Smithsonian magazine on topic

The quilts we have were all made by Mom and me, and we have them folded up and stored in cotton cases in the closet.

I do keep much of my XS stash in plastic containers, although I do have one cardboard moving box full of zipper bags of fabric.

Store vinyl and tapes vertically; CDs and DVDs horizontally.

(just read that little sidebar in the Oct 2005 Smithsonian myself)

(lower left corner of p 42)

Wow! Talk about antiques! That's one for the Roadshow!

Sue

Hi, I'm an occasional lurker and quilter.

IMHO - You should definitely NOT store quilts (or any textiles for that matter) in airtight plastic containers for any prolonged period - unless you can guarantee that the air is moisture free and will not promote mould. In a normal home environment that is not possible. I know all those neat plastic tubs are tempting but they can send textiles musty, then mouldy, then rotten. Just put a quilt in one and put it in the back seat of a car on a warm (not hot) day for about 30 minutes and check out the amount of condensation on the box.

Optimum for storing quilts is actually rolled or flat to avoid wear on fold lines. If you have an old large tube roll the quilt around it protected by some acid free tissue paper. Then wrap the roll in a sheet or similar. If you are lucky enough to have a very dry house under the bed is a good place to store the rolls, or on top of freestanding wardrobes. If this is not possible you can buy archive boxes and acid free tissue paper. In fact I seem to remember the Smithsonian used to sell them years ago.

All quilts should be aired flat regularly, and if boxed they should be refolded on different lines to avoid uneven wear.

If all this seems too much smaller quilts will store well in a pillow case in a normal blanket/sheet storage environment, but if you want them to look good they will still need to be aired and refolded regularly - say 3-4 times a year. For larger quilts you can make a bigger drawstring bag for storage. Try to minimise the number of folds though.

One of the best ways to keep a quilt is actually on a bed. If you have a spare room put the quilt on the bed where it can be seen. Just avoid direct UV light.

It all comes down to how much you want to preserve the quilt. These steps are only needed for "precious" quilts that are to be preserved for centuries or more without museum conditions. If you want to pass a quilt on to the next generation then normal use will produce some fading but with sensible care the quilt will outlast the maker.

My best advics would be - ring your local Quilt Guild or Group and ask then for some guidelines or a book reference.

8-tracks are tapes, a form of cassette tape (as opposed to open reel), so I'd think vertically, though the item didn't mention 8-tracks. Maybe email Smithsonian?

I've always stored my vinyl vertically.

Then perhaps you should read the entire book the Smithsonian item was discussing. Co-author Don Williams is a Smithsonian furniture conservator; the book is _Saving Stuff_, published by Simon and Schuster/Fireside. Personally, I'll give him more credence than I will a self-confessed "occasional lurker and quilter."

Just exactly what does he say about saving quilts? I remember the fuss made at the Smithsonian about saving Old Glory and that it's in a special case, with filtered and controlled air, and only let out for a few minutes a day.

I know that when the place I worked at established a small museum of old stuff in Israel we got all sorts of information from the Metropolitan on how to store and display fabrics properly. At that time I wasn't particularly interested in the details, but now it sounds like something I would love to know more about.

I'm definitely going to look for that book. It sounds like something I would love to have on a shelf to be looked at whenever the opportunity arose.

Lucille

My apologies for the offence I have obviously caused you. I was simply responding to the comments of another, and in no way meant to imply that my opinion was better than anyone else's. I was careful to preface my comments with "IMHO", and did not make any disparaging comments about this book or the author.

This is not a quilting group and I thought that - since the issue had been raised - members might be interested in what quilters round the world generally believe to be acceptable storage methods.

I am sorry you found my comments unacceptable and can assure you it will not happen again. I will endeavour to restrict my activities to other groups where comments offered in the hope of being helpful are responded to more tolerantly.

I don't see any need for you to apologize and personally I found your comments useful. If I remember correctly I've read things that said exactly what you said about storing old quilts.

I haven't read the book by Don Williams so I can't comment on that, but I do remember a little about the museum things we needed to store and I know that no plastic was used anywhere near the garments. They were put in special, airtight glass cases, with climate control gizmos. That was on the advice of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Lucille

I would agree. Most articles I have read on textile conservation do not recommend storing textiles in plastic. It beats a cedar chest, though. Perhaps the recommendation was based on what they figured the average person could/would do, rather than what someone who was willing to spend the extra money and effort to do something more along the lines of what a museum would do (well, something between plastic boxes and sealed glass cases filled with inert gasses ;-) ).

Best wishes, Ericka

Why are cedar chests bad?

My dad always stores his open reels so that the reel stands vertical (which has the actual tape horizontal), his CDs in a jukebox carousel player that keeps them vertical and DVDs vertical in their cases on a shelf. I store my cassettes so that the case is horizontal (making the tape strip vertical), my CDs and DVDs in cases on shelves. We both store vinyl standing on end and snug in the cabinet so they don't lean.

Oh dear! I need some sleep. I read your last comment and immediately thought most of the gasses around here come from what we ert and are, therefore, outert gasses instead of inert gasses. Don't know if that would be any good for fabric storage either but I wouldn't be tempted to ever open the box in the future to find out. Bet someone would give a research grant for it though...

BTW, why does Merriam-Webster > I would agree. Most articles I have read on

It also deppends on the climate, and one`s economic and storage space capeabilities . mirjam

It can stain the fabric, and the acids in the wood can damage the fabric over time.

Best wishes, Ericka

Thank you! I never knew that and of course, I had a g'ma who thought a cedar chest was the alpha and omega of linens storage.

(Good thing I don't like cedar, eh?)

I would think that a cedar chest would be ok as long as the fabric wasn't in direct contact with the cedar. Cedar is for moth prevention and smells better than mothballs unless you are allergic to cedar. A freestanding cedar-lined closet is a wonderful thing to have. Your items can hang in there without ever coming in contact with the wood. Putting a fabric lining in a cedar chest or wrapping articles in muslin should serve. Just check the items periodically and replace the lining or wrap as needed. I've never had a moth problem with linens but have lost a couple of beautiful wool sweaters to the beasts.

Definitely. If the fabric (or its wrappings) are in contact with the wood, the acid well seep across over time, but if the fabric is not in contact with the wood or if you keep changing the wrappings so that the items remains buffered from the acid, you're okay and just have to worry about things like fold lines.

Best wishes, Ericka