I always was mine on gentle with a mild soap, then I always lay my quilts on my bed to dry. I never put my quilts in the dryer. I flip it half way thru the day & let the other side dry. The heat from the dryer will shrink the blocks & in time will fade the blocks.

i do cold water gentle, with retayne. after the retayne, in a separate wash, again cold and and gentle, woolite or baking soda. when i dry, i dry all the way. i think hanging old quilts is harder on them than completely drying them.

How cool! I wash all my quilts on delicate and low tumble dry.

gentle cycle cold water and dry on a cool heat setting is how i would do it

I would also put a "color catch" in with it when you wash it.

The quilt will probably wash just fine....its the embroidery thread used for the siggies that I'm worried about! I would gently dip one in some water and check to see what happens. I might actually send this one to the dry cleaners and explain all about it so that they can clean it for you. I would also be sure to tell the giftee.. how to clean it for future info.

Its a cool quilt! I'd hate to see anything happen to it!

Editted to say...Duh...I posted then scrolled backwards and read Prism's post...I agree with her...maybe your washer is the way to go.?? You could talk to the cleaners about it...I have lots of faith in GOOD ones.

Use the color catchers made by shout, I throw all my tye dye t-shirts in with the rest of the wash and the color catcher sheet sucks up the dyes.

I would wash it very gently with Orvus soap and a color catcher or two. Then I'd tumble it in the dryer before laying it out flat on some towels. I wouldn't take it to the fry cleaners as their chemicals never come out.
After my MIL passed away, I took a quilt that I'd made her to the cleaners and insisted that they wash and dry it without using any dry cleaning chemicals. Well, when I got it back it stunk! They completely ignored my instructions. I've never been able to use it since.

Cris, I'd love to see a close-up pic of your avatar, it is so colorful!

Machine wash (front loader or top loader without agitator only) on gentle cycle.Use TWO of the Shout Color Catchers. Immediately put in dryer on lowest setting for 30 mintues, remove - re-arrange checking top for any fading,etc. then back in the dryer on low on automatic setting for damp dry. Finish drying flat - or draped over top of a bed or sofa...turning as needed. I inherited several quilts from the late 1800's and early 1900's and have used this method successfully on all of them. REMEMBER - fabric dyes back then were not as stable as they are now - but most importantly, those quilts were made to USE. Most have been washed, (wringer washers or outside tubs for the really early ones) and hung on the line to dry.......If you use gentle soap, cold water, gentle cycles, color catchers, and only damp dry you will be OK.