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[00:00:00.00] [ Music ] [00:00:05.60] [ Ann Frisina ] Hello and welcome
[00:00:06.35] to the Textile Conservation Lab of
[00:00:07.90] the Minnesota Historical Society. [00:00:09.70] My name is Ann Frisina and I'm
[00:00:11.35] the textile conservator. [00:00:12.80] We’ve created a series of
podcasts [00:00:14.68] to assist you in the storage
[00:00:16.10] of heirloom textiles. [00:00:17.30] And in this podcast, I’ll
be showing [00:00:19.20] you how to safely fold quilts
[00:00:20.86] and coverlets for storage in boxes.
[00:00:23.00] [ Music ] [00:00:28.60] Boxes are a great way
[00:00:30.50] to store quilts and coverlets. [00:00:31.90] First off you can stack them
[00:00:33.90] fairly high on a shelf and take [00:00:35.74] advantage of all your usable
space. [00:00:37.80] Secondly, once the box is closed,
[00:00:40.20] it blocks out all light and dirt
[00:00:42.10] and acts as a barrier against [00:00:43.50] pest infestation and finally,
[00:00:45.76] it’s a fast and easy manner [00:00:47.18] to store many quilts at a time.
[00:00:49.50] And another thing I’d like to mention
[00:00:51.40] is that some boxes are available [00:00:53.50] with polyester film or Melinex
top. [00:00:56.20] I advise against these because
it’s [00:00:57.85] easy to puncture them and then
[00:00:59.08] once that box top is punctured you can
[00:01:01.98] allow in dirt, light as well as pests.
[00:01:05.20] Now when preparing your box [00:01:07.00] for storage, the first thing
[00:01:08.03] you want to do is put in a muslin [00:01:10.41] or acid free tissue paper sling
in. [00:01:12.80] And I have an example
[00:01:13.97] of a sling right here. [00:01:15.00] It’s just a washed piece
[00:01:16.13] of undyed muslin. [00:01:17.60] Slings are extremely important
[00:01:19.06] in that they allow you [00:01:20.10] to put textiles or quilts
[00:01:21.80] in and out of the box [00:01:23.80] without actually handling the
piece. [00:01:25.90] And in this instance,
[00:01:26.98] I’d like to demonstrate, [00:01:29.00] I can just pull this straight
up [00:01:30.70] and out like this.
[00:01:34.50] And I very easily [00:01:37.10] pull the entire quilt out
[00:01:39.00] without even handling it at all
[00:01:40.44] and then I can put it back in as well.
[00:01:44.00] Now this sling can also be made [00:01:47.15] out of an acid free tissue paper
[00:01:48.85] as well as long as it’s big enough
[00:01:50.60] to extend out to the sides. [00:01:52.80] Now one thing I’d like to
advise [00:01:54.56] people prior to folding
[00:01:56.15] any kind of quilt or coverlet [00:01:57.90] is to make sure they have
[00:01:59.07] a table surface large enough [00:02:00.75] to accommodate the entire textile.
[00:02:03.00] It’s very difficult to fold something
[00:02:04.78] when it’s not thoroughly [00:02:05.78] supported overall flat.
[00:02:07.90] So please be sure to measure and
[00:02:09.84] make sure you have enough space [00:02:11.40] to proceed with this process.
[00:02:14.00] Now whenever you’re folding [00:02:16.06] a large quilt such as this red
and [00:02:18.66] white one here, it’s often
necessary [00:02:21.27] to get some help and my colleague
[00:02:24.00] Sherelyn Ogden will be assisting [00:02:25.87] me in the folding of this quilt.
[00:02:27.80] Folding quilts is similar [00:02:29.40] to folding flat textiles.
[00:02:31.10] The first thing you want to do is
[00:02:32.25] examine the textile to see [00:02:33.58] if there are any former fold
lines [00:02:36.00] that would document
[00:02:37.20] an area of weakness. [00:02:38.55] And I don’t really see any
true [00:02:40.80] fold lines within this quilt.
