Airwick156

I have a question or probably two.
My Aunt has several Quilt tops that are not completed that her mom (my grandma) was working on prior to grandma passing away. The quilt tops and peices have been in boxes since at least 1996. My aunt was digging through one of the boxes and she says that they have spots on some of them, she doesnt know if it is mold or what what it is. She is going to send them to me to check out and to finish. How should they be washed? I know that one of them is a Sun Bonnet Sue, One is a double wedding ring and the other one is a hexagon basket of some sort, not sure what any of them look like. As she is in Southern California and I am in Southern Oregon. Please let me know soon so that I can tell her before she washes them wrong. Thanks so very much. Happy Quilting.

amma

I would not attempt to wash them until they are finished. Batting can shift, seams come undone, finished quilts wash up much nicer. :D:D:D

Airwick156

Okay thank you. I really don't have a clue when they were originally made. But I do know that they were all made prior to 1996. :) I can't wait to see them. :)

morelcabin

I too, would be sure to finish them before I attempted washing. If they are molded, I wouldn't bother...I have never found anything that removes mold stains...and if anyone else has, I would sure like to know!

Airwick156

Im hoping that it isnt mold. What do you do if maybe they are just water stained? Is there something I could do for that?

morelcabin

Definitely you can get water stains out with a borax soak.

Airwick156

Oh okay Thanks you so very much I am really hoping that it is water stains. Crossing my fingers, toes, eyes, legs, arms. LOLOL

Prism99

If they are quilt tops without batting or backing, and really need to be washed before finishing, then the safest way to wash them is to first baste the top to a foundation layer of muslin and then hand wash. Unfinished tops can be ruined by washing if they are not first basted to a foundation, since all the seams can fray and the pieces can become distorted.

If these tops were stored in a cardboard box, it's possible that some of the staining may be due to acid from the box eating into the fabric. All wood products (including tissue paper) are acidic unless specially treated to make them archival safe.

Probably the safest product to clean them with is Retro Clean:
http://www.retroclean.com/q&a.html
I have not used this product myself, but several people posted about it here.

If your aunt does not know how to baste a top to a foundation, she might need to mail the tops to you so you can do that for her. I would not attempt to wash a top any other way.

For cut-out pieces, I would soak them in Retro Clean and then starch them before trying to put them together.

Cyn

100% ditto

JCquilts

I agree, dont wash until they are quilted. Once that is done, if the fabrics are stable, you can soak them in Oxi Clean.

Oxi Clean will take out the yellowing and most other age stains.
Mold will probably not come out, but the Oxi Clean will help to lighten the stains a little.

When I say soak, I mean soak. At least overnight and maybe even longer, but it will eventually remove the stains.

That said, You must be sure that the fabric is stable and colorfast. Post a picture of your tops and we can give you better advice.