Stains on very old quilt
 

I found an old quilt top amoung my mom's things. It appears to have rust stains or blood on it. Could anyone tell me how to or if I can get them out?

A strange product to try is the paste type hand cleaner like auto mechanics use. That's what many college football teams use to get stains out of their white uniforms. Just rub it into the stain, then throw in the washer. Just be sure you don't get the kind with pumice in it.

Mentioned this somewhere on here this morning. The best thing I ever tried was 1 part Dawn to 2 parts peroxide in spray bottle, it removed stains I had been trying to get rid of for a long time!!

I would try http://www.retroclean.com . Have seen lots of good comments about it for vintage quilts. However, if the stains were created by wood acid, cleaning won't help. Many vintage quilts were permanently damaged by storage inside a cedar chest. Wood contains acid, and fabric in direct contact with wood will gradually be eaten away. It starts by looking like a stain but eventually becomes a hole. If the stains are along fold lines, that is a clue that it might be acid damage.

Although you can spot treat a top, it's risky to wash a top before it is quilted. Aside from seams ravelling, the fabrics in the top can shrink at different rates, causing a lot of distortion. It is safer to quilt and bind the top, then wash, as the quilting stabilizes the top and takes control of shrinkage. (Once quilted, fabrics cannot shrink more than the batting allows.)

You said it was a top not a finished quilt. Be careful washing it!

Diannia

I second Prism99's suggestion. Retro Clean has done wonders for me on antique quilts.