Quiltingboard Forums - Looking for some "how-to" help.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaseyC

The ties were hanging on a wall. The remaining quilts were folded and draped over wooden display stands. Well, Mom's dog always managed to brush against the quilts. The bottom 12 to 18 inches of each one is slightly soiled. If I spread them out I can see the difference in coloration. Since my last post, I have run the tie piece through my dyer using "DryEl". It improved the appearance somewhat, but not as clean as I would like. I think I'm stuck with taking it to a commercial dry clean place. I hope there is a way that they can "gently" clean it. As far as the other pieces go, I think I might try a good soak in Woolite with some hand agitation and then a partial dry in the dryer and then hanging them up to dry completely. Anyone see any problems with any of this? As usual, all suggestions are very welcome.

It is safer to use Synthrapol than Woolite. Woolite will not keep unset dye particles from settling into other fabrics; Synthrapol will. Chemical formulations of brand name products change over the years, as do finishes on fabrics; I would not trust that Woolite is as gentle on fabrics as it has been advertised.

Since this is the first time you are washing these quilts, you do not want to soak them. If there are any unset dye particles, soaking gives them a chance to migrate into other fabrics. You want to continuously hand agitate and then immediately spin out the water. Once a quilt has been washed several times with no "tinting" of the water or obvious bleeds, you can allow it to soak.

You never want to hang up a quilt to dry. Hanging a quilt -- especially one with water in it, even if the quilt is only damp -- greatly increases the stress put on the quilting stitches and on the fabrics. After partially drying in the dryer, it is best to "block" the quilt by laying flat on a large sheet, pinning, and placing a fan nearby to blow air across the surface.