Weeks went by before I took the quilts out of the plastic bags I stuffed them in for their ride home. It wasn’t until I enlisted the help of Sabrina Thompson that I found out how to clean and store my quilts.
I have known Sabrina for several years. She works at the Bass Lake Conference center, across the lake from my home, and we are taking a beekeeping course together. She is one of the best southern food historians around and come-to-find out a darn good quilt lady as well.
Sabrina pointed out that my quilts are depression era quilts. She thinks they are made from flour and feed sacks. At one time farmers ordered very large quantities of feed for their animals and big bags of flour for cooking. I remember that my Mother making pillow cases out of flour sacks when I was a child.
Sabrina identified several familiar quilt patterns among my bunch: Crown of Thorns, Bowtie and Pinwheel. There was one log cabin quilt with the traditionally “turkey red” chimney square in the middle. Another one of the quilts has a small amount of fabric with red and white stars and stripes. Her best guess is that the patriotic flour sacks that went into this quilt were made around during World War II.
Here is Sabrina Thompson’s recipe for cleaning an old cotton handmade quilt.
To clean one quilt, use 1 quart of buttermilk and ¼ cup lemon juice (not from concentrate) per gallon of water. Soak quilt in above solution. This can be done one of several ways:
1. The best way to wash a quilt is in the bathtub. Put down a sheet, put down the quilt, and put another sheet over quilt. Fill tub with the above mixture. Agitate the quilt with your hands. Change the water several times if needed. Use the sheets to lift and move the wet quilt.
2. If your quilt is in pretty good shape and you have a gentle cycle on your washing machine you can TRY using the delicate cycle with the above mixture. If your washer does not have a delicate cycle you can hand-wash using your washing machine tub. Fill the washer with the mixture of water, buttermilk, and lemon juice. When your washer is TURNED OFF, put your hands into the wash water to agitate the quilt around the washer tub. Sabrina cautions against using the spin cycle of your washer; it is a hard on the quilt batting and wet quilt threads. She suggests that you try letting the washer start to spin dry, stop the cycle, and repeat a couple of times.
Do not put your old quilts in a clothes dryer or on a clothes line. Hanging a wet quilt will stretch the threads. On a sunny day, place quilt outside flat on a clean bed sheet, cover with another clean sheet. This keeps the bottom and the top clean. It is best to turn the drying quilt every few hours. If you suspect your quilt may leak batting from a hole in the quilt, before you wash it, sew on a piece of tulle netting around the shabby area.
The best place for a quilt is on a bed. If you fold and store it, Sabrina suggests putting tissue paper between layers. The quilt should be folded in a different pattern every six months. Whether displayed on a bed or stored, quilts should not be exposed to direct sunlight.
The buttermilk and lemon juice really does make the color pop, but you better wait until a spell of warm days for quilt drying. It takes a long time for a heavy wet quilt to dry. One thing I will add; make a quilt log. After Sabrina left I wrote down the history and story of each quilt. I then made a log of the day each quilt was washed and refolded. I am sure future generations will be glad to know all about Mom/Aunt Sandra’s quilts.