Yes, I too would stabilize them somehow. And if you have a jacuzzi-type tub you can gently agitate them. Also, have a friend who repairs old quilts and did some cleaning for someone who had quilts in one of the hurricanes and her method was......everybody take a deep breath......she laid a sheet on her gently sloping lawn, laid the quilt on top of the sheet and then ran her sprinkler at a very light flow over the quilt. The gentle slope made the water go downhill and the quilts turned out beautifully.