Comforter help

[Labyrinth]

I have a comforter where the batting inside has come completely loose. It is also badly in need of a good cleaning thanks to my cat that is no longer with us. I tried taking it to the dry cleaners that I normally do (they've fixed a minor issue with loose batting before but it was nothing like this), but they told me they can't even clean it this time with the batting as loose as it is now. My husband likes this comforter and it is only a couple of years old so I'd rather not replace it if I can get it fixed/cleaned, but I'm not sure what to do with it at this point.

Is a dry cleaner my only option, or is there some kind of shop that specializes in this sort of thing? I can try to repair it myself, but I'm not very good with sewing and I'd like it done correctly.

I know we've got some handy people here, so I thought I'd see if anyone has any advice. TIA!

 

[JennSLK]

Can you open it up on one end, remove the stuffing, and put more quilt batting in. Then you tack it every few feet and sew the end back up.

 

[Renee750il]

What kind of fabric is the covering? Dry cleaning is hard on comforters, so unless it's made from a non-washable fabric I throw mine in the wash and they last for years.

Jenn's suggestion is spot-on. If you don't want to tackle it you might see if there isn't someone who does alterations in your area.

 

[Labyrinth]

I'm not entirely opposed to trying to fix it myself, it'll just be time consuming with a toddler getting in the way.

What do you mean by tacking it? I do have a sewing machine, but I haven't tried anything beyond making some small pieces of ferret bedding with it (that usually come out horribly).

I'm not sure what kind of fabric it is, but it doesn't strike me as something that should have any trouble being washed. In the past whenever a comforter needed washing I'd just take it to the laundry mat since my machines at home aren't big enough for it, but with this one I've opted to do the dry cleaners just for the ease of dropping it off and picking it up later without waiting around for a wash and dry cycle. That's probably my next step though in regards to cleaning it.

Actually, Jenn when you said remove the stuffing and put more quilt batting in, do you mean toss the batting that's in there now and replace it with new batting? If I do that I should be able to just toss it in my washer before trying to sew it back up! Do I need any special kind of thread to sew it with?

 

[JennSLK]

yeah, if you remove all the batting, you can wash it. Don't put the old stuff back in. I'm not good at explaining things, but by tacking I mean like every foot or so run one or 2 stitches from one side of the quilt, through the middle and out the other side. Helps keep the batting in place.

We wash our quilts all the time. BUT we do it at the laundromat since they have big enough washers. We dont dry them. Just hang them over 2 chairs for a few days. I find drying is what makes them not last.

Just use regular thread.

 

[Labyrinth]

I get what you're saying. That's what I was thinking initially, but was just going to go straight through the entire thing since the top of the comforter has a lot of stitching in the pattern anyways. No idea when I'll get around to it, but I'll probably pull it apart to at least wash it soon since it's been sitting in a garbage bag for nearly 2 months now.

Thanks for the tips!