Caring For Your Handmade Quilt

Many people buy a handmade quilt because they look more pleasing aesthetically to the eye than do other types of quilts. The thing with these types of quilts are that they actually highlight the skills and the prowess of the person who has produced it. Certainly such a quilt would not only make a great decoration in the home but also provide a unique gift that will show someone that you care about them.

You will soon discover that a handmade quilt is much sturdier than many machine made ones. Plus they also help to keep you much warmer as well. However as a lot of time is taken in respect of the man hours that are needed to produce such a quilt they will generally be much more expensive than a machine made one.

Certainly if cleaned and cared for properly such a quilt can last a lifetime and beyond. So if you have purchased such a quilt recently or have one already in your possession then by following the tips provided below you should be able to extend the life of it for some time to come.

When it comes to washing a handmade quilt it is best that you do not do this too often. Normally if you are using it on your bed then it should only be washed annually whilst one that is either an antique or heirloom should be washed every 5 years or so. However if yours gets dirty quickly then you may need to clean it more often. But what you should be doing between each wash is to air it out in the open so it gets freshened.

What you should do before you actually wash the quilt for the first time is to check for fabric colorfastness. This will help to ensure the fabric dyes used on the materials that make up your quilt won't run. Plus if the color is not fast then the colors will fade and the quilt will become discolored. The best way of testing the material to see if it is colorfast or not is by rubbing a white piece of cloth that has been dampened with water on each color on the quilt. If you discover any of the colors have bled on to the white cloth then do not wash it. If none of them have bled with cold water then try again with warm water and if it bleeds you will know not to wash it warm water but you can in cold. But it really is best if you wash your handmade quilt in either cold or lukewarm water, and never warm or hot.

If you want to learn more about handmade quilts, click over to Heather's site at http://www.madaboutquilting.com Or click here to get 3 Free Reports about quilting.