Kathy York’s Shipping Advice

Kathy gave the AFA members at Wednesday night’s meeting great advice on safely shipping quilts–or at least minimizing the risk of damage and loss. Some of the highlights of Kathy’s talk was her demonstration of how to pack a quilt.  First, be sure you invest in a good corrugated cardboard box intended for shipping that is large enough for your quilt. Kathy buys boxes at Home Depot because she’s found them to be cheaper there.  She prepares the quilt by stuffing tissue paper at every fold.  She slides the quilt into a plastic bag (or a pillowcase if the organization receiving the quilt specifically requires one), slides in a sheet with her contact information and the address where it’s being shipped, and closes it. She places a heavy layer of bubble wrap at the bottom of the box and another heavy layer above the quilt. Every raw edge is sealed with packing tape and the shipping address is taped on several sides of the box and above the official shipping address. 

Kathy normally uses FedEx because she finds them more reasonably priced even when the package is insured.  Kathy also advises that you refer to the contents as textiles or expensive fabrics, rather than art or quilts. Always insure your shipments and document your quilts with a photo, a sample of the fabric(s) used, and if possible, get the work appraised for replacement value.

Besides giving us great advice, Kathy demonstrated her packing technique with the quilt that will be shown at Houston Quilt Festival in October, Falling Through the Cracks.  She has photos of it on her blog

http://aquamoonartquilts.blogspot.com/

Thanks Kathy for great advice and tips!