cedar chest and quilts
 

I have an old cedar chest, was wondering if it is ok to store my quilts in it. What do you think? Is it safe?

I don't think so.

If you line the cedar chest with muslin, it would be okay. Alternatively, place quilts inside pillowcases. Cedar chests, as is the case with all wood products (cardboard, tissue paper, etc.), leaks an acid that will gradually eat fabric. Many vintage quilts that were stored unprotected in cedar chests come out with "rust" lines along the folds where the fabric touched the wood; that is the beginning of the acid damage.

If you encase your quilts in pillowcases and take them out every year or so to wash the pillowcases (and refold the quilts along different lines), you would be okay.

Well, I am surprised. I don't have a cedar chest, but I know that is where my grandmother kept all of hers. Guess that wasn't such a good idea. I learn something every day.

Dina

Dina, that makes two of us!

As I understand it, the purpose of cedar chests was storage that would be free of moths and other bugs that might damage the items.
I think if you make sure the item is not touching the wood then it would still be a very desirable way of storing your quilts.

my mother stored family air looms in a cedar chest for 50 years, never took them out except to brag. at that time she would wash them, "because people had touched them," refolded the items put them back in the cedar chest and closed the top. we never noticed any damage. she has been gone over 30 years and I haven't noticed any since I've had the cedar chest.

Cedar chests, cedar-protected storage in general, are excellent protection against moths and other kinds of insect damage. I have never heard of 'leakage' damage at all. I highly recommend cedar.

Even storing fabric in cardboard can cause stains (ask me how I know). I would agree, have a layer between the quilt and the raw wood.

From HGTV.com

Be aware that cedar stains.
If you are storing clothing in a cedar chest or another wooden container, be sure to line it with acid-free paper, muslin or even old, clean, cotton bed sheets. This will keep the wood from contacting the clothing directly, which could stain or damage the item.

I would line it with muslin, or wrap the quilts in a sheet before putting them in the chest. Cedar contains oils which repel insects, but the oil may soak into the fabric. I think the age, quality and the finish of the wood effects how it will interact with the fabric. Usually, the older the cedar is the more the oil has dissipated, but better be safe than sorry.

I have stored quilts in my cedar chests for 30 years. I put them all in pillow cases and then change them every so many years.

Not unless you wrap them in acid free paper. The oil from the cedar will make brown spots on your quilt and you cannot get them out.

I have quite a few quilts in my cedar chest. I took some pieces of sheet plastic that Jim had and just used thumb tacks to secure it. I made very sure that every inch was covered before I put the quilts in. I have had no problem. I am sure it will be okay if you cover EVERY inch of the wood.

Interesting - I never knew this!

I had my baby blanket which was hand crocheted by my mon in my cedar chest from the 70's. In the 90's I found that where the fabric folds touched the wood, the fabric deteriorated.

Stored textiles also need air circulation, so take that into consideration along with the acid surface (wood) contact.

I would e-mail a company that makes cedar chests and get ther advice. I've had 2 chenille quilts stored in mine for years. They're white and still look new. I think they were called Martha Washington spreads or somethng like that and I can't bear to part with them.

I have quilts and a comforter stored in a cedar chest. They are as good as the day (35 Years ago) I put them in it.

So much information, I never knew!!! Interesting that some have and some have not been affected by the wood. Wonder if that has something to do with the age of the chest, maybe the treatment of woods long ago versus the treatment of woods today? Oh well, looks like to be a "safe or sorry" decision. Thank you for asking this important question and that you for all the great information!!!!

Well you learn something new every day! I found this on a quilting site:

http://lequilts.com/?page_id=38

Can I keep my quilts in a cedar chest?
Cedar, along with other woods, secretes oils that can damage fabric. If you must keep your quilts in a wooden container, it should be sealed with a protective coating of polyurethane varnish, then lined with unbleached, washed muslin or acid-free paper. Metal containers should also be lined with this muslin or paper.

Here is a good article about preservation of treasured textiles:
http://www.mohistory.org/img/unCommo..._treasures.pdf

#6 on the list mentions cedar chests.

Just a thought - if you seal the inside of the cedar chest with polyurethane that will also eliminate the insect repellent properties.

I have stored in Cedar chest for years without damage. However, my sister had wood worms eat through her cedar chest and leave a small hole and then nested in her linens. My DH says this is possible if they used some of the sap wood (the wood on the outside of the tree) instead of the heart wood (the wood on the inside of the tree). Cedar woods contain oil but not acid. I think the difference is the fact that in old cedar chests, the oil has dried out and thus no stain on the linens.
There is a chemical in the wood but it is not acid. Acid is in cardboard, paper and tissue paper and comes from the paper making process.

With all due respect to your DH, acids and oils are present in all wood and wood products, cedar included. Acid may be increased by the paper making process, I don't know, but it's definitely present within the tree itself before any processing. It's one reason why tree mulches, even cedar mulch, increase the acidity of your soil.

