travelightly

Hi all: I am new here, but have been searching and searching for accurate information on how to store my grandmother's quilts. I have several of them ( about a dozen ) and they have been stored over the years in cardboard boxes and plastic bins...cringe. Some of them date back to the late 1800s and I Really want to do right by them. Honestly, eventually they will all go to a museum or get sold, as my family has no interest in them, other than to look at them (when I insist) every 10 years or so. There is no point in keeping them as they don't fit any of our beds and although they're pretty, they are not of a style that any of the family would like. So, long story a little less long, I have been scouring the internet to find the safe way to store quilts and I find a lot of conflicting info. At this point, I am thinking that wrapping in unbuffered tissue paper, 100% white cotton sheeting/muslin and storing in polyethylene bins should be OK as long as I open them up every once in a while to let them breathe. OR, I could poke holes in the bins. OR, am I on the wrong track entirely? I don't want to spend a fortune on this, as these quilts will probably have to be out of my possession in the next year or so. Any advice would be so much appreciated. This has been bothering me for a long time.

QuiltnNan

Welcome from western NY and happy quilting

Tartan

Welcome from Ontario, Canada. You might display some on a quilt ladder. Depending on where you live, climate control would be important. If you live somewhere moist the tissue between them and some Cilica gel packs in the plastic container would keep them dry. If moisture isn’t a problem then wrapped in tissue and stored in a pillowcases works well. I store mine on a cotton covered carpet roll with a sheet wrapped around the bundle. I tie each end like a giant tootsie roll and stand it in the corner of my closet.

Thumbelina

Welcome from NE Ohio.

Lori B.

Welcome from Michigan!

toverly

I always tell people to store them like wedding dresses. Acid free paper and boxes and no plastic around anything. They do need to be taken out and refolded every once and a while to keep the folds from becoming a breaking point.

travelightly

Thanks very much for the welcome and the advice everyone. Sorry I did not see these responses until now. Interestingly, 2 days ago I had an appraiser come and check out my antique quilts ( 15 of them ). She told me they were in very good condition. ( Yea!) and gave me all kinds of interesting info about them. They date from the late 1800s to 1950s. They were all done by my great grandmother, grandmother, her sisters and my mother. I'm going to try posting some pics in the photo category. This is exciting! Thanks again!

travelightly

Oops. Still trying to figure out how to navigate this site and notice that the photo thread isn't for antique quilts, but for antique sewing machines. Sorry. I'll try to read more carefully next time.

SillySusan

Hi and welcome from North Carolina! Sorry that I can't give you suggestions about safe storage because I don't really know. But, welcome to the board anyway. I would love to see pictures of these old quilts, if that were possible.