[00:02:43.20] So what we’re going to do is
[00:02:46.20] fold it in thirds because it is likely
[00:02:48.81] that it was folded in [00:02:49.90] halves and quarters and so
[00:02:51.17] we want to always alternate [00:02:53.00] the fold lines and fold
[00:02:54.33] on a stronger area. [00:02:55.80] The first thing we want to do
[00:02:57.35] when we’re folding these quilts [00:02:58.47] is to set up a cushioned area
[00:03:01.10] of support with this scrunched up
[00:03:02.60] acid free paper. [00:03:03.70] And if you’ll help me,
[00:03:04.74] we’ll line up that first layer –
[00:03:06.70] that first line. [00:03:09.00] [ Paper rustling ]
[00:03:18.50] Now you can see we’re both [00:03:19.60] reaching into the middle
[00:03:21.00] to hold this in place with one arm
[00:03:25.00] and then we’re going to advance [00:03:26.70] the quilt gently over so that
it [00:03:30.15] reaches a third way mark
[00:03:33.50] with the other. And then sometimes [00:03:35.40] it’s necessary to just reach
in [00:03:37.80] and give it a little tap down
there [00:03:39.80] to make sure that fold
[00:03:41.40] is securely patted out. [00:03:45.00] [ Paper rustling ]
[00:03:51.50] And now we’re going to repeat [00:03:52.88] that process on the other side.
[00:03:55.00] [ Paper rustling ] [00:04:06.10] And again, fold this side
[00:04:07.74] over in thirds. [00:04:09.00] [ Paper rustling ]
[00:04:21.50] So now that I’ve folded [00:04:23.03] this quilt in thirds, before
I go [00:04:24.53] any further, I want to make
sure [00:04:26.20] that it’s going to fit in
the box. [00:04:28.50] And so what I like to do
[00:04:29.79] when I’m folding quilts is [00:04:30.79] actually pull the prepared box
[00:04:32.45] with the sling right up [00:04:33.80] next to it and make sure
[00:04:35.22] that it fits within the width [00:04:36.80] of my box. And it does very
easily. [00:04:39.60] I’m going to put that over
here. [00:04:42.60] And now, I want to fold it the
final [00:04:47.10] [ Paper rustling ]
[00:04:49.60] opposite way. So what I’m going to is
[00:04:51.39] in this case, I’m going to [00:04:52.60] bring this a little closer
[00:04:54.90] and again I’m going to have [00:04:56.48] that near me for a guide.
[00:04:58.10] [ Paper rustling ] [00:05:02.40] And I’m going to scrunch up
[00:05:03.60] two layers of paper. And the reason
[00:05:05.38] I’m doing this is because these folds
[00:05:08.00] are going to go on top of one another
[00:05:10.00] like a little roll. And I’ll demonstrate
[00:05:12.45] that right here. And I want to be sure
[00:05:14.24] I have enough paper to support [00:05:16.00] that fold. The first one I fold
over [00:05:20.50] is actually pretty small.
[00:05:23.00] [00:05:26.00] Take it gently, roll it over
[00:05:28.50] and I’m going to kind of place it down.
[00:05:31.00] And I can see here [00:05:34.00] that there’s no creasing going
on here [00:05:37.43] that it’s just gently curving.
[00:05:40.50] And then I’m going to do one more time
[00:05:43.75] and I have a little extra. [00:05:45.25] The nice thing about this is
that [00:05:46.44] you can just kind of gently
pick it up [00:05:49.30] and roll it forward
[00:05:52.00] and make it really set. [00:05:54.20] I’m going to put those ends
in [00:05:57.00] right there.
[00:05:59.20] And now I am ready [00:06:03.00] to put this in the box.
[00:06:05.80] And to make it easier, [00:06:07.70] I’m going to put the sling
down. [00:06:10.30]
[00:06:19.10] I’m going to pick this up, [00:06:21.40] put it down on there. And now
[00:06:25.70] I have a handling platform so to speak,
[00:06:30.10] which will allow me to pick up
[00:06:35.50] and easily put it into the box. [00:04:43.50] [ Paper rustling ]
[00:06:49.80] Now this quilt doesn’t [00:06:51.40] quite fill out the box entirely.
[00:06:53.35] There is still a little room on top
[00:06:55.70] and I would think that it would be
[00:06:57.70] OK to put a small flat textile on top
[00:07:01.00] for storage if you needed to [00:07:02.90] put a secondary item in here.
[00:07:05.00] [ Music ] [00:07:10.50] Storing quilts and coverlets
in boxes [00:07:13.17] is a time consuming
[00:07:14.25] and costly process. [00:07:15.65] However it is a great way
[00:07:17.35] to preserve your quilts and coverlets
[00:07:18.80] for long term preservation. [00:07:21.00] Please refer to the Minnesota
[00:07:22.60] Historical Society website [00:07:24.10] to find out information on where
[00:07:25.49] to purchase supplies. And in our next
[00:07:27.65] podcast we’ll be reviewing [00:07:29.10] how to roll quilts and coverlets.
[00:07:31.60] [ Music ] [00:07:35.60]
[00:07:59.10] [ Music ] [00:08:06.00]