To the OP, some here have had good experiences storing in cedar or other wooden chests, some have not. Even unsealed wooden shelves and corrugated cardboard boxes can discolor and deteriorate the fibers of textiles. Examples have been given on several other threads over the years, some are truly heartbreaking. Only you can decided what your risk tolerance is.

I was told that the wood would eventually harm the fabric that I stored in mine. I lined the inside with self sticking shelf lining and have never had a problem. The lining is slightly tacky so it adhears to the wood. I taped the seams with masking tape so it stays together. It works for me!

Fabric needs to breath. Storing them in the chest would cut off all air. If you do store them in the chest be sure to take them out at least every six months to air them. Do put them in an old pillow case before storing.

I never knew this either. I would have thought it would have been a great idea because the cedar would keep moths away. Hmmm. Glad you asked this question!

I went to an estate sale a while back and scraps from quilts and also quilts were stored in a cedar chest. They had stains because of not being stored or wrapped in tissue paper. I purchased a lot of the scraps. The odor from the cedar was really hard to get out of the scraps. A friend of mine purchased the last quilt. She soaked and washed and repeated several times with ammonia and arm and hammer detergent and borax and vinegar (as I did the same with the scraps). She then hung the quilt outside for some fresh air. Took forever but now the quilt just smells fresh and clean and looks great on her bed. She had to do a couple repairs (not too much)just tucking some threads in here and there. She found that the quilt had been handed down generations and was hand quilted in 1911. She has a pic of it. No matter how old anything is she gives it a purpose. I'll have to see if I can get a photo of it.

As far as I know the only things NOT recommended to store in a cedar chest are metals or papers of any kind. They were made for linens so I can't see how putting quilts in them is bad. I've had some baby quilts stored in mine for over 20 yrs. and they are still in perfect condition.

Cedar Chests
 

Please do not store quilts or other fabrics in cedar without some protection from the wood. I've seen too many stained antique quilts as a result of storing in cedar as it has oils. The stains are varying shades of brown and cannot be removed. Placing in a pillow case doesn't work because the oils can penetrate the case and migrate into the quilt.

To use a cedar chest (which does protect from tiny critters eating away at fabric and cotton batt) line the chest with a sheet of aluminum foil or other similar substance (not cardboard or cover the cardboard with the foil) and then store the quilt in a pillowcase or just stack them. The object is to protect the quilt from touching the wood, but having the advantage of bug proofing.

SandyQuilter

I made a Sunbonnet Sue quilt for my DGD when she was born. My daughter stored it in a cedar chest. I now have to take it apart and hope I can get all the brown spots out of it. Thank goodness its only tied.

No the wood will bleed into the fabric and can leave some stains - and you don't want to store the quilts or fabric in sealed plastic for long periods of time either - need to breathe.

never had any problems. I just went trough my mom's cedar chest and things have been it untouched since she passed in the early 90's

Here's another good article on storage of textiles:
http://www.essortment.com/store-vint...ens-15438.html

I have three inherited cedar chests and before I put any quilts in them, I wrap them in plain white sheets first. They can stain from direct contact with the wood. The only way to avoid the wood staining is to sand down the wood and put 2-3 coats of clear sealer on before storing goods in contact with the wood.

I had a quilt stored in a box of some kind of wood and it stained so I looked into the subject. Now, to store quilts esp long-term, I got some cardboard tubes from Joann's for free (2-3" in diameter and used two together for longer quilts), wrapped muslin over the tube first, then rolled the quilt (top up) over the tubing and rolled another layer of muslin over that. The quilts are stored in a closet where they are at an even temp. Seems to work fine and they can be shown off easily, no folds to worry about. Plastic, metal and wood seem to be risky.

Haven't read all the posts but I recently saw some beautiful crochet items that were stored in a cedar chest and they were ruined with large brown areas that were falling to pieces. One was a large table cloth made out of fine thread.

My grandmother stored her quilts and other items she valued in a cedar chest - the quilts were usually wrapped in a sheet or pillow case and pictures, and other items were in shoe boxes or plastic bins. When she passed and all of the grandchildren picked out a quilt, they were in perfect condition. The pictures, not so much but I think it was more from the way pictures were developed a half century/century ago and the paper & film used in old albums. Great improvements since then.

Lots of opinions here I know - but i'll tell you a quick story - when my sweet mother in law passed, we had a lot of old stuff to go through. In the attic we found a cedar chest - inside were yards of different fabrics and 2 quilt tops that had belonged to HER mother....who passed away in 1976. The fabric and quilt tops looked like they had just come off the bolts / just been stitched...and they'd been in that cedar chest for 40+ years. So...??? I plan to finish the quilts and use the fabrics one of these days.