SandraGraceQuilts Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 Hi Everyone, I have a friend who inherited lots of wonderful antique quilts and crocheted tablecloths and other needlework. Most of these pieces are discolored from age (I guess) and some have actual stains on them. I know over the last year that I've been mostly lurking, I read numerous suggestions on how to clean quilts, but at the time I did not think to priint them out. I tried doing a search, but was unsuccessful. Would anyone out there be so kind to forward any ideas you have to me. Thanks! Sandy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 Sandy, Congratulations to your friend. Sometimes not washing is the best policy. Sometimes you just need to love them stains and all. I know you can air them out by putting a sheet down, laying the quilt on top, and covering the quilt with another sheet. There is also Quilt wash that you get at the LQS. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countrystitcher Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 Would SewBeGone work on an antique quilt? I love it on a regular quilt to get unwanted stains out. Okay, since we're talking about antique quilts -- how do you attempt to quilt them if they are way out of shape. A customer wants me to do one where she took the blocks and sewed them together and put a border on. The entire quilt is so far out of square that I have no idea how to even load it. My long-arm guild says to put really thick batting and then meander real big moving the quilt to accommodate the puckers and extra fabric. The borders are wavy also. This could be the biggest challenge yet for me. I may never do one again. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 Sometimes you just need to say no!! That is hard for me to do since I don't have a customer base yet. I just finished a t-shirt quilt that was made by a woman that doesn't sew! It was 119" across the top and 110" across the bottom. I called her and asked if I could try to square it up. Never have I cut a customer's quilt top. Of course she said yes. I did, and it was still off. Her sashings were saggy, and I think the t-shirts stretched. I am glad it is finished and the next time someone calls with a t-shirt quilt already made I will turn it down. Unless I can make it from start to finish, I don't want it. Antique quilt tops are tricky in that the fabric is old, sometimes alread worn, and fragile. I just finished 4 antique tops. The quilt maker was fantastic. Everything was perfectly square. I really got lucky. Last weekend Fons and Porter's show was on antique quilt tops. Very interesting. I think sometimes you just have to enjoy them in the condition they are currently in. You can try to quilt the top you have and it may work fine. I would not try to manipulate it as suggested, but that is me. I wouldn't want anything to look twisted when you were finished. One last thought to keep in mind....your name is going on the finished product. When people look at it they will asked who quilted it. Will the finished product reflect in a positive way on you. That if my worry with this silly t-shirt quilt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckirk Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 I have had good luck with a product called Refurbish. It is a soak for aged linens and lace, but it really perked up an old cross stitched top that I was asked to quilt. While it did not remove old stains completely, it did brighten and freshen the top so that the finished quilt looks clean and beautiful. Cathy Kirk Quilting Cowgirl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandraGraceQuilts Posted September 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 Thank you all for replying to my question about how to clean antique quilts and needlework. I knew I could get help from all of you wonderful quilters and I will pass your information along to my friend. Thanks again, Sandy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandraGraceQuilts Posted September 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2006 To CKirk, Thank you for your suggestion to buy a product called "Refurbish." I would like to pick it up for my friend. Can you suggest a store to purchase this in? Thanks, Sandy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagecl Posted September 20, 2006 Report Share Posted September 20, 2006 I have quilted many antique tops. If they are fragile with a lots of puckering, I will do a medium meander to secure the seams and flatten the top. I still use a flat batt...warm 'n natural, hobbs heirloom or cotton dream...this to me keeps with the general era of the quilt. Yes, some were tied with wool for a fuller looking quilt. There is a book out on antique quilting designs...I think AQS publishes it, I often look there for quilting inspiration. I do try to keep the quilting looking like it came from that era if at all possible. Cleaning them...I don't...I let my customers take care of that and recommend orvis, which can be found at quilt shops or equine stores. I hadn't heard of "Refurbish"...I'll check it out. Cheryl Mathre Stone Creek Quilting Sandy Hook, VA Out today teaching a dyeing workshop....what fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltaholi_518 Posted September 20, 2006 Report Share Posted September 20, 2006 Here's a spot with some suggestions... http://www.prairiepublic.org/features/PrairieQuilts/care.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsurich Posted September 20, 2006 Report Share Posted September 20, 2006 Caron, That is a great site! I wandered around it for awhile and learned some things about dating quilts and looked at the quilt show. Thanks! Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countrystitcher Posted September 20, 2006 Report Share Posted September 20, 2006 Thank you all for your advice on quilting the antique top. I have decided to give it back unquilted. It will be hard to do since I also am trying to get a customer base; but if I quilt it badly and she is unhappy with it, I'm sure I would be sorry I ever tried. The whole problem is really not the quilt itself, but the borders she put on are "extremely" wavy and a poly-blend I believe - I could not even start to get it loaded correctly. The lady who pieced the blocks together is obviously not a quilter; she just wanted it done and it shows. It was driving me crazy how to quilt it - so I've already wasted enough time on it - on to another project; maybe a nice flat-squared quilt top. Thanks again - Sharon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagecl Posted September 20, 2006 Report Share Posted September 20, 2006 I, too, have given back one antique quilt that was purchased at a garage sale...know wonder...it had inch high moutains at each seam...ever wonder why some quilts never get finished...duh...I should have taken a picture. It was even constructed of ugly fabric...beauty is in the eye of the beholder...but this took the cake on ugly. Cheryl Mathre Stone Creek Quilting Sandy Hook, VA:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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