After well brushing and shaking the quilt, whip it well with a little
cane to loosen the feathers and to get out whatever dust you can. Have
ready a bath half full of warm—not hot—water, into which dissolve a
small packet of Lux. Be sure before putting the quilt in that the
soap is well melted, as otherwise it is apt to stick in lumps to the
covering, whatever it may be.
Dip half of the quilt in first and souse it up and down before dipping
in the rest. You will be surprised at the amount of dirt that “pours”
out. It seems incredible that an eiderdown could be so dirty without
showing it plainly.
When the whole quilt is wet, continue to dip it up and down in the
water for some time, gently squeezing it between your hands. It does
not matter if the colour runs, as the dye will not affect the down, and
as you are re-covering it, why, the streaky case will not be seen.
Let it soak in the water for about an hour, occasionally stirring it
in the bath, kneading and squeezing it so as to loosen the dirt. When
you think it is clean, empty the bath and refill with hotter water, but
no soap. Rinse well and continue in fresh waters until the soap is
completely rinsed out.
Wring out thoroughly and hang over the edge of the bath to drain. At
the end of twenty minutes wring out again, and it is much better if
you can get another person to help with it, as it is much too big to
do alone. Next, take it out into the garden and hang it on a line, the
higher the better, but anywhere where the wind can blow through it.
And here is needed the patience; for it will take two days—probably
three days, and possibly a _week_—to dry in the open, for an eiderdown
is very thick, and the down being close it is difficult for the air to
penetrate. Never let it stay out after the sun is off it, as it quickly
absorbs the damp and only delays the process of drying. Frequently turn
it while hanging on the line, and shake it well to loosen the feathers.
I generally find that three days is enough to dry my quilts thoroughly,
but I always leave them spread out on the grass on a clean sheet
for one whole day in the sunshine after the drying to fluff up the
feathers. It is wonderful how the heat makes them swell and become
light and fluffy.
[Illustration: A DIAGRAM FOR THE CASEMENT CURTAIN SHOWN ON PAGE 95.]
When all this is finished, take your little cane and whip it all over
hard, as though you were beating a carpet. Turn it often as this helps
to loosen the down inside.
This completes the cleaning process, which is simple but complete, and
then you are ready for the re-covering.
The new cover, needless to say, depends entirely upon individual choice
whether it is to be satin, silk, sateen or chintz.
I always use a pretty chintz corresponding to the curtains and hangings
of the bedroom the quilt belongs to. One side I cover with this, and
the other side I use a self-coloured sateen or casement cloth to tone.
It is impossible for me to give the amount of material necessary, as
eiderdowns vary tremendously in size. There are many different widths
in what is called a double-bedded quilt, as also in the single-bedded
ones. For large-sized ones you will have to have a seam down the
centre, as no material is wide enough to cover it completely; but, for
a single-width quilt, a forty-inch goods will be wide enough.
[Sidenote: Re-covering the Quilt.]
The last quilt I covered was for a brown room with a china-blue carpet
patterned in white, and so I chose a willow-pattern chintz with
a reverse side of brown sateen, and it was really one of the most
successful I have done.
First of all, machine-stitch the two widths of material together, being
careful to match the design on the right side, and carefully press the
seam flat. Then spread out on the floor the sateen—also seamed—and,
laying the eiderdown upon it, run a tacking thread all round the edge,
being careful to stretch the quilt to its fullest, so as not to make
the cover too tight. After this run a line of stitching around each and
every little eyelet, of which there are many; these hold the cover in
position for the next step.
Taking a long thread of a bright-coloured cotton, carefully follow out
the design of the quilting, which, in my particular case, was a very
elaborate scroll, tacking the stitches right through the quilt to the
new piece of material. If the design is very complicated this needs
patience; but nowadays eiderdowns are more often quilted in straight
lines, with perhaps a diamond centre.
Always tack your pattern on the plain side of the material, as it is so
much easier to stitch on the machine later on if there is no pattern to
dazzle your eyes.
I would impress on whoever tries this re-covering to be _very_ careful
about keeping exactly to the quilting pattern, as on this altogether
depends the success of the whole undertaking. It would be most
disappointing if, after having finished, you should find that owing to
careless tacking the covering was crooked or cramped or drawn. It takes
patience and care, but is quite easy and most satisfying.
When you have completed the outlining, lay the quilt on the floor again
and tack on the chintz, doing exactly as you did with the sateen, only
omitting to outline the quilting, as it is not necessary to have it on
both sides.
Next, where the threads outline the eyelets take a stiletto and punch
the holes through both sides and button-hole them all round through
the double materials. In doing this use silk the colour of the
plain-coloured side, as it looks so much nicer than the reverse way.
And now all is ready for the machine. If your quilt is in two colours,
thread the machine with the silk matching the sateen and use a bobbin
threaded with a shade to match the reverse. Carefully follow out the
design which you have outlined, spreading the quilt as wide as possible
so as not to get it puckered.
When all the stitching is finished you will be delighted to see that
both sides of the quilt are stitched in their own respective colourings.
Take out the tacking threads around the edge, and turning down the edge
of the “right side” of the quilt insert a narrow piping cord and sew in
by machine. Next turn in the edges of the other side, and hem by hand
down to the edge of the cord. This gives a very nice finish as well as
a very neat one.
To anybody who desires a frill, though these are not always the
prevailing fashion—there being fashions in eiderdowns as in other
things—after taking out the tacking thread around the edge of the
quilt, insert the frill instead of the cord and stitch firmly by
machine. In using a frill be sure to have it made of the two materials
the same as the cover, putting the plain to the plain and the fancy to
the fancy. Then hem down as with the cord.
A very handsome edge can be made if a thick cord be used similar to
those used in upholstery work, but covered tightly with material before
sewing to the cover. The pulling tightly of the material covering the
cord gives a sort of “cable” effect, and is really very pretty.
When completed I feel sure you will be pleased with the look of your
new eiderdown. It costs so little—not more than a few shillings at the
outside.
[Illustration: SUGGESTIONS FOR CURTAIN BORDERS.