More than a year ago, I received a wonderful collection of various types of family textiles from some prolific needleworkers who made quilts, potholders, aprons, and many other items. I am still documenting all of them, but in the meantime, wrote several articles based on items from the collection for The Quilter magazine.
I “discovered” a pile more of handkerchiefs and then another pile of pillowcases. Holding up the pillowcases, I could see that they were made at a time when completely round pillowcases were manufactured, precluding the need for side seams. Some were embroidered with colored threads (one set had a basket motif; another, flowers). Yet another pair of pillowcases features a monogram on each one. Still another set has the entire last name written out in cursive and embroidered with raised stitching.
The one thing these items had in common is that they smelled bad. A second common trait was that they were severely-yellowed, in an uneven pattern. I decided to try to “improve them,” by trying the safest products first. Here is what I did:
I added Cheer Free and Clear to a half washing tub of water, agitated the solution, and let them soak overnight.
Result: a discernible musty odor was still present
The next day, (today), I poured about 1/2 cup of a product in the wash water that smells like lavender and was guaranteed to “whiten” the pillowcases. The pillowcases smelled like lavender (of course), but were not whitened.
Next, determined to be successful by trying this and that, I added about 1 cup of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda powder and 1/4 cup of Clorox II together with the pillowcases and washed them for a longer cycle, no longer on the hand/delicate cycle, but on the gentle cycle for 10 minutes.
The result is that I now have odor-free, non-yellowed, antique pillowcases.
Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season! I find that it is always the “little things” in life for which I am the most grateful. Have fun!
Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications
