Antique Textiles can and should be displayed with care:

• Avoid strong direct sunlight. If the area where the textile is displayed gets light exposure, you should consider window tinting or blinds
• Antique textiles should be rotated so that the exposure is limited but still enjoyed
• Provide guests with a luggage stand or quilt rack
• Light vacuuming is recommended
• Clean hands are a good thing
• Cleaning and repair should be left to the professionals

recommended conservator	recommended textile mounter
Tracy Jamar 250 Riverside Dr New York, New York 10025 212.866.6426 tjamar@optonline.net	K Wilson and Company 4902 River Road Point Pleasant, Pennsylvania 18950 215.297.0806 kwilsonandco@aol.com
recommended websites	recommended websites
Peter Pap Oriental Rugs www.peterpap.com

How do I store antique textiles at home?

The following is an excerpt from Encyclopedia Smithsonian:

general procedures:

The storage area should be clean, cool, dry, dark, and as free as possible from drastic changes in temperature and humidity, thus ruling out the basement or attic. It is also best to set aside one drawer or chest of drawers just for the storage of family heirlooms.

specific suggestions:

1. Textiles should be stored as clean as possible because dust particles can actually cut fibers through friction and abrasion. Colorfast and washable items should be washed and stored unironed, unstarched and unblued.

An item that cannot be cleaned in any other way should, if possible, be vacuumed. Loose soil and dust can be removed by placing the textile on a flat surface, placing a piece of fiberglass screening between the textile and vacuum cleaner head, and then vacuuming with a weak-suction hand vacuum cleaner.

CAUTION: Textiles, such as samplers, painted and embroidered pictures, and beaded work should not be vacuumed, as embroidery yarns and beads can be drawn through the screening.

2. It is preferable to store textiles flat, subject to minimum abrasion, folding, and pressure. If folding is necessary, avoid sharp folds by padding at the points of folds with strips of washed unbleached muslin, old sheets, or acid free tissue..

For maximum preservation, antique textiles, especially cottons and linens, should have no direct contact with wood, blue tissue, regular tissue, or other wrapping paper. Most paper tends to be acidic; acid is especially damaging to textiles. Instead, textiles can be wrapped in clean, white cotton cloth, such as an old sheet or pillowcase, or in muslin. Because textile fibers need to be in an environment where there is some air movement, fabrics should not be sealed in air-tight plastic bags or containers to prevent damage from moisture condensation. Also, because some plastics give off fumes as they decompose with age, they should not come in direct contact with antique textiles. After wrapping the textiles in cotton muslin or sheeting, they can be loosely encased in an unsealed plastic wrapping. The best place to store antique fabrics is on top in a drawer. Storing them at the bottom of a drawer under heavy items can cause sharp folds, which may be difficult to remove and which may cause splits in the cloth.

For further information please contact:
Smithsonian Institution
Encyclopedia Smithsonian - Folk Art & Craft
PO Box 37012
SI Building, Room 153, MRC 010
Washington, DC 20013-7012
202/357-2700 (voice); 202/357-1729 (TTY)