I need advice from someone who crochets
 

I have come into possession of 144 7" granny squares. The crocheting seems to be very well done, they are all the same size and the stitches are consistent. The squares just need to be attached to each other and then a border added around it. Here's my problem - they came from a home of a smoker. They reek of cigarette smoke. They are in a zipper clear plastic bedding type bag and you can still smell them. There is no way I'll be able to put them together without coughing up a lung (asthma). Can I soak/wash them as they are, or would it turn into a disaster? Also can anyone suggest what to use to get the smoke smell out of them, I don't know when she started them or got them to this stage of completion. I do know their home had 2 serious smokers living in it. Thank you in advance for any and all ideas, if I can't get the smoke smell out of them I'm going to have to pass this UFO along to someone else to finish.

Get a laundry bag or a couple of pillow cases and put them in there to wash. Believe it or not Pine Sol in the laundry water may just do the trick. My parents were both big smokers and we used that. If you are not comfortable with that smell because of the asthma(the Pine Sol) try vinegar White is odorless and removes o lot of smoke residue on surfaces so it should work on the squares. the bags will prevent snags on the yarn and I get them at Dollar General if you have one near you or even WalMart would have some kind of laundry bag. Good Luck

BE CAREFUL! People used to make them out of wool yarn. If you use hot water, they will shrink. My sister made afghans out of wool granny squares, and I couldn't sit near them. They made me itch.

I would first try Febreeze ing them and putting in a plastic garbage/storage bag for a few days. If you can deal with febreeze, that is. Do this outside, if possible. Leave for a few days. Take them out of the bag outside as well. If current weather in your area permits, leave them outside for a couple of days. This is why, as a smoker myself, I don't do swaps, etc. I know there are plenty of people that the smell is horribly offensive. I ALWAYS advise anyone I am trading/swapping/donating things to that this is the situation in my home and give them the option of not accepting. I always febreeze and put into a ziplock bag anything that I may be sending along with a note as to state of fabric/smell so they can treat/not use accordingly.

Also get rid of the bag they came in, it will have absorbed the smell as well.

How about baking soda. Worked for skunk odor, don't know why it wouldn't work for smoke...

The tip I saw ( I believe on QB) was Safeguard soap. They said only Safeguard would work. Close in a bag for a few days. I'm going to try it.

Test wash one block. If it doesn't shrink, then put the other blocks in a mess laundry bag and toss in the washer and the dryer. If the test block shrinks, then the rest will need to be washed in cold water and blocked to dry.

Don't forget. The colour catcher.