Ann Champion's Blog

Today the quilt top I’m pulling from the quilt top cupboard is an antique Sunbonnet Sue.
The quilt top dates to 1930-1940’s. It’s hand appliqued with a running stitch in black embroidery floss. I posted another top done in this method last month. These two projects were done by the same quilter and came from an estate sale.

The top has some discoloration which was probably caused by the top being folded and placed in a cedar chest, or stored on a bare wood shelf. A lot of people think it’s OK to store linens in cedar chests for safe keeping, but the wood has acid in it and can cause stains to fabrics. Linens should never touch bare wood.
This discoloration may come out with a soak in Oxyclean? I would never throw an unquilted top in a washing machine, but a soak in the sink would be OK. I wouldn’t want to attempt quilting before knowing if this discoloration will come out.
The applique with a running stitch was common in the 1930’s-1940’s. The edges were turned under and the floss was sewn through the layers and into the backing fabric.
The quilter that made these blocks decorated each hat with different embroidery stitches.

NOTE: Beth of Love, Laugh, Quilt adds…One way to remove those brown spots is to put lemon juice mixed with water on the quilt and then lay the linen/quilt on green grass in the sun.
I’ve also heard that biz will work too.
Thank you Beth! I’ve added your tips to the post so nobody misses your useful info.