How to clean an antique woolen quilt/shawl?
 

I was just given a very old, (1840s,) woolen shawl with wool patchwork on it. It is stiff and dirty and has not been cared for well, but it's not in awful shape, none the less. How do I clean it? Any tips?

Thanks
~ C

Try Woolite….
https://www.chabad.org/library/artic...led-tallit.htm

I should add...I am from an area of the country where we don't use wool. Just too dang hot, so I have no idea other than this site I found on the internet.

I would totally wash by hand soak it gently in woolite, rinse it gently by hand and hang it over a drying rack to dry it. I think I would avoid sunlight as it could sunbleach it. Hope this helps. I am sure others will have other ideas.

I would gently wash by hand with Woolite, drain the water and fill with rinse water, squeeze out most of the water, wrap in a bath towel and squeeze some more and then lay it on a towel on a bed or some place it won't be disturbed, straighten and pat in place and let it dry. I've done that. Sharonve

Another hand washer here, in the bathtub with warm water and Woolite since I don't have a nice large laundry sink. Soak for a bit first, making sure everything gets thoroughly soaked. Some people swear by Orvus.

If you have one of those round laundry baskets with the holes in them (or get one at the dollar store), you can put the shawl in there and basically use it as an agitator drum. Lift out of the water in the basket, swirl around, etc. less pull on the fabric.

Rinse a bit in running water, then do a final soak in warm water making sure all the soap residue is out, that's often what makes old wool stiff. Squeeze the heck out of it, I get in the basket and do the grape stomping technique!. Do a final roll and press in a beach towel, you can help make the correct shape. If there is no overlap with the towel, put down a second one (basically a quilt of towel shawl towel). Then if you have one of those wood drying racks, this would be a good time to use it, you want plenty of support and plenty of airflow. I had an unused refrigerator rack that fit nicely over my bathtub and could dry things that way. Make sure it is completely and totally dry, maybe even air fluff in the drier a bit if everything seems stable.

this product has been mentioned here and on other forums as being very good on antique quilts. wool would require cold water though.

I agree ice cold water and a gentle soap of some kind. Ivory or Palmolive? I tried the woolite once and the colors ran like crazy on an old item.

The reason I say warm water is because we aren't just cleaning the wool, we need to remove the residue of previous decades on the wool. Warm and not hot. Rinse on cool. Wool fibers do not react like cotton, they shrink severely on hot (some in the wash and tons in the dryer) and while knitting can often be blocked back out, the weave doesn't easily release. But that makes washed wool pretty lovely to work with as well. In a top of this age it is entirely possible that the dyes were home made (look if it appears to be machine made or homespun) or otherwise not set well but most dyes were used because they were stable -- still things were not washed as they are now. When they were washed it was typically pretty harsh treatment. Think tubs and paddles and rivers and rocks...

Although I do recommend squishing and stomping, no wringing or twisting the fabric. Don't pick up by a corner with the heavy drape into the water. Be firm but gentle :p

I love the idea of putting the piece in a laundry basket to minimize the strain of pulling on wet, heavy strands. That's a great idea.

I worked at a knit shop and we didn’t recommend Woolite for woolens for those very reasons. Try baby shampoo. Also, wool doesn’t like too hot or too cold water. Lukewarm is best and soak with little or no agitation. And the laundry basket is a good idea for lifting so it doesn’t stretch.