Quilt Care GuidelinesWASHING:When you must wash your quilt, use a mild soap such as "Orvis Paste" or "Quilt Wash." These products may be purchased from a fabric shop specializing in quilting cottons, or from an on-line quilt shop. Use your washing machine as a vessel to hold water. When it is full of warm water, turn it off. Do not let the washer begin the agitation cycle. Place the soap and quilt in the machine and gently submerge the quilt. Use your hand to swish the quilt around and let it soak 10 or 15 minutes. Turn the dial to the spin cycle, and turn it on again to drain out the water. Repeat these steps, but do not add any soap this time. Rinse the quilt with the clean water, swishing with your hand. Spin to drain. Most quilts may be put in the dryer on a cool-warm cycle until about half dry. Then lay them out flat to completely dry. Keep your quilt out of direct sun light, as the 100 % cotton fabrics will fade. Do not iron your quilt, as the heat of the iron might damage your quilt, especially if your batting is polyester. STORAGE: Quilts should be stored in a cloth bag, such as a pillow case, and refolded occasionally. I like to make my storage bags out of the leftover fabric scraps from the quilt. This way I can easily identify the contents. Another suggestion is to make the bags from inexpensive muslin and stitch up quickly using a serger. For some of my rather large quilts I have used cotton drawstring bags intended for sleeping bag storage; these work great, too. For long-term storage, or for storage of a very special or antique quilt, following archiving procedures is recommended. |
