I printed some washing instructions off the internet--sorry I can't find them in my "favorites," or I'd give you the link. It was a nice sheet that I now hand out with my quilts when I give them as gifts. One of the things on that sheet is to wash them in a front-loader. Top loaders pull at the threads when they agitate. Front loaders don't agitate, and so they are easier on the quilts. If you don't have a front-loader, take a good book or some hand-sewing and go to a laundromat.