Not my area of expertise, but I’m curious
Thursday January 20th 2022, 9:49 pm
Filed under: Non-Knitting

So I have a question about quilting, after seeing this gorgeous work of art (a brighter picture of it is here.)How much can you trust the colorfastness of the fabrics over time? Does it depend on the brand at all? Do you have to keep it out of direct sunlight? Under glass while on display to cut out the UV?

How do you give such a thing the preservation effort it needs? Or does it?


6 Comments so far
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That’s beautiful. Blue is the most transient color, so you would want to keep it out of direct sunlight. You want it to be able to breathe, so most people mount them to a board along the top (or an entire frame), and just let them hang. Occasionally vacuuming with gentle handheld vacuum will keep dust from settling. Quilts like this will be 100 percent cotton, so they can be gently washed and allowed to dry with support. If you want more info, you might contact San Jose Museum of Quilts.

Comment by Anne 01.21.22 @ 2:21 am

I have no info, but just have to say how beautiful that is. And so cleverly done!

Comment by ccr in MA 01.21.22 @ 7:04 am

Also ok to put dry quilt in dryer )no heat) to gently beat out dust.

Comment by Beverly Wells 01.21.22 @ 8:27 am

You can treat a quilt much as you would a hand knit precious wool item if dirty.
Fill tub with warm water and gentle soap. Fan fold quilt and let it sink into water. After a bit of a soak, pull the plug and let it drain. Press down to get out excess water. Refill tub with clean water to rinse. Then drain the same way. Press again. Support when lifting out of tub. Lay out to dry, pulling gently to flatten and shape.
Regular vacuuming is your best bet.

Comment by Chris+S+in+Canada 01.21.22 @ 11:04 am

Truly a work of art.

Comment by Sharon Stanger 01.21.22 @ 12:36 pm

I’ve been quilting for over 30 years and have access to several of my quilts. They definitely fade in light, faster in direct sunlight, but still over time in a bright room, they fade. As far as washing, gentle soap, lukewarm water, hand washing generally works pretty well. I’ve had the dye run in the thread over time (I was showing them to a class of fourth grade kids and one of them asked why there was pink on the back of my Christmas quilt. Yikes!)

Comment by Deb G. 01.22.22 @ 10:52 am



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