mldesatnik

I have a quilt that I appliqued in the early 1970's. I started to hand quilt, but due to deaths in the family and illnesses, I never got beyond the first turn on the frame. Consequently, that section was exposed to the elements, I took it off the frame, but kept it on the rollers hoping to finally have time to finish quilting it. It has been kept covered with an old white sheet, but still the white background is a different color than the remainder which was never exposed to the elements. Now that my husband has passed away, I have nothing but time. I have finished hand quilting it, but would like to wash it so that the quilt is clean. Can anyone give me any advise as to the proper way to ensure how to wash the quilt without
damaging the appliqued flowers which are poppies, red to orange colors? There is a diffinite color difference between the first section, and the remainder which was rolled up.

I have just joined, and enjoy everyones willingness to share their "know-how" with fellow quilters! Quilters are such giving people.

Marion

quilterCDN

What size is this quilt? That would determine if you could handwash it or not.

ckcowl

were the applique fabrics pre-washed? is there a chance they could run onto the background fabrics? if so you will want to use color catchers or some product to try to keep that from happening. you could stop at a local cleaner's & ask them about cleaning it- you could try just a soak in cold water to see if you can (freshen) it, but if the 'exposed' areas have faded from sunlight there is not much you can do to make it all look the same- the faded part is going to be faded- if the 'exposed' area is just (dingy) looking it may wash up nicely & be fine...depends on just what you mean by (being exposed to the elements) and what the damage actually is....and if the applique fabrics have been pre-washed & bleeding is not part of the issue. synthropol is an option- but you have to follow the instructions for it to work & you need hot water- so it also depends on if the quilt can be washed in hot water or not- synthropol is generally best used on yardage (pre-washing) before being used in a project...since you may not be able to wash in hot after the fact.

Nammie to 7

Soak in oxyclean and wash with color catchers. I just finished a quilt I started in 1971 - it had "age spots" and soaking it in oxyclean took them out.

Prism99

It would help to have a little more info about the quilt, such as size, type of batting used, how far apart your quilting lines are.

What I would do depends somewhat on size and weight of the quilt when wet. In both cases I would use Synthrapol, which requires hot water. Your greatest danger is that the colors may bleed into the white. Synthrapol suspends fugitive dye particles in hot water so the dye is rinsed away instead of settling into fabric. To be effective, you need *lots* of hot water so any dye bleeds are sufficiently diluted in the water. Domestic front-loaders do ***not*** use enough water for Synthrapol to be effective.

For a large, heavy quilt I would go to a laundromat and use their largest front-loading machine -- hot water and Synthrapol. You could partially dry the quilt in their big dryer and bring it home to finish drying (lying flat on a clean flat sheet, not draped over anything ).

If the quilt is more manageable, you can use a large top-loading domestic washing machine. Fill with water and Synthrapol, stop the machine, add the quilt, and use a large stick or pole to push the quilt up and down in the water. You do *not* want to allow machine agitation of the quilt at any time. I would strongly advise against soaking, as allowing wet fabrics to lie against each other makes dye travel much easier. When you have finished hand agitating, turn the dial to spin out the wash water, fill with rinse water, and again turn off the machine and hand agitate. Advance the dial to spin. Do a couple of rinses. Immediately remove the quilt from the machine so damp fabrics are not in contact with one another. You can lay the quilt out on a large flat sheet; a fan speeds drying. If you dry outside, dry in the shade and be sure to cover the quilt with another large flat sheet (so bird droppings don't get on the quilt) and anchor the ends with rocks.

Synthrapol is more effective than color catchers although, if you use the laundromat front-loader, you can throw in some color catchers too. The idea is to successfully get the quilt through its first washing without having dyes bleed into other fabrics. This is the surest way to accomplish that.

Regarding the change in fabric color, you may want to research fabric pens and fabric inks. You may be able to touch up the colors of the faded fabrics to more closely match the others. You could possibly get quite artistic also, changing other colors subtly so that none of the flowers match each other. You can also add detail (veins, stamens, etc.) with permanent Pigma pens, hand embroidery embellishments, etc. There's a lot of possibilities these days.

momto5

Hi Marion,

And welcome to the Board. Also sorry for your loss....I've been there as well so I know what you're going through.

No suggestions other than what's already been offered, but I did want to welcome you! Good luck!

mldesatnik

The quilt is twin size. It has polyester batting, the quilting is about 1-1/2" apart.

mldesatnik

None of the fabric was pre-washed. It was a kit, and the appliques were stamped. By elements, I mean dust, and any
of the ordinary contaments found in the average household. No one in the house smoked, so nicatine stain is not an issue. I primarily need to "freshen" the area that was not rolled on the frame. I do really appreciate your assistance.

I have been told that taking to a laundrymat is a definite MUST. To be certain of a sufficient quantity of water to allow the quilt to float easily, and any cleaning agent to suspended well in water. There are no faded areas of this
quilt, just a need to brighten the white background fabric.

I shy away from having it cleaned, as I am afraid of any that the chemicals used in the process may still be present in the quilt after cleaning, and cause the quilt to deteriate more quickly over time.

Marion

mldesatnik

Thank you for your suggestion. Some of my non-quilting friends have suggested this procedure. It is comforting to hear the same suggestion from a quilter.

Marion

mldesatnik

I have used Synthrapol in the past on my quilts that I have laundered. However, because of the brightness of the appliques, and the fact that they were not pre-washed, I am hesitant to use hot water for fear of causing the colors to run, even using color catchers.

Thank you, Marion