Sandra-P

A friend asked me today to finish a quilt top her mother did about 40 years ago. She showed it to me today and it is all hand pieced. There are some kind of stains in it, not terrible but it will need cleaned. I told her that there are those that will hand quilt it for her but he doesn't have the money for that. I dont want to quilt it on machine, I am not good enough to do that so I suggested that I tie it. I will use muslin for the backing, as it will go with the rest of the blocks. Her mother died almost 30 years ago, this has been sitting in a bag in a drawer and if I dont finish it then it will just sit there. My questions are, do I soak it before putting the batting and back on it? I really dont know what the stains are and washed my hands when I got home. I cant imagine working on it dirty. Also I have never tied a quillt, are there videos out there and also what do I use? I am doing this because I feel honored to be able to finish up something another quilter was unable to finish.

Tartan

If it is hand sewn, machine quilting will help stabilize it. Watch some of Linda Taylor's videos on YouTube as she quilts a lot of antique tops.

KalamaQuilts

tying is a good option too, perhaps you can both sit together and do it.
What you have to remember is they really need to be only two or three inches apart. I've seen some (and repaired some) that just tied each corner. There is a Whole lot of shifting that goes on in a tied quilt, in use and in laundering.

be sure to use square knots. I personal favorite is DMC balls, either #8 or #5.doubled.

quiltingshorttimer

I think most will tell you not to wash that top, but I had an antique one that frankly I didn't want to put on my LA dirty, so I stitched around the outside edges and soaked (NO agitation!) in the washer tub (I do not have a front load) using Restoration. I just followed the directions and did not spin it out. Be VERY careful getting it out of the tub as stitches can pull due to weight or if the fabric is not strong. I laid it out on a sheet of plastic with a fan blowing over it to dry.

If you are worried about the top falling apart by getting it wet, you can put into a laundry basket and then soak the basket and the top in the bathtub, using the basket to pull the wet top out . I machine quilted mine as I wanted it to be more stable than tying or hand quilting (at least mine!) would be.

illinois

I'm somewhat of a "purist" that, if it was hand pieced, it should be hand quilted--or tied. What would the original maker have done with it? If I were doing this and didn't want to work with it as is, I'd do as quiltingshorttimer suggested using no agitation with the washer. Essentially, you are soaking the top clean, can "agitate" it a bit with your hands and then be able to spin the water out of it. All of this being said, it would be best to stabilize this top by quilting or tying first and then doing the laundry of it. Some of those older fabrics won't take much "mistreatment" or are so loosely woven they will come apart in the process. I have rescued several old tops and it's fun to take another's work in hand and notice the skills and fabrics used in the creating of that piece. Also being happy that you saved it from whatever fate was going to come its way!

EmiliasNana

Try Retro Clean once the quilt is complete. It worked wonders on an antique dresser scarf. The colors popped and the crocheted edging turned out to be a pale blue, compared to the smoke soaked gold when I bought it.

sewbizgirl

Would love to see a picture of the top....

SusieQOH

I love RetroClean and use it all the time. It sounds like it's really dirty if you don't want to work on it until it cleans up.
But I have to ask- are they stains here and there or allover dirty? If just stains I would tie it first, then wash.
If you wash first I would soak it in Retroclean, then dry and tie it. Be sure to use a square knot and tie at close intervals.

Jingle

I vote for the hand quilting. I don't like to see quilts tied. Just a bug a boo for me.

mjkgquilt

I hand tied a log cabin quilt when my sewing machine was not cooperating. Use DMC embroidery floss because of all the thread colors available. The quilt has been used almost daily and still looks as new as the day I gifted it. Tied it close because it was easy to do and I knew the quilt would get a lot of use.