Friday, January 20, 2017

ho'oholo i ka wai lole lepo


The applique quilt from Kailua needed a bath. I wanted to see if the uneven tone in the appliqué fabric would improve, as well as the general appearance of the quilt.
After testing the fabric for colorfastness, the quilt was immersed in a cold water bath for a nice, long soak.


Second round, light washing with a very small amount of Dawn dish liquid. Dawn is a mild soap, good for removing dirt, grease and stains. It is concentrated, so you don't need a lot, just a little squirt. That's good because I'm running low.


More soaking, rinsing and soaking. I repeated this process until the water ran clear.


That was enough for one day. There's still work to be done. Lots of small brown spots to treat with sodium perborate and a Q-Tip. A few holes and burn marks to repair, and possibly another washing since there is still discoloration in the applique after this washing.


Better, but still more potential for improvement, in my opinion. The cheddar orange is colorfast, and should be able to withstand a little more washing. It will be interesting to see a photo when it is dry, to get an idea of the degree of improvement and how much more work it may take.

2 comments:

  1. My knees only can take so much in one day, you are nice to consider how much more the quilt can take. I use the blue dawn for my fabric "jobs".

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  2. This is a stunning quilt, well worth all the hours. I've heard of people leaving quilts to soak for days when needed.

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