Hand agitating in the washer is a great idea! I also dry mine in the dryer, knowing that because I use cotton battings and unwashed cotton fabrics, I will get some of the old fashioned "puckery" look that I love!

For a flatter look, dry it flat.

I think that since it is such a lovely quilt, I would do just as you have said. I would reinforce the applique, add any quilting I wanted added and then wash. I know others have talked about how they wash their quilts but here is how I do mine. I throw it in the washer with Syntrapol and let it soak; I hand agitate the quilt (that means I go in every few minutes and swish or push the quilt up and down) then I spin the water out (twice) and fill it with clear water for a rinse(if you are finding a lot of bleeding, I might do two or three washes and then rinse) again, I don't let the machine do the agitation--I do it, then spin it twice and stick it in the dryer.

Good luck, Rita! And let us know how it works out!

Ok, I tried the cotton bud test and it did turn pink after vigorous rubbing. I think I am going to have to secure all the appliqué and re-quilt the whole thing before washing it. My feet are pink enough thanks Rosemary I use an automatic machine but I also have an American top-loader for bigger loads. Not sure whether I should try it in that or take it to the dry cleaners where they also have large washing machines apparently. But I guess I have a bit of work to do before then.

I hope your washing machine will be large enough for this otherwise it could be bath time and walking on it (pink feet anyone?) Also you could add some basting for this wash and then have a clean quilt add the extra quilting to (it would also make thread matching easier )
Pretty quilt by the way.

Great idea, Lorchen!

Thanks Lorchen, that's a great tip, I will try it and see what happens.

Rita

Rita, you can try and check before the whole quilt gets wet if the dark red behaves itself: Rub a wet cotton bud over it. If it turns pink you know that you'll need a handful of colour catchers and that other stuff. But I'd use it anyway. Good luck! The quilt is lovely!

Reetzbobeetz wrote:
Good luck Rita! Let us know how it comes out!

Margo, thanks for your prompt reply. Ok I won't dry clean it. I had thought about adding some more quilting - it would have to be machine as my arthritic left thumb makes hand-quilting too painful. Long-arm quilting here in Ireland is very expensive (a friend was quoted €100 for a baby quilt!) and a bit of an unknown quantity. I know about colour catchers as I use them all the time. The other I will look up and see if I can get it or an equivalent here in Ireland. Thanks again, Rita.

Rita, you got good advice about the dry-cleaning. It is NOT recommended for quilts.

If you are concerned about not enough quilting, can you go back and add some more? Or maybe have a long-armer add some quilting for you?
Your quilt is very pretty, and some added quilting could make it spectacular!

As for cleaning it, even with the questionable red fabric, I would wash it in a washing machine using a delicate cycle with lots of HOT water and Synthrapol and several color catchers. Lay it flat (on a bed?) to dry it, then "fluff" it in the dryer if necessary.

Here is info about Synthrapol: http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/2127-AA.shtml?lnav=chemicals.html
Your local quilt shop may carry it.

Here is info about color catchers: http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=73784&aid=338666&aparam=73784&scinit1=pla&scinit2={keyword}
Look for it in your super market or grocery store with laundry supplies.

Good luck!

Can somebody advise me please. My first quilt (of course it's a king-size one ) needs to be cleaned - badly. The problems are as follows: 1) the needle-turn applique is not very secure! 2) the quilting is not very good and spaced too far apart! and 3) the border I put on it is a solid deep cranberry red and I can't remember if I washed it before using it. The rest of the quilt is just a plain calico (cream coloured cotton). I talked to the dry cleaners about it and they said that they usually wash hand-made quilts because the chemicals in dry cleaning are not good for us and they don't recommend it because of the possibility of breathing them in at night. Well if that's the case why do we wear dry-cleaned clothes? I am worried about the red running into the rest of the quilt if I wash it in the bath. Has anybody ever dry-cleaned their hand-made/badly executed/heirloom quilt?