Originally Posted by buckeyed
You should probably ask someone who works with vintage quilts as the fabric can be very fragile.
Beautiful quilt! What a treasure to have in your care.
After asking a professional for their opinion I would then decide how to proceed.
If the fabric is tightly woven you should be able to use the quilter's cleaner and clean it by soaking it and rinsing several times and then rolling in towels and squeezing out the water. You do not want to wring the fabric. After squeezing out the water lay out if possible on towels and sheets to dry.
This is a quilt that should be hand quilted and not quilted by machine. You could at the very least sandwich the quilt with a plain muslin backing and tie the quilt. From the design though it was probably planned to be hand quilted.
I would do a google search on further guidelines and instructions for older and antique quilts and their care.
Pam M