A friend asked me how to clean a stack of old quilted blocks that were given to her. They have been stuffed in a closet for a long time. They are beautifully hand appliqued and were made by her grandmother or great grandmother. They are quite soiled...one spot is about a quarter-size spot...looks like rust or blood. Most of the blocks are covered with speckled rusty-beige-type stains..
Should she wash each block first (afraid they might ravel) or put them together dirty and then machine wash the whole thing. The hand work is beautiful so I would hate to toss them out---especially since they are so well made and have sentimental value. What to wash them in??? They do not smell musty and it doesn't look like mold...