Here's a look at the vintage hexagon quilt blocks that Lyn sent me for her Make Do Memories Miniature Quilt Challenge. They are very old and the edges are not in very good condition. Plus they needed a good cleaning, so here's what I did...
Here they are fresh out of the package.
Some of the edges are so frayed that I don't know if I'll be able to salvage them. We'll see.
First I gave them a gentle bath in a bowl on the kitchen counter. I let them soak for a few hours in Oxyclean and warm water. The water was pretty gross when dumped it, so I guess this was a good thing to do. I just hope it doesn't do any long term damage to the fabric. I don't think it will though because it is all cotton and seems to be pretty sturdy, except some of the edges.
I rinsed them over and over again in cold water and spread them out on a clean towel to dry. They looked much better after their bath!
I did a little more work on them this morning, but no pictures yet! I think I might finish up my little piece before showing any more, so you'll just have to wait!
Happy Stitching!
Click here to return to HookedOnNeedles.com
Here they are fresh out of the package.
Some of the edges are so frayed that I don't know if I'll be able to salvage them. We'll see.
First I gave them a gentle bath in a bowl on the kitchen counter. I let them soak for a few hours in Oxyclean and warm water. The water was pretty gross when dumped it, so I guess this was a good thing to do. I just hope it doesn't do any long term damage to the fabric. I don't think it will though because it is all cotton and seems to be pretty sturdy, except some of the edges.
I rinsed them over and over again in cold water and spread them out on a clean towel to dry. They looked much better after their bath! I did a little more work on them this morning, but no pictures yet! I think I might finish up my little piece before showing any more, so you'll just have to wait!
Happy Stitching!
Click here to return to HookedOnNeedles.com
Labels: quilting, vintage quilt blocks
posted by Mary Grace McNamara on Wednesday, March 3, 2010
7 Comments:
This looks interesting. Can't wait to see what you do with it.
By
Karen M, At
March 4, 2010 at 8:15 AM
I have a lot of old blocks in various conditions. I'm afraid to soak them. I have used the oxyclean soak method for some other old things and discovered if it's a stamped piece it "dissolves" the print. Very pretty blocks.
By
Abby and Stephanie, At
March 4, 2010 at 9:42 AM
What visible difference in the appearence of those blocks. You can look at those blocks in wonder of the hands that hands that spent time in sewing them.
By
gail, At
March 4, 2010 at 9:46 AM
What a loovely project! Are these hand-stitched or machine-stitched? Do you know how old they are? Are any of the fabrics floursack prints?
Well, aren't I full of questions! Sorry to pepper you like that - I guess this project really piques my interest.
Thanks for sharing. I'll stay tuned.
WendyBee
By
WendyBee, At
March 4, 2010 at 3:30 PM
I was wondering, too, how old they are. Good job cleaning them up like that.
By
Pat, At
March 4, 2010 at 6:14 PM
I have a set of these blocks too - somewhere! Thanks for the tips on cleaning them. I need to find mine and get started on a project with them.
By
Sweet P, At
March 6, 2010 at 8:14 AM
I'm involved in the challenge also. I didn't even think about cleaning the blocks. I think I will cross my fingers and soak them tomorrow. My blocks look pretty ragged around the edges too. Mine are mostly black and look rather dull and "off". Maybe a little soak will brighten them up a bit.
By
Robin (RsIslandCrafts), At
April 14, 2010 at 8:07 PM
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