Coverlets and bedspread tips and ideas:

Duvet: A quilt, usually with a washable cover, that may be used in place of a bedspread and top sheet. Duvet Brands that we believe are the best in their class:

Melanie from Edmonton - tips for dry cleaning coverlets >>

How can I hang a coverlet from the wall? >>

 

This isn't going to be what you want to hear, but please *don't* mess
with dry-cleaning at home! I had more than one patient long-term in
hospital who'd tried that. You *don't* want to hear the details.

If you're just looking for inexpensive dry cleaning, I do have a couple
of suggestions (though I personally would try washing the bedspread
following the tips I've seen on this thread, unless of course the
bedspread was an heirloom).

First, I'd try to find out where the uniformed folks get their
dry-cleaning done (police, firefighters, etc.). Here in Edmonton there
are a couple of places that most of them use, very good dry cleaners,
and with much lower prices than the average here. We had wool blankets
cleaned at one of them for more than four dollars (each) less than
anyone else I phoned quoted me! And they came back looking like new
blankets, and properly packaged for storage over the summer. That was
at the end of last winter.

Second, I'd look for a laundromat that also has do-it-yourself dry
cleaning machines. Haul out the Yellow Pages and look under both "dry
cleaning" and "laundromats" as a start. Then be sure to follow the
instructions for do-it-yourself dry cleaning to the letter. They should
be posted on signs near the machines. I know of folks here who do all
their own dry cleaning that way.

I don't have much other than the wool blankets to be dry-cleaned, and
when I had business wear that needed cleaning, wasn't able to press the
clothes as well as I wanted so used the inexpensive cleaner my husband
and his co-workers use for their uniforms.

A friend dry-cleaned her own wool blankets in a do-it-yourself machine,
but they came out clean but not in as good shape as mine (hers had been
new, never cleaned before). I didn't ask if she'd followed the
instructions carefully, so it may have been what she did and not that it
was do-it-yourself per se.

Hope this helps, Melanie

Wall hanging your bedspread -

We hung a cloth tapestry using a tack strip intended for a wall-to-wall
carpet. It's just a thin piece of wood about 3cm wide with lots of short
nails sticking out of it. Cut the tack strip to the length you want, and
fasten it to the wall with the nail tips sticking out. Then press the
tapestry on. If the tapestry doesn't hang nicely, use another tack strip
at the bottom.

You said that your bedspread is thin; it may be that the nail points will
show through, which probably isn't satisfactory. But if this isn't a
problem, this is the easiest solution I know.

Jeff --- The Spegiel Catalog has something that does this. The good thing is that it
holds the spread between two pieces of wood and doesn't put holes into it.
I unfortunately don't have access to the catalog right now, but the idea
looked good, and I am trying to get my husband to make be something like it.
You may want to check it out.

Marcia DeCaro --- I use the hook side of a wide strip of Velcro to hold Navajo
and Zapotec blankets as wall hangings. It does no damage to
the blankets, and they can be easily taken down and reattached.

The velcro can be attached to a wood strip, or small brads with
heads can be nailed into the wallboard on close intervals.

This will not work if the fabric doesn't have a woolly nature
like the opposite side of the Velcro, but for Indian blankets
it works great