Help on storing and saving very old quilt tops and blocks
 

Hubby and I went to a church yard sale yesterday. There was a tote full of old quilt tops and blocks. They were only asking $7 for these precious treasures!! 5 of the 6 quilt tops were hand sewn and made from feedsack and old fabrics. There were also some round blocks made from triangles that were obviously very old. The stitching was just amazing!! Some of the round blocks had already been sewn into blocks and had rust looking stains on the muslin looking fabric.

One of the quilts was machine stitched and is the bow tie block. One is a flying geese, one is a 9 patch and one has a leaf like pattern that I haven't seen before. I would love to make the bow tie block top into a quilt. I feel like it is one that I wouldn't mess up by machine quilting. All the blocks and tops have that old smell to them but I don't mind it. It reminds me of my Mamaw's home. But how to I preserve the rest of the blocks and quilt tops? I would love to display them somehow.

Also in the tote was a package of 100% cotton batting. It is old also. I have never felt batting like it before. It is so soft and says to quilt it about 1/2 inch apart. Would it be okay to use in the bow tie quilt? Or should I save it also?

I am so tickled to have found all these treasures!! I adore 1930's fabrics and feel so blessed to have a quilt top from that time period.

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Sorry for the huge pictures!! And the backside of one of them.

I have used a product called Linen Wash made in Florida by LeBlanc. I use to be able to buy it in the linen stores but so many of them have closed. Enjoy your treasures.

Amazon has the wash ManiacQuilter2 mentioned. Prime shipping. http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&key...l_1i2ad1o6v1_b

There is also a product I have seen at shows called Retro Wash. They are in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. They show a before and after example that looks good. They also are on Amazon. Here is their web page info: http://retroclean.com/retroclean/retro-wash/

This is a vintage top that I quilted several years ago - http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...d-t226420.html. I just completed another recently but haven't gotten around to posting it yet. I love bringing these old tops to life, and I'm sure you will too.

Retro Clean is a product that's recommended for brightening up vintage quilts. http://retroclean.com/retroclean/ It can be purchased on Amazon. I wouldn't wash the tops until they're quilted though.

Dunster, your quilt is amazing!!! I hope I can bring the treasures I found back to life as well.

They look as though they have been in that tote a long time. If it were me, I would hang soak each individually in Orvus...it is a liquid soap used by farmers to wash the utters of their dairy cows...very gentle....if you live near a " country type store, check it out.....anyway....that would freshen them up. Then I would be comfortable handling these pieces.... A great find and enjoy bringing them back to life.

What a wonderful treasure to find!

I would first quilt them then wash in Retro Clean following directions for any stains. Lovely quilts--what a treasure!

Honestly, I believe the best use for tops like this is to quilt them and use them (or store them as completed quilts). The reason they were in that tote for so many years is that they were not quilted. Nobody knew what to do with them, so they got stuffed away somewhere until they were finally donated to the sale. If you store the tops again, chances are they will end up in another donation sale years down the line, no better off for having been stored and probably worse off. Although you may store them carefully, most people do not know how to properly care for fabrics long-term so they could easily end up in a cardboard box with wood acid eating away at the already fragile fabrics. Quilting these tops will preserve them.

I am very much against washing the tops before they are quilted because it is so risky. With many old fabrics in a top, washing can result in very uneven shrinkage of the fabrics that causes distortion that cannot be ironed out. It can also result in frayed seams. If you absolutely *must* wash a top before quilting, heavily baste the top to a washed sheet before hand washing. This will keep the seams encased, so less chance of fraying, and will provide support to the fabrics so they are less likely to dry distorted. But, in my opinion, it is much better to quilt the tops and bind them before washing. (Retro Clean is another possibility for washing vintage items.)

It is perfectly acceptable to machine quilt hand-sewn quilt tops. It does not destroy their value at all. In my opinion, it actually enhances their value (see Dunster's link). Above all, quilting a top preserves it for the future. The top is much more likely to actually get used or displayed after it has been quilted, and is much less likely to end up yet again in a cardboard box or paper bag at a church sale. If you are not confident with your current quilting skills, I would either practice to acquire the necessary skills or pay someone else to quilt the tops.

If you have the opportunity, you may want to consult a textile conservationist (check with local museums and historical societies). I think they will echo my opinion that these tops would be best preserved by quilting.