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Sometimes, it's something as common as DMC floss that is used to mend the frayed fabrics of old textiles.
In the Turkish Nook at the Hixon House, the kilim rug that covers the banquette was dirty, faded and coming apart at the seams. So Patricia Ewer and Lisa Ranallo of the Upper Midwest Conservation Association, were busy stabilizing it.
Ewer, whose past experience includes being a theater seamstress and chief conservator at the Biltmore House for 17 years, said the Hixon work is not a restoration. She's not trying to put back in the original colors or missing pieces. Instead, they are removing dirt and sewing tears and fraying seams to make the banquette as stable as possible.
With pieces of white thread marking where mending was needed, From her sewing kit, Ewer took out some of her most trusted thread — DMC 612, a brown floss soft enough to not do damage but strong enough to make a repair.
Quilting thread will probably be used to sew up the seams, and some wool will be used to match wool parts of the kilim rug.
While Ewer sewed, Ranallo used a gauze-covered vacuum brush to clean as gently as possible.
There also was lint on the banquette, Ewer said, so at one time something fuzzy was probably used to cover the kilim.
Geri Parlin can be reached at gparlin@lacrossetribune.com or (608) 791-8225.
