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I collect amongst many things, old textiles of all
types, bedcovers, embroided cotton bedsheets & pillowcases, silk curtains,
lace, etc. So long as they are old, beautiful, artistic or have some other
virtue and are cheap enough, I try to buy them. Most of these items are in
attrocious condition after having been stored for many years in old, damp,
run-down houses and garages or simply having been kept in one drawer
for tens of years, never seeing the light of day. As a result I am
faced with a multitude of cleaning problems for which I really have to use trial
and error methods which usually involves putting them in the domestic washing
machine and hoping for the best.
I can imagine that the Conservators on this List
would baulk at my attempts at cleaning but I simply could not afford
to have them professionally cleaned. Many of these textiles would have, in
any case, been thrown away or torn up into cleanings rags had I not recognised
them for what they are and rescued them.
Recently I bought two matching white cotton, what
appear to be, bed covers. They are 6 feet by 5 ft 6inches, with 5 inch tassels
on three sides. The cotton yarn is very thick at about 1.5mm to 2 mm and appears
at first sight to be wool but I am convinced it is cotton, indeed the bed covers
are knitted as wool would be. The covers appear to be made up from several,
seperate patterned panels, with a stitch of the same yarn used to attach
them all together. These covers are very old, possibly 100 or more years, very
heavy and were about as dirty as anything could possibly be. I found them at a
house auction in an attic room which had not been used for many years and was
partly open to the elements and although they had not been included in the
auction I persuaded the auctioneer to sell them to me.
Against my wife's advice I put them in the washing
machine on a wool wash at 30 degrees C. but even so the tassels became a knotted
mass of fibre resulting in having to spend days teasing them apart. Although a
lot cleaner now they really need a number of washes to whiten them up. My
question is two fold:- How do I wash them without damaging the covers and
especially the tassels; and are there any books or Web-sites to help me with
cleaning and repairing all old textiles?
If anyone has the time to reply to me I really
would appreciate it. My address is:-
Geoff Ford,
161 Rudolph Street,
Sliema,
Malta.
Phone/fax Malta 330659
E-mail cgford@xxxxxxxxxxxx
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