Disaster Averted

It had to happen one day....a whole cup of coffee was spilled over the table runner on the dining table.

I thought I take the opportunity to share how I wash and dry my quilts as I am often asked about this.

First at all, my quilts are for use and hence should withstand washing in the machine on a gentle cycle. I have found people are really reluctant to put quilts in the washing machine. I have learned very quickly that the more quilted a piece is, the better it washes and the distortion is fairly minimal and a gentle cycle should do it no harm.

Now for the soiled table runner...I  did not put it in the washing machine as it needed to be rinsed straight away. I used cold water...experience has taught me that cold water is the way to go to avoid stains. Coffee came out straight away and no stain was left, so I put a bit of washing detergent in to wash it a bit....yes, the red fabric started to bleed a bit (and I am pretty sure I washed this fabric beforehand!), so I put a colour catcher into the water to avoid a major disaster. As it continued to run ever so slightly, I used vinegar in the end to made the dye more stable and that did the trick.

After rinsing a number of times (all in cold water), I  rolled the runner up like you would do with woollen clothing and gently squeezed out the excess water. Then I put it outside on the clothes hanger and gently stretched it into its normal rectangular shape and let it sit there for the rest of the day and night. I only put it on the washing line once it was almost dry for the wind to go through, so that there was no distortion. Came out absolutely brilliant.



Linking up to Anything Goes Linky Party at Stitch by Stitch

Karin