recent inheritance
 

I just received this quilt yesterday and am thrilled as my mother was working on this before she passed (25 years ago). It's been in storage since, in rather questionable methods as there are stains, dirt, and icky smells. This is a huge quilt, almost 8 foot square. It looks like she was in process of working on the quilting, but apparently was struggling as there are many puckers on the back and front. I would love to finish this quilt, but am more inclined to rip out all the quilting and start over, specially with a cotton batting. She has rolled the edges over and stitched down...maybe to secure? Can I wash first, or should I worry about the dirt and stains after completion? She did a great job of piecing the top and I want to be able to give it the finish it deserves.

I was given a top that my Mother-in-Law made and SIL got and she washed it as a top. Ruined! Now I've got to try to quilt it after puckered up. Gonna be a job. Actually, I have 3 more tops that are old and I'm not about to wash them before I finish them. Just sew them dirty and then wash them good after I quilt them.

Definitely rip it out and start it again. I fear you will regret it if you don't. And then clean it. And then post a picture. I can't wait to see it finished as it is beautiful. Lucky you to have received it! Good luck

I am with you, I would be inclined to take it apart and start over with the quilting. Since I am rather sensitive to smells (my husband swears I could put bears to shame with my sense of smell) I would try to clean it. Is it machine pieced or hand pieced? If it is machine pieced maybe if you baste it together, wash it on a delicate cycle or just soak in in a bathtub then let it flat dry or dry on delicate in a dryer. (My dryer has a delicate and even an air dry cycle. It also has a thing to put in the dryer that can put things on that you don't want to tumble.) You will have to iron it - but then I always iron my quilt tops before I make them into a sandwich anyway.

If it was mine, I would rip it out, spot clean stains, quilt, than wash. Or if it is machine pieced, rip out, run a basting stich around outside edge, pre treat stains and wash in cold, on gentle, before drying check make sure stains are gone. Good luck with it. Looks like you have a beautiful quit to remember your Mom by

It's going to take you awhile to quilt that and you want it to be a pleasant experience! I would rip the quilting out, gently hand wash and air dry, then quilt.

Another option is to spot clean it then put it in a low-heat dryer for a few minutes with a fabric softener to air it out and freshen it up before ripping it out and re-finishing it.

Either way, if you want it at it's best you should requilt it.

Several years ago, our dog got fleas. I was working on a quilt top in close proximity to him and I went nuts washing everything in site, including the quilt top. It came out perfectly. I don't remember if I used hot water (probably) or cold water. I know I had pre-washed the fabrics, however. I'm with the others. I would take apart and re quilt it and then wash it. However, if it smells really badly and is machine pieced, I would probably consider taking it apart and then washing it in cold water, cool drying cycle.

If it were mine, I'd take out the existing quilting, then soak (not wash, just soak, with no agitation) the top and backing to clean them. Soak in Orvis, spin out, soak in clear water, spin out, soak again in clear water, spin out. Air dry. Then I'd quilt it myself, possibly with a new batting, if that batting has odors. Since it's so large, it will be hard to pin baste well and not get puckers, so I think I'd have someone with a longarm thread baste it before quilting it myself, or else quilt it using a three rail frame to quilt it, so there will be no puckers anywhere.

I would definitely hand wash and line dry. Also I would take out the quilting and quilt it over. The top is beautiful, too wonderful not to complete.

I would do this

This is a beautiful quilt. Would rip it out and start over then laundry.

I would rip it out and re do it.

It is extremely risky to wash a quilt top that is not quilted. Fabrics can shrink at different rates and pieced edges can fray. It can result in a real mess.

Since this quilt is already partially quilted and the edges are covering the batting and sewn down, I would wash it before taking it apart. Before washing, however, I would run large basting stitches (by either hand or machine -- do not need to be neat!) in any open areas that are without quilting. This will help stabilize the top so fabrics can't shrink apart from the batting. Once quilted, the three layers become one and batting takes control of shrinkage. This means that no fabric is allowed to shrink more than the batting.

With a quilt that large, I would take it to the laundromat and use their largest front loader with Synthrapol (widely available on Amazon and in quilt stores that cater to dyers). I probably wouldn't use hot water, but rather cold. Even with cold, the Synthrapol should prevent any dye bleeds from settling into the fabric. I would partially dry in the laundromat dryer, then bring the quilt home and lay out on carpeting (or outside in the shade to protect from sunlight, on a flat sheet with another flat sheet on top to protect from birds flying overhead) to finish drying. Inside, aiming some fans on the quilt will speed the drying.

Only after all of that would I take the quilting stitches out and separate the layers.

