Grandmother's Quilts Help
 

Hello. I have several quilt tops that my grandmother made in the 1930-40s probably made from old clothes. Because some of the material on the top was so thin I've had to have a few of the blocks completely replaced by a lady that repairs Quilts. She did a great job matching the faded fabric from that era. Neither the blocks nor the quilt are square and do not lay flat which will make for fun quilting! My questions are...

The quilt top needs to be washed. Should I wash it on a gentle cycle, maybe in a pillow case, before I put the back on and quilt?

Ill need to buy new material for the backing. I'm guessing I should prewash to allow for shrinkage?

Should I prewash the batting if the top and back are prewashed?

Thank you, and any other advice is welcomed.

Do not wash the top until it is stabilized by quilting! The fabrics could shred badly. Just ignore the dirt, sandwich it, and quilt it completely. After it is complete, then wash the final result. As to prewashing the backing, you don’t have to if you want a wrinkled look. The batting will shrink anyway.

I agree with "Do Not Wash The Top" before it is quilted - unless it is so musty or for some reason you are unable to handle it. It makes a mess of tangles and it is a challenge to press it again after it has been washed. Even when hand washed, rinsed, and hung on a drying rack. (Ask me how I know.)

I would soak the backing fabric in hot water for a couple of hours, wash and dry it on "gentle".

I would do the same with the batting - if it is washable. Read the packaging to see if it is or not.

The reason i would shrink the backing and batting is because - if the top is made from pieces from worn garments - all the shrink has been removed from them.

I have always had some "pucker" in the quilts I've made just from the quilting process.

You might consider using a fairly high-loft polyester batting and tie-ing it if it extremely wonky. But if the fabrics are already fragile, that is not one of the greatest ideas, either.

How much sentimental value do these tops have for you?

I've gotten old(er) and I am having a hard enough "salvaging" my own early attempts made from new fabric.

Please DO NOT WASH BEFORE QUILTING!!! I have repaired 3 quilts that were done that way and boy what a mess. Strings, broken stitches and fabric that shrunk, nothing fit square. You can wash after the quilting and binding is done.

DO NOT WASH before you finish them....my sister washed one of my granny's ...what a mess, I made Christmas stockings out of what was left, thank goodness she brought the rest for me to finish!!! I just aired them out on the clothesline to help with the musty smell, now we all have quilts that were from those tops and they've been washed...LOL.

He he he, I guess your have your answer about washing the top before!!!!

Got it...no washing! Thank you all for your input. I prewashed and dried the backing and will meet with the quilter on Monday. If she's not interested in the project then I will do stitch in the ditch. Thank you!