How Do You Clean a 100 Year Old Quilt: Throw Midland

Throw Midland on keeping vintage textiles fresh while preserving the stitches, stains and stories that make them worth saving.

There is something almost contradictory about the quilts at Throw Midland. They feel remarkably fresh, yet they have not been stripped of the things that make them old. The colors still sing. The hand stitching is there. So are the quirks, imperfections and, every once in a while, a tiny mark left behind by the person who made it generations ago.

That balance is the point. Founder, Allison Eyler tells Round Top Finds,

“I clean the dickens out of these old beauties,” she says.

For Throw Midland, caring for an antique quilt is not about making it look new. It is about giving an old textile another life while knowing which parts of its past are worth protecting.

For Round Top Finds, she took us through the process, from treating stubborn stains to soaking and cleaning, plus the products she reaches for depending on what a quilt needs. Her arsenal includes BioKleen Bac-Out, Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda, Carbona Laundry Stain Scrubber, The Laundress Stain Solution, Miss Mouth’s Messy Eater Stain Treater, Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day detergent, Incredible! Stain Remover and CozyClean Laundry Boost.

There is plenty she wants to help get out, so your quilt is cozy, fresh, and clean.

There is one tiny stain she hopes stays.

THE STAINS SHE HOPES TO FIND

“The tiny finger prick stains you see every now and then along the quilting lines are the heart of the quilt.”

They are tiny traces left behind by the person whose hands once pushed a needle through layer after layer of fabric.

“I’ll get as much ‘mystery of the history’ out, but these tiny drops of blood are venerable.”

She cannot help but wonder about the life happening around the maker.

“Did the maker nod off after yet another tiring day of chasing little ones and doing chores? Maybe he or she was startled by the local gunslingers going at it. Who knows?”

We may never know her name, where she sat or who she was making the quilt for. Sometimes a pinprick is all that remains.

It might also be the best explanation of Throw Midland’s approach to old textiles: take away the grime, not the story.

THE QUILT THAT CHANGED HERS

Ironically, Throw Midland did not grow up around quilts.

Before this became her world, she was a an accountant working for Southwest Airlines. Shortly after having her first child, she left her accounting career to become a full time mother.

Then she saw a red and white Irish Chain.

“I didn’t grow up in a quilting family & really had no exposure to antique quilts, but one day a red and white Irish Chain stopped me in my tracks.”

She loved it immediately. The price tag was another matter.

“The price tag set me back, as there was no room in our newly paired down budget for extras.”

She walked away. Her husband remembered.

“My sweet husband surprised me with it for Mother’s Day & it’s more valuable to me than diamonds and gold.”

That first quilt became the beginning of something neither of them could have predicted. She started learning, then collecting, then sourcing. Eventually she became the person helping someone else find the quilt that stops them in their tracks.

BEAUTIFUL, BUT ALSO USEFUL

There is a reason quilts inspire that kind of attachment.

William Morris famously said, “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”

“Handmade quilts are one of the few heirlooms that check both boxes, alight with ease in any space, and impart a soul-deep warmth when in use.”

A quilt does not have to sit untouched to be respected. It can live at the end of a bed, fold over the back of a sofa or warm another generation.

Throw Midland has an amusing reference point for recognizing something with staying power.

“I was a fitness instructor in the 80s when Jane Fonda and Olivia Newton-John made getting physical a thing.”

Her college newspaper asked whether the fitness explosion was just a trend. She surmised exercise was here to stay because of how it made people feel.

“The same is true for quilts!” For her, watching someone discover their first is still part of the thrill.

“Helping someone select their first quilt and knowing that it will become a part of their life for decades makes my heart skip a beat!”

She gets just as much satisfaction from the collectors who already know exactly what they are looking at.

“Likewise, earning the confidence of a seasoned quilt collector kind of gives me the big head.”

Both, she says, keep her “perpetually sourcing and cleaning beautiful quilts!”

HOW TO SPOT A GOOD ONE

At Round Top, color and pattern may be what make you stop. Throw Midland wants you to look closer.

“A quilt that has been beautifully hand quilted and hand bound speaks volumes about the maker.”

The finishing work can tell you plenty about everything that came before it.

“When someone takes that kind of pride in the finish work, you can bet that the quilt was thoughtfully designed and skillfully pieced.”

Her shorthand?

“For better or worse, binding tells a story.”

When shopping Round Top, she recommends opening a quilt and examining it closely on both sides. Knowledgeable dealers can often offer insight into its approximate age, pattern and history.

“Most importantly, feel the quilt for batting shift. Quilts that have been improperly cleaned or insufficiently quilted tend to get lumpy.”

Her final rule is considerably easier to remember.

“Nobody likes a lumpy quilt!”

FROM MIDLAND TO MARBURGER

Eventually, a red and white Irish Chain that once felt like an extravagance led all the way to Marburger Farm.

At her first show, Throw Midland stood back and looked at the quilts she had sourced, cleaned and prepared for someone else’s home.

“I literally wept with joy when I stood back to take it all in at my first Marburger show.”

“The sight of all those cozy clean, colorful quilts ready to shine again in someone’s home can do that to you!”

The feeling has not worn off. “Seeing people’s faces light up when they walk into my space at Marburger tickles me so much.”

Many visitors ask if she made all of the quilts herself. She jokes, “I’m not THAT old!”

The next question is often about how she gets them so clean. “Well, that’s another story if you’ve got a couple of hours.”

Luckily, she showed us.

Watch our reel  with Throw Midland for a closer look at her vintage quilt cleaning process, then find her at Marburger Farm during the Round Top Antique Show.