When I was a curator for an historical
museum, I had a group of girl scouts who needed a project for their
badges. They were 12 and 13 years old. We very carefully took the
quilt from their displays (all 123 of them) and had a plan.
I used white bed sheets to put on the
board room tables, laid out one quilt per table and gave all of the
girls a natural bristle, VERY soft, paint brush and an xtra soft
toothbrush. Small strokes, 4 girls per quilt. It was amazing what was
on the sheets underneath and the fly-away gunk on the floor from
those poor quilts. They had been displayed for Years the same way, no
cleaning and in a small room facing West, 7 windows on them and brick
walls!! YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!! After they were cleaned this way, we
refolded and redisplayed in a better, darker room. It took about 3
months and they had 'history lessons and stories' throughout...I had
the Best time with those girls!
Not only did they learn something and
got their badges, they brought the whole troop in for a Program on
what they did, how and why, etc...along with some of the stories we
came up with !
If you're concerned about cleaning the
quilts or quilt blocks...check the fabric. If it's a quilt top and
not sandwiched and quilted yet, the best and safest way to give it a
little clean is to hang it outside in a good stiff breeze, put in the
dryer in a pillow case on 'air' only. Otherwise, wait until it's
quilted. IF it still absolutely NEEDS to be cleaned, take special
pains and time to do it right or you might end up with shreds of its
former self.
I've filled the washer with cold water
and Orvus (cleaning solution used for quilts) . I don't use chemical
detergents on Any quilt, new or old. Put the quilt into the full tub
and let it soak for a bit with NO agitation. Now for the hard
part....take the quilt out, dripping wet, try to gently wring it out
and lay it flat outside, on a porch rail (being careful not to put
too much strain on the seams) and let it air dry.
If it's just dusty and/or with a few
stains, shake it out, put it on the line for the wind to 'dust' it
out and the stains??? Use pantyhose on your vacuum attachment (cut
out the toe from pantyhose to fit over the attachment). Sometimes
it's just better to leave those stains in. That's the 'curator' in
me. The stains add to the character and history of the quilt. If it's
one of those OCD things and you HAVE to get those stains out, be Very
careful. A tiny dab of Dawn on a q-tip, dabbing (NOT wiping) with a
wet cloth, lemon juice. But above all...do NOT take to a dry cleaner.
NO! The chemicals are way too harsh for new Or older quilts.
Now, here's a good vid on how to clean
a new quilt, lots of good tips in this video;
