You found an old quilt - tips on what to do with it

[homesteadmamma]

You found an old quilt at a yard sale. I'm not talking "heirloom" quilts here, but quilts that might be made in the early 30's, 40's, 50's or even later. Quilts that someone has made that isn't perfect, maybe a child has made it in school or its a first quilt someone has made. (I'll post a picture of the one I'm working on right now. I think its suppose to be a sampler and it was someone that was just learning how to quilt.)

You look at it and wonder - should I get buy it, shouldn't I. It needs repairing, the backing may be worn, the binding unravelled. BUY IT and bring it home. Here are a few tips on what to do with it.

First, lets talk about some ways these quilts can be used for:

~a blanket for your vehicle. There