ammorgan

My dogs came in after it rained and ran across the quilt top I was working on and left a few paw prints behind. I have one more strip to add for the inner border, then the whole outer border left to add. I was thinking I could finish the top then throw it all in the washer and deal with whatever strings come from the outer border, or finish the top and fold the raw edge of the border in and baste it and then wash it so I hopefully wouldn't have to deal with strings. Any suggestions?

Doggramma

How naughty. I'd finish it up and then wash. The paw prints should come out!

CRO

I would just wash after it was complete. Sew an 1/8th in. around the top before throwing in the wash which should help.

FabStripper

If it was mine I would finish it and quilt it then wash it. Muddy paws will come out.

Prism99

You definitely do not want to toss a quilt top (one that is not quilted) into the washing machine. It's not just strings from the border that you would have to deal with; some fabrics may fray so much that the seams become weakened. Also, unless you prewashed all of the fabrics, the quilt top can distort so much (because it has not yet been quilted to a batting) it can become a nightmare to try to get it to lie flat again. If you really have to wash the quilt top, I would baste it to muslin first to protect the seam allowances, wash in cold water on delicate, and then dry flat (because dryer heat can shrink some fabrics a lot).

Tartan

I would finish my top, stay stitch around the edges just inside 1/4 inch binding seam allowance. I would then take it to the bath tub, run lukewarm water in with my soap for mud and hand agaitate the quilt top until the muddy prints come out. I would then drain the tub. Fill it with fresh lukewarm water to rinse out the soap and then drain again. I would then fold the quikt top up and press out as much of the water as possible and then dry the top.
If the prints are COMPLETELY gone, I would put it into the dryer until it is just slightly damp and then spread out to completely dry. If there are still faint mud prints on the top, I would air dry on the line because heat from the dryer will set the stains.

NJ Quilter

This is what I do. I have muddy prints on my quilts all the time. They come out in the wash just fine. Likely by the time you are done handling the quilt - sewing; quilting; binding - you won't even know where the paw prints were.

Annaquilts

Finnish the quilt and then wash it.

Sandygirl

Brush out the paw prints. I vacuum our white berber carpet after the prints dry. No sense to do otherwise.

Sandy.

qwkslver

Have you tried rug cleaner? The kind you spray on, let drive and vacuum away? Just brush it off after it drives with a small brush. I have had good luck cleaning oopsies off my quilt tops and pillows with rug cleaner.