World Wide Quilting Page
Question of the Week
Question for the week of June 21, 2004:
Our question this week comes from Dorothea O:
What is the best way to clean a hand pieced quilt? I have several large quilts and would like to know the best way to clean them safely.
Terry McLane :
Depends on how soiled it is. Sometimes just running the dusting attachment of your vaccum will be fine. If there are stains then fill the bath tube with about 4 inches of warm water and use a quilt wash soap. Place a sheet in the tub and submerge the quilt on top of the sheet. Swish gently. Drain water and rinse until all soap is gone. Hand press out as much water as you can. Then left the quilt out with sheet. This will keep from putting stress on the seams of the quilt. Lay a dry sheet in the yard, lay the quilt on top, lay another sheet on top of the quilt and let dry.
Charlotte :
I always hand wash my quilts in the bathtub with 2 T. Orvis soap (purchased from veterinarian or ranch supply store). Depending on how dirty the quilt is, I soak it in Orvis in lukewarm water 2-3 hours. If it needs more soaking, drain the water, squeeze the water from the quilt as much as you can, and fill the tub with soap and water again. Once it's clean, squeeze the water from the quilt (this is a tough job, I know -- builds up the muscles!). I put the wet quilt in a large laundry basket and take it to the washing machine; then spin dry the quilt in the washer for no more than 2 minutes. I remove the quilt from the washer and lay the quilt flat on a sheet to dry on my basement floor (which is carpeted) or on top of the pool table. Be sure to handle the wet quilt with as much care as possible -- do not stretch or pull or it. In Colorado, the quilt usually takes 24-30 hours to dry.
Mindy W. :
How dirty is the quilt? And what's the condition of the quilt? If it's solid and sturdy, a gentle wash cycle and flat dry may be effective. (Always be careful to support a wet quilt not matter what its age. That's when it's most fragile.) If the quilt is primarily dusty and sturdy, try 20 minutes on no heat with a dryer sheet in the dryer. If it's dusty and fragile, place some fiberglass screening (you can get it at a hardware store) in a hoop, place the quilt on a flat surface, place hooped screen on the quilt and use the brush attachment on your vacuum and carefully vacuum thru the screen. Pick the hoop up (don't slide)and move it to a new location. I learned this from a textile curator. I've used this technique successfully on a 1880's crazy quilt.
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