Edit: One more thing. I would add about 1/4 cup of this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000TSO20W/
with the Synthrapol. This stuff is amazing in terms of soaking up "off" odors in laundry.

Do NOT wash...carefully rip out the quilting stitches. You could spot clean or simply vacuum (on low vacuum with a nylon stocking over the end of the tube). Do not hand wash or machine wash until it is requilted. If the batting is cotton I would recommend replacing it with something less apt to shred/lump than the old fashioned cotton batting. Looks like a beautiful quilt so remake it the best you possibly can so you can enjoy it for many years.

You would be taking an unwarranted risk if you washed this quilt in any way prior to its completion. It might not be pleasant to take it apart first. I would think that some of the odor would disappear if you aired it out by spreading it on a plastic drop cloth outside on a warm day. Be sure to cover it with a cloth sheet to protect it from fading from the sun. Only by taking it apart will you know about its inner construction. When you replace the batting and maybe even a different backing the quilt will be stable and will stand up to laundering. There are several products made to remove stains from quilts. I know that some people dry their quilts in a dryer but I prefer to dry them flat. Again I use the plastic drop cloth and lay the quilt flat. You have a treasure. Please don't take chances of ruining it. If you have a quilt museum in your area or know of an appraiser (like at a quilt show) seek out expert opinion.

PLEASE DON'T WASH IT. No matter how careful it will ravel and you will have problems. After quilting then give it a good washing.

Oh my! I remember those fabrics - I think I had most of them. Reminds me of my mom! Thanks for your picture!

I think this is what I would do. You surely want to wash it as soon as possible, and if it is basted at least a little, it should survive a delicte wash in a large front loader.

I would spray it with Febreeze and hang outside for a while, then rip out, requilt, bind, then wash it. Febreeze helps a lot with smells.

What a neat project. How bad does it smell and how much does it bother you?
My nose is sensitive, so I'd have to wash it first. Do you have grass you can lay it on to dry it?
I ripped apart a friends vintage baby quilt once. Reworked the squares, added sashing, borders, new batting and back and quilted it. I was scared to death to rip into it, but it turned out great and my friend loved it!
Jump on in there!

You certainly have a beautiful quilt to work with. Good luck with your venture. Thanks for sharing.

I am sure it will become a family treasure!!

a beautiful quilt

A beautiful quilt done in Mom's hand. I would not change it.

You want to have it lay smooth. Take the stitches out and do Mom proud.

You are sooo lucky! What a great gift you've been given. I would take it apart and see if the top can be washed on a super gentle cycle, then quilt it.

I would take the quilting out. You will never be pleased with the puckers. After removing the quilting, put the quilt outside in the fresh air. You may have to do it for several hours, and see if that will make the top so you can work with it. I have done it to a customer's quilt that needed repairs. It cleared the air and I was able to do the repairs. I would try this before washing and/or putting in the dryer. Good luck.

Beautiful quilt.

I would leave the quilting as is only because my Mom did it. But i am a little sentimental that way.

This is really tough. I would patiently take out all the quilting. Being that is a Broken Star, there are a lot of bias strips. The center star doesn't appear to be too far off but the outside diamonds section from the outside circle may be way off. You may want to draw a very accurate template of the size of the diamond and use that as a guide. You may want to try to do what ever it takes to get each diamond unit accurate otherwise the quilt will never lay flat. When I pieced this quilt for the then president of RJR fabric for a wedding present, that is what I did to make sure that each diamond unit was exactly the size of the template before I started put the diamonds together. I do think I have the peach calico with the hearts in case you need any. You may want to replace the darker solid unless you have some extra. I wish you the best of luck. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions. I used the book Template Free Stars by Jo Parrott.

I know this not what almost every one else has said --they would rip it out -- I couldn't do that. I see it as every stitch was a stitch made by my mother. Yep, there are flaws -- but they were put there by someone special and every time I saw one it would remind me of her, her love and her patience. Would I have those reminders and memories if I redid it?

I agree completely with this advice. It is very hard to quilt a top that has been washed.

just BEAUTIFUL

I agree with this completely. Fresh air and sunshine can do wonders and then go fro there. I think washing at this point is very risky. Good luck, it is beautiful.

I would hang it outside for a day -- out of the sunlight -- and let it air out, and you might spray it lightly with Febreeze, as well and let it dry outside. Clean air may reduce the smell and some of the dirt may blow away, too.

That looks a little like handquilting. If so, you may want to keep as much of it as you can, since she did it. If not, then yes, I'd take it out and begin again.

Beautiful quilt! And I know you'll finish her work with love and compassion.