Document its history:
Who made it?
When was it made?
Was it purchased?
Was it given as a gift?
Was the material purchased, or were old clothes or remnants used?
What size is it?
What pattern is it?
Does the quilt have a story?
Write down what you discover and store it with the quilt. Use an archival pen and paper.
Dos:
Refold it every few months, so you don’t develop wear lines that stretch the cloth and thread. Clean it by hanging it outside on an overcast, breezy day to remove odors or light dust.
If necessary to wash it, wash it passively in a tub and lay it flat to dry.
Store your quilt on an unused bed out of sunlight and away from windows and heat sources. Alternatively, store it in a pillow case, a washed piece of unbleached muslin or an acid free box.
Don’ts:
Don’t store it in a cardboard box. Don’t store it in plastic.
Don’t dry clean it.
Don’t machine wash it.
Resources:
National Park Service’s online Quilt Discovery Experience Michigan State University’s
This is a family heirloom quilt. I know it was made in the 1940s by my maternal Grandma Sophia Klett Haupert and her daughter Margaret Haupert Carrol before she left Iowa to resettle in California after World War II. Her brother Charles Haupert had served in the Navy during WWII and asked his parents Peter and Sophia Haupert to allow him to take two of his sisters back to California with him, because they had more opportunities there than in Iowa. It came to me by way of my cousin Floyd Striegel (son of my mother’s (Louise Haupert Linder) sister Virginia Haupert Striegel, because he was executor of my aunt Margaret’s estate. He knew I was a quilter, Aunt Margaret’s goddaughter, and thought I would appreciate owning the quilt and would preserve it for the next generations.
