There are a number of good suggestions for products to use, so I will only add a suggestion on a method to use whether you choose something wet or dry.

If using a dry product (baking soda or charcoal)simply place it in the bottom of a large plastic trash bag. If you choose something wet, soak a small towel or piece of cloth and place that in the bottom of the bag. Next hang the strips over the straight section of a plastic coat hanger. Then slide the bag up around the fabric and hanger, gather it at the top and tie in place. You can then leave it hanging and nothing should touch your fabric and damage it. Good Luck!

I gotta go with kmohan - notify the e-bay seller that you have a problem and ask to return them.
Penny

Since you bought the smelly fabric on ebay, don't forget to fill in the feedback portion, to warn other quilters. Most sellers state that their fabric is from a non-smoking environment, you just have to read their ad's very carefully.

You might try putting it in a tote with a bowl of water and a bowl of plain charcoal. The moisture will help the charcoal absorb the smell. Make sure to use charcoal that does not contain any lighter fluid. We used this method on a freezer that had fish smell BAD!. Cover with tote lid.

put it in a zip lock bag along with dryer sheets and see if the smell wont come out just dont let the dryer sheet touch the fabric cuz it could leave a mark on it or something ...

I personally have used vinegar to remove undesirable smells from fabric. If all else fails you could also try using a little ammonia mixed with water. I have used ammonia in the laundry to take out the smell of mildew. Perhaps it would also take the smell of smoke out too.

Great ideas, I was going to say sunlight too, but don't leave them there too long.

i was going to suggest febreze and viniger also but was beat to it but then got to thinking maybe instead of washing the material in vinegar ( which i do believe would work) you could put the material (layed out loose) in a box and set a cup of vinegar in with it ,cover the box with a lid and make sure no one can bump into it maybe the smells would be be absorbed in the vinegar sorry this happened
i would also let the person you bought it from know what happened maybe they can make it right , i would leave a comment about the smell in my feedback about the seller so it doesnt happen to anyone else

My husband was given a leather coat. A neighbor's brother had died suddenly and she give it to my hubby,but it smelled so bad of smoke . John and I had quit smoking back in the 70's . Well we found that if you place it on tumble cycle in the dryer with dryer sheet and tennis balls it will take the smoke out . For an added measure he sprayed it with fabreez , and retubled it again. I would put the rolls in a mesh bag. Good luck.

Definetly fabreeze and seal in plastic back for a few days

This worked for me, I got a paper pattern on e-bay, very old from the 80's it smelled so musty. I put in a dryer sheet in between the papers and kept in closed plastic bag for a week,
I am working with the pattern now and all I can smell is the dryer sheet. If that doesn't help, try just soaking the fabric no agitation as this would make it fray and try using fabric softener......Good Luck Carol Miez

I don't know if the following method works for cigarette smoke, but it works for "musty." I put some old quilt squares in a plastic bag with a dish of unused coffee grounds, sealed it up and left it sit for a couple weeks. No more smell! Good luck. The deodorant soap sounds like a good idea, too.

There is a store in St. Louis, MO called The Container Store(they are on line) and they have a product made of lava rocks. They are amazing. It can take animal smell out of a garage. They are reusable and can be revitalized every 8 mo. or so. They are $10 a bag. I would purchase this product put the jelly roll in a plastic bag with the lava rocks(they are in a mesh bag) for a few days and it should come out fresh or even just lay them on top of the lava rocks. They are well worth the shipping and cost. I have several bags I use. Good luck.

How about Odoban. You can find in in the laundry section in SAMS stores. I use it in laundry for sweaty clothes that I can't seem to freshen, especially in the summer time. It comes in a spray bottle and a one gallon jug for a refill. I love it.

You can also try putting them in a zip lock bag and put in the freezer for a couple of days. This is what I do when I have purchased a vintage book with mold, it works. I kills all the germs.

I don't know if anyone suggested it, but you can get charcoal and put that in there. The charcoal that you would use in an aquarium. Just put it in a little pouch you made out of fabric, then toss the pouch in a bag with the fabric. Wait about a week and you should be good.
I've also used the soap and fabreeze too...

I inherited some fabric that smelled of smoke and put it in bags with unwrapped Safeguard soap, within a week the smell was gone. Worked well.

Baking soda works well to take out most odors. Try placing them in a baggie along with the baking soda.

Sorry to hear that.

I would make a complaint to e-bay and to the seller and demand my money back.

I have not read all the responses, so I apologize if I am repeating anyone. If you decide that nothing else works and you want to wash the fabric, Start with gentle handwashing, of course. For drying, I've heard that a salad spinner can be used to partially dry small pieces of fabric, then drip dry the rest of the way. This should help limit the fraying involved in washing/drying in the machine.

