Washing Ye Olde Cottons

Before I do anything with the very old piece of 19th-century patchwork, I needed to give it a bath:

Upfront disclaimer: I don't recommend washing very old cottons, especially if it's a historically important piece. The fabric processes of 140 years ago were very different from ours, and the fabric can easily disintegrate and/or dyes can bleed even during gentle hand washing. If you need to clean an old piece, consult with a quilt restoration expert or antique textile cleaning service first.

My patchwork piece felt strong enough to withstand immersion, and although it had some red in it (notorious for dye-bleeding in any era) I thought I'd risk giving it a brief soak in cold water with a mild detergent.

And the results:

I think the bath brightened it up nicely.

Comments

nightsmusic said…

Even I can see it in the pictures. Looks wonderful. I know I've always been a bit leery of washing things like that, but if you don't take the chance, you're working with dirty fabric and sooner or later, you'll want it clean. Better before you do all that work on it than to quilt it and then wash it and have it fall apart.

May 19, 2020 at 7:59 AM

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