Old Quilts

There are many fascinating things to see at my job. For visitors, it can range from the old buildings which sit on site, to the stuff inside the old buildings, to the farm animals living in some of the old buildings. For staff, it is often the stuff that lurks in the upstairs rooms of the very old buildings. Hopefully, the lurking is of inanimate objects and not living creatures which have become house squatters. Although, that can also be fascinating if you like seeing random mice run across the floor or if you like hearing bats squeak in the back room of a house.

Quilt made from wool fabric scraps

"1943 Roy Johnson" embroidery

One of the most difficult items to preserve for future generations is any kind of textile. The natural fibers of the 19th century tend to deteriorate over time if not properly taken care of. When exposed to heat, sunlight, dust, insects, rodents, etc., the life of the textile can be diminished tremendously. Every once in a while, someone on staff finds an item in an attic which probably should not have been stored there but was put there for some reason at one point in time years ago. It is sort of like a treasure hunt for history nerds when someone has a reason to go upstairs to find something.

Scrap quilt

According to the Textile Museum, fabrics should be stored between 65-70 degrees Fahrenheit with a relative humidity between 50-55%. Attics and basements are not ideal places to store these items since the temperatures in these areas of a house tend to not hold the recommended temperatures. So when a coworker found these quilts upstairs exposed to the elements in the upstairs of a building, it was proof that fabrics cannot last long in an environment such as that.

All of these items were an interesting find, though, not because they were examples of perfectly stitched, every corner shall meet, blue ribbon quilting, but because they were scraps of fabric pieced together in order to serve a purpose quilting. All of the items had embroidery to add decorative flair as well, some more intricate than others. They were neat to examine, but it was saddening to see the wear on the textiles, most likely from lack of proper storage more so than regular use. Hopefully, the items will find a more suitable home now that they have been found.

Detailed embroidery in the center of a pillow cover

For reference on the proper suggested care of textiles, please visit Guidelines for the Care of Textiles developed by The Textile Museum of Washington, D.C.