My LQS owner was telling me she has heard from so many people that buying quilts on line isn't worth it. The quilts are many times smoke-laden or damaged.

Good luck with your little project!

UPDATE:

Thank you all to your suggestions. I have loosened the rolls and put in 2 open baggies with baking soda and one with a dryer sheet (bounce) so I dont risk stainging. Then they are all tied up tight in a big plastic bag. I am in St Louis this weekend and when I get home i will be checking and let you all knpow how it is going.

MU MOM WAS A SMOKER AND HAD SOME BLANKETS AND AFGHANS THAT REALLY SMELLED OF SMOKE. WHEN SHE MOVED IN WITH US I JUST TOOK THEM AND PUT THEM IN THE DRYELL AND IT GOT ALL THE SMELL OUT OF THEM. GREAT STUFF AND CHEAPER THAN DRY CLEANING.

I like all the above answers, but wouldn't it help more if the rolls were "slightly" unrolled or relaxed so the air could penetrate easier and quicker? I like the deod. soap solution. Will keep that in mind for other projects also.

If you don't want to unroll the jelly roll, boil some white vinegar to get a good steam going, remove from heat and put a rack over the pot and let the steam penetrate the jelly roll. The smell will be gone.

I have heard that you can put the fabric in a plastic bag and make little fabric bags of activated charcoal and tie up and put in the plastic bag with the fabric. Activated charcoal is relatively cheap. You can buy activated carbon from pet shops, industrial supply stores, or wholesale commercial stores.

I'd go with the baking soda. I've used it before to get other odors out of fabric. Just put all your unrolled rolls in a large bag, like ziploc or a clean white trashbag if you have a hugh amount of fabric, use a small box of baking soda and pour it all in, tie the bag and shake it around a bit. Let it set 2-3 days, shaking it again at least once a day, then dump everything out and shake off your fabric (but shake it off really hard, so the soda doesn't end up coating your sewing machine when you sew it.)

I'm also a big fan of Baking Soda.

She's all done. Here is the link to new post. :)


http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...r-t173126.html

I recently traded some fabric with a friend, and man-o-man talk about cigarette smoke. I mean I knew she smoked ( I am an on again-off agin smoker) but talk about a good way to ruin fabric. I placed the fabric in a box and layered it with Bounce dryer sheets(unscented version- no perfumes/no dyes) and that seems to have done the job of getting rid of the smell. My question is: How do you remove the yellowish/brown streak that cigarette smokes leaves on the fold of the fabric? I knew there was a reason why I and everyone smokes outside at my house!

I know this answer - helped my sister in law unsmoke her household items after a fire. If you have a garage, open the roll and just let the fabrics air out. Don't put them in the sun as I saw recommended in another post or they will be a faded disaster in no time. If you still have a smoke issue after a day or so, put them in a confined space with a tray of charcoal. If you have briquetts, break them up with a hammer. That is best done in a bag with the hammer on the outside or buy some charcoal meant for fish tanks. The more exposed area of charcoal the faster it deodorizes. The charcoal trick is one i used when managing some apartments that the tenant left fish in the fridge and had the electricity shut off. They moved out without telling anyone and it was a week before we realized they were gone. Put the charcoal in a shallow tray, then maybe put a cooling rack over it and spread your fabric on the cooling rack. Now an inverted box will cover the whole thing up and confine the charcoals activity still allowing you to periodically check on progress.

Maybe a steam dryer but only try 1 pc. An see if it works my daughter just got a new washer an dryer an the sales person said the steam dryers work like the dry cleaners i hope so good luck

Take the jelly rolls apart, and put them in a plastic bag or other sealed container-with several sheets of crumpled newspaper-I would wrap the roll/strips in tissue first so that none of the ink from the paper transfers to the fabric. Let sit about a week or 10 days.

2 thoughts come to mind.......put them in sealed containers with Damp Rid or unwind them and soak in the sink in water and white vinegar. Rinse, repeat, rinse, hang to dry. If they still have the odor, keep doing the vinegar soak til it's gone. Unfortunately, the only way you'll know is when they are dry.
AND....be sure to put this in the ebay seller's feedback!

Sometimes airing the fabric will help, but I have stopped buying fabric on ebay for that very reason! I got some that was horrible! Had to toss it out! It smelled like very old musty smoke! Ugggghhhhh! Fabreze is good for freshening fabrics and I have also put Downey dryer sheets wrapped in a paper towel in with fabric that I'm storing. Keeps it fresh smelling.

I have heard that vinegar will remove order. Also kitty litter.

beautiful quilt - glad the stink is gon.e