Storing Antique Quilts-Anyone Know How to Do This?

I brought back a couple of antique quilts I inherited about ten years ago and then left them in a suitcase and forgot about them.  Now, the suitcase is being used i realize I need to deal with them.  How is it best to store them? I thought about those suctiony bags but know someone who had damp problems with them which worries me.  I don't know why these were given to me to keep, everyone knows what I'm like.  Help me.

I'll ask my mom, The Quilt Lady.  Get back to you in a bit...

I'll ask my mom, The Quilt Lady.  Get back to you in a bit...

Thank you!  I'd ask my Mom but she'd be cross with me for leaving them in a suitcase for ten years.

You can get special paper...I am not sure what its called now..but you layer it between the quilt.  Its the same stuff you use to keep a wedding dress.

Then keep it in some type of container or fabric bag that is "breathable"..in the attic or somewhere warm..so damp doesn't attack it.

You can also purchase those little sillicone bags (like the ones you find inside when buying a new handbag or purse) to keep the damp away.

Contact a dry cleaner who also does wedding dress storage.  They'd probably know or do it for you (for a price, obviously).

How to store Quilts

Step1

Sandwich the quilt between two clean cotton sheets and some acid free paper then fold the trio accordion-style. Place it on a shelf or in a drawer, but never in a plastic bag or cardboard box. If using a cedar chest, line the chest with acid-free tissue paper to prevent direct contact with the wood's oils.

Step2

Air out the quilt once a year, but do it inside, as sunlight can fade vintage fabrics.

Step3

Spread a quilt over a guest bed and then top it with a cotton cover for protection is an easy but safe storage method if your houseguests are careful--and infrequent.

Step4

Choose a wall away from direct sunlight and hang a quilt from a rack to enjoy.

The best thing is to hang them in a controlled environment on acid free backing with low light.  But then you would probably be working at a musuem.  If you have a spare bedroom that doesn't get much light and is not too damp then you could put the quilts on the bed.  It will keep them unfolded and flat.

You want to keep them bug free, damp free, and acid free.  Ypou can get paper to put between the folds and you should refold them every so often to keep the material from getting brittle.

Hanging quilts, especially vintage ones, is not that easy so be careful if you do want to do this.

<side note> Mindy, if you look at my 365, you'll see a panel from a vintage quilt I have. Mine is in great condition so I am daring to use it on my bed these days. I love quilts and wish I had the patience to make them myself.

Hmm.  So far all the suggestions require space, which I just don't have. I might look into a dry cleaners though.  It'd probably be a better option.

Using them just isn't an option.  I have too many cats and kids and they're civil war quilts so they'er kinda, um, ugly. 

Thanks everybody.

In my days as a photo archivist, I spent a summer assisting a textile conservator to catalogue and re-house our collection of Civil-War era clothing - unfortunately, I've long since lost touch with her, or else I'd ask her expert advice! 

A drycleaner would know how to actually store the quilt - it's a similar process to storing a wedding dress - but you'd have to be very careful to communicate that they NOT try and clean it, as the chemicals would destroy it.  If you choose to do it yourself, the first thing you need to do is purchase some acid-free storage materials - I usually use Gaylord but I'm not sure they ship to the UK.  *checks*  It looks like they do, but it might be expensive! 

Here's a list of materials you might use:

https://www.gaylordmart.com/listing.asp?H=3&PCI=128113

Basically what you want to do is to avoid folding the quilt as much as possible - you're looking for a large, flat box rather than a smaller, taller one.  You'll want to spread the quilt out and determine where you want to fold the material over (hint: NOT anywhere that it's been folded during the past ten years!), and then line the inside of the crease with bunched/rolled up tissue paper.  This is really hard to describe - basically, you want to take a few sheets of tissue, gently bunch them in your hand so that you wind up with a springy loose cylinder of tissue, then place that on the quilt parallel to the edge you're folding over and then gently fold the edge/flap over so that the crease is rounded rather than flat.  Does that make any sense?     Repeat the same process for any other folds/creases, making sure that you layer tissue in between every layer of fabric - you don't want the fabric panels to touch.  Once you're done, lay the quilt in the box with more tissue so that it's completely separate to the sides of the box and hidden from view, then close up the box and keep it in a cool, dry area (I know, this is the UK, that might be a bit difficult - but under a bed should work pretty well).  You can add a few packets of dessicant (silica gel) before closing up the box, if you want - Gaylord sell those as well.

Actually, they appear to have a quilt preservation kit here:

http://www.gaylordmart.com/adblock.asp?abid=8611&sid=3EAB897D62DD4AE2977794F7640365

which has everything but the dessicant, as well as a guide (which probably explains the padding process much better than I just did).  So I'd try that!

If space is at a premium, you might want to consider this trick the textiles conservator at the museum I work at passed on.

Google around and find an archival supply company. You'll need acid free cardboard tubing,  muslin paper, and an acid free 'poster style' storage container (really cheap items, but sort of specialist). Wrap the tube with muslin paper, and then gently roll the quilt around the tube. Roll with another layer of paper, and then pop it in the poster tube and store it somewhere that doesn't get hotter than 65 degrees.

If you have enough space to fold up the quilt, then that's usually better. You really do need an acid free/archival quality storage box, though, and a bit of muslin paper or unbleached muslin to pad the folds.

I'm not so sure about plastic suction bags, but we generally advise people to never store old fabrics in plastic. Old fabrics need to 'breathe' a bit to avoid mildewing and deteriorating.
 

This might be blasphemous.. but why not sell them?  Antique quilts can be worth a bomb, and a real collector/museum will give them the care they need.

(I have some antique kimonos stored fairly carefully in a suitcase.. but I've just noticed that the zipper has rusted/molded shut.  Too scared to cut it open and find out what's happened inside.  It's a big suitcase of guilt at the moment..)

Thanks everybody. 

It's a big suitcase of guilt at the moment..)

This is exactly how I feel.

I think I agree with maderia.

Do you WANT them? Do your girls want them? If not, sell them and divvy up the proceeds between the girls. Why go through all the hassle if you aren't going to enjoy them.

They were given to you. They are yours to do with as you see fit.

Unload that guilt!