Itchy quilt
 

I have inherited two quilts, I"m guessing about 50 yrs old if not older. I had no idea what to do with them, but they are both in need of repairs. In the meantime, it's cold so I've been sleeping under one of them and all of a sudden my legs have bites on them and it itches when I get into bed. So I removed the quilt and the itching and bites have stopped, but I'm wondering what in the world it could have been. It's obviously the quilt, and it couldn't be wool itching (I don't know what the fabric is) because there was a sheet and another blanket between me and the quilt.

Any ideas what the problem could be, and more importantly, how to solve it? The quilts were made by my stepmother's grandmother, and I hate to get rid of them, just because of my love of quilts - I never knew the woman. But these quilts are in very bad shape and I'm afraid to launder them...

Any ideas?

would dry cleaning help. I don't know if that would keep them in better shape than a washing would. you could always just lay them in a tub and press out the water by hand and see if that helps. sounds like it's fleas or something. let us know when you figure it out.

If it is fleas or bedbugs, some of them could have taken up residence in your bed by now.

Can you post photos of the quilts?

Unless there are a lot of large holes where the batting could come out, I would risk washing the quilts individually in a top-loading washing machine. Just make ***certain*** to stop the machine before it agitates. Hand agitate instead (you can use a broomstick to push down on the quilt), and advance the machine to the spin cycle after both wash and rinse cycles. I would use extra cycles too. Any mild laundry detergent will be okay. I just wouldn't use too much of it at one time. I would maybe do two wash cycles with a little detergent in each one, and then rinse several times too.

To dry, lay on a large clean bedsheet -- outside is fine as long as it is on grass and in the shade (sunlight is hard on fabrics). Cover with another sheet to keep sunlight and bird droppings off the quilt while it dries.

It's possible that something other than critters irritated your legs, but the fact that it looks like bites is not good.

My first thought is bedbugs.

If it's bedbugs - need to find a way to get them into a very hot environment - at least 140 degrees or so - for about 3 hours I think. That's what we do when the nasty critters show up in apartments.

Oh Wow, Bedbugs are the first thing I thought of. I hope not!

One of my quilt collector acquaintances put all of her newly acquired quilts in one of her freezers. That way there will be no critter contamination. You might want to give it a try. You could put them in plastic bags in the garage til you have room in your - or a friend's - freezer.

My first thought was bedbugs as well. Fleas a good second. I would agree with Prism99 with the washing process if they are not too badly damaged. If you can't manage agitating by hand, try using the delicate cycle on your machine.

Here is a check for fleas ......get a shallow dish put some water in it with some dish soap [a little more than what you would wash dishes with but not what the kids blow bubbles with ] put a small light over the dish turn out all the lights .............the fleas will jump for the light and land in the soapy water and not be able to get out ......over night is enough to se how many of those pesky critters you have

Being a teacher, I have learned to identify bedbug bites. Their bites are three in a row...breakfast, lunch and dinner. If your bites are three in a row, they are bedbug bites. Call your exterminator immediately. When you vacuum, throw out the bag sealed in a plastic bag as soon as you finish vacuuming.

If you lived in a cold climate all you would have to do is put them outside now ! I live in Iowa and it is below 0 here now.

yep, Dr. Oz showed the 'breakfast, lunch, dinner' bites on his show ... very informative. Sure hope it isn't bed bugs!

My grandmother, 'way back in the 60's used old fiberglass curtains as batting in a couple quilts (waste not want not).
We had to get rid of them because of the itching. Maybe that's the problem.

I forgot about that stuff! I wonder if that could be it because she said the itching stopped when she removed the quilts.

Another thought to add, a friend of mine used to work at a sewing factory making mass productions of clothing. She began to itch,raised areas on skin,ect. The doctor determined it was a form of mites that love fabric.I've kept that in mind ever since,and wash all new clothes,sheets,ect . as soon as I got home shopping.I try to wash all my fabric that goes into my stash as soon as I get home from fabric store, but tend to be too lazy majority of the time.LOL! I am probably sitting as I am typing this in mite city right now.LOL! yep computer is in my quilting room.Oh geesh, wish I hadn't thought of that..

.meant to add that this all fabric, not only new.

What about steam cleaning it? Don't know whether that would kill anything in it. Maybe an animal was using it for a bed at some point

Don't have any suggestions - just wanted to say I learned a lot about testing for fleas and identifying bedbug bites and how to get rid of them. Just never know what you will learn on the board!

What about wool?

When I taught, head lice were a problem from time to time. Parents were instructed to put all bedding and pillows in plastic bags, and leave it that way for two weeks. then wash the bedding. Mattresses were to be placed in the sun. Not saying your quilt has head lice, but saying to contain whatever it is and give yourself time to figure out what is causing the problem. Good luck!

I happened to help a friend whose 95 year old mother-in-law's apartment got infested with bedbugs (came from someone else's apartment down the hall) She could not see them because of macular degeneration. The pest people who cleaned the apartment told us to put our clothes in the dryer to kill the little varmits. They also recommended the freezer as well but it takes several days. Heat kills them quicker. I don't know why it wouldn't work for fleas as well. Hope Bedbugs is not the problem.