

NORMAL MAINTENANCE

   

If you’re using your quilt as a bed covering, it should be vacuumed periodically (at least every 3 months) with a clean upholstery attachment. NEVER DISPLAY YOUR QUILT IN DIRECT SUNLIGHT!!!

 

STORING

 

If you’re storing your quilt, it should be wrapped in a clean, plain white cotton sheet or placed inside a clean, plain white cotton pillow case and put in a chest or drawer away from direct sunlight.  DO NOT STORE IN PLASTIC as these quilts are made from natural fibers and need to breathe.  Every 3 months or so, the quilt should be removed and refolded in a different manner so that the fabric along the fold lines doesn’t break.  The cotton sheet or pillowcase will prevent dirt, dust & wood acid stains from leaching onto your quilt.  Acid free paper can also be used for long-term storage.

 

LAUNDERING

 

Although the majority of our quilts are already professionally hand laundered, you might want to launder yours in the future.  We always hand launder our quilts, either in an old-fashioned double washtubs (in good weather) or in our washer.  Antique quilts should NEVER be machine agitated, as this might cause the fabrics to break or pull apart.  If using a washer, fill the tub with cold water and mild laundry detergent, place the quilt loosely in the tub and HAND AGITATE  (large plastic containers work, too).  You can let it soak as long as you want (after making sure the fabrics don’t bleed), then spin it out using the delicate setting.  Refill the tub with clean water and again HAND AGITATE (you can put diluted fabric softener in at this time, optional), and again spin on the delicate setting.  The clean quilt can either be hung on a clothesline to dry, or laid directly on a clean sheet on dry grass (make sure that it lays square), and dried by gentle breezes and the sun (dry face down in order to avoid fading).  NEVER DRY IN A DRYER!!!  Regular vacuuming will keep your quilt clean for many years.

These methods have worked for us, but we don't guarantee results.  All fabrics react differently, so be sure to test for color fastness & elasticity before laundering.  NEVER launder a quilt that has brittle fabric or rips.  LEAVE THESE QUILTS TO THE EXPERTS!

There are plenty of great products out there, but we prefer Orvus or Ensure.  (Click on the name to go to  websites for product information).  Beware of spot remover products or those that have colorfast bleach as they can damage the antique fabrics.

Check our website often, as we'll be discussing this and other topics under our Quilt News & Views.