Antique quilt
 

Hi there. My church has an antique quilt, made in 1887 - 1888 made by a member or members. It was sold in a raffle to raise money for a new church building.

We are wanting to display it, so the congregation can enjoy it.

It is in very good condition...though the material has brown stains throughout. There are no worn places. There is beautiful embroidery in each block of the quilt. And in the spaces in between the embroidery are the names (embroidered in red) of the members of the church at that time.

We need to know how to clean up the quilt and then display it in an encased frame that can be hung on the wall.

It is the size of a lap quilt, though more square in shape.

If there are any experts, or if you know of any experts, we would love to hear from you. We are very aware that there are proper ways to handle this quilt. Thank you for any help. Susan Deer

visit the website for the National Quilt Museum in Nebraska---they have advice and instruction for cleaning/preserving/displaying/storing antique quilts. you could also check to see if you have a local quilt guild - there may be a historian or certified quilt appraiser as a member- or they may know of a local one you can contact

What a wonderful piece of your congregation's history! Best wishes in your efforts.

How nice that you have this piece of history for your church.

Our church has one that is just the quilt top with the names embroidered in 5 point stars, one name per side. It is only brought out periodically, and is always fun to see the names that are still part of the church. Also, for some of the older ones, to share stories from the past.

Another suggestion would be to contact a local museum for assistance.

Be sure and make a list of the names. So people will be able to read them. Also if the church has any record of when person joined or was bsptized or any other info add to the info.

If you're anywhere near Asheville, NC there's a quilt displayed this way in the Grove Park Inn lobby. Perhaps they could direct you to who did that for them.

You could try Retro-Clean to remove the brown spots.

What a wonderful piece of history. Good luck

what a treasure! would love to see it when you get it cleaned.

How wonderful! I have no idea how to clean it and so won't throw out any half baked ideas, but I wish you well in preserving a piece of history and beauty.