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  #1  
Old 11/02/06, 12:02 PM
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Idaho
Posts: 1,287
quilt storage question

If I wrap a handmade, clean quilt up in unbleached muslin and then place it in one of those plastic zippered blanket bags...leaving a couple of inches unzipped for air....and then put that in a plastic tote up in an attic... will that be 'safe' for the quilt?? I want to do this right so I don't ruin the twin quilt my mother made for my son when he was tiny. Thanks for any tips or advice.
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  #2  
Old 11/02/06, 12:43 PM
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Maine
Posts: 3,622
I've always been told not to put anything of value in plastic. I do know that to properly store a quilt, you should lay a piece of acid-free tissue or fabric on top and roll it to prevent permanent creasing. Taking it out and rerolling it every once in a while is recommended as well.
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  #3  
Old 11/02/06, 12:57 PM
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Evergreen, CO
Posts: 1,187
I'm not certain if the right way either, but don't store it in a "cedar/ wood chest". Oils from the wood soak into the fabric.

I see those cases all the time on Antiques roadshow, but I'm afraid all I picked up on stores is:

Acid free paper, etc
No wood
No Sunlight

Good luck!
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  #4  
Old 11/03/06, 12:38 PM
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Missouri
Posts: 4,440
The new Quilters Newsletter mag shows a way to fold a quilt on the bias which doesn't leave crease marks which can be permanent. Many people store quilts between their mattresses so they are flat. I'd be awful wary about storing anything in an attic long term d/t possibility of mice. They love any fabric for making nests and I'd sure hate to see something ruined that I cherished. I have stored small quilts rolled and placed in cotton pillowcase and sewed the end shut. DEE
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  #5  
Old 11/03/06, 01:53 PM
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: N.E. OK
Posts: 2,292
Attic storage is HOT HOT HOT in the summer & COLD COLD COLD in the winter. They also have silverfish, spiders, other insects. If you value what you are storing NEVER place it in an attic. Wood will split, crack and fade, Luggage does the same. If you love it use it or get rid of it so someone else can love it, but storing things in an attic is "stuff abuse".

My parents stored lots of things in their attic. Things they "saved" for me. Things that had bleonged to ansestors. My Sis and I cleaned out the attic a few years ago and Nothing was in good shape. Mom spent hundred of hrs. on a doll house, but years in an Attic had faded it and dried out the wood and glue. i was all but ruined. It was a shame. I say all this just to warn you, not bash. I learned the hard way how to store things.

Textiles, papper leather and just about everything else except metal and glass should be stored where the temp/ himidity is more or less regulated.

Quilts stored in plastic will get molded and stain. There are special boxes (like for a wedding dress) that would be better for quilts. I am thinking this is a good/heirloom quilt? Quilts like to be used. They also don't do well just hung over a rail and never moved. The quilt can be permantly creases by doing that.

A Restorationist should be able to give more ideas on how to pack it so there are no creases and protection form silverfish and other bugs.
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  #6  
Old 11/03/06, 05:49 PM
Alice In TX/MO's Avatar
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Texas Coastal Bend/S. Missouri
Posts: 30,490
Don't store anything you want to keep long term in an attic.

Get acid free storage boxes and paper. Put them in the boxes in a closet in your house.

Or layer them on beds all over the house. Rotate them now and again.
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  #7  
Old 11/03/06, 07:25 PM
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Idaho
Posts: 1,287
I have a tiny house and tiny storage spaces available...but I want to keep this handmade quilt in good shape. Maybe I'd better put it between a mattress like Mutti suggested. Thanks everyone! You may have 'saved a quilt'!
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