Vintage Quilts

August 26, 2022

Good afternoon from The Quilted Cow Studio.  Hope you are all doing well. Chloe and I have been super busy quilting, creating and finishing up projects and starting new ones. Today I want to talk about all those vintage quilt tops you have stored that need to be brought out and finished. There are many opinions on whether to machine quilt a vintage top, but I have done several now and while its not the traditional hand quilting method that would have been used back in the day they are now completed and absolutely beautiful.

Earlier this summer I received a vintage quilt top from a friend that her mother had made many years ago. It was in such rough shape when I received it I had my doubts on how it would turn out in the end. As with many vintage quilt tops it came with stains, uneven seams, lots of threads, etc. After many hours of fixing seams, trimming threads, pressing and squaring up I was able to get it loaded and have Chloe work her magic. Once quilted and off the frame I did a quick check to make sure it was square and then applied the binding to the quilt. At this point the quilt is completed and looks great and was sent back to the owner.  But what about all those stains?  I advised my friend to go to her local quilt shop and purchase a low phosphate soap to soak the quilt in along with color catchers. Below is the process she used along with pictures of the quilt from start to finish.  I hope this will inspire you all to get out those vintage quilt tops you have and have them completed so they can be handed down for many generations to enjoy.

Stain Removal Process

Wash and rinse quilt on delicate cycle. She used Woolite. Then put quilt in a plastic tub with Retro Clean for about 10 hours agitating quilt every two hours with gloved hands for a minute or two. She used 12 color catchers and stated that when the tub was emptied after soaking quilt the water was caramel colored.  Wash quilt a 2nd time on delicate cycle with 2nd rinse, be sure to put in the color catchers and dry it on delicate setting. I can’t emphasize enough how surprised I was to see how clean the quilt was after using this process. It looks fantastic!!! Feeling very privileged to have been entrusted with this project.

Feel free to give me a call if you have a vintage quilt top or other project I can help you with.

Note. This is the process that worked for my friend. Be sure to check with your local quilt expert to find the suitable solution for your quilt as not all quilts are made from the same type of fabric and the integrety of the fabric, thread, etc. will need to be checked.

Until next time.

Vintage Birdie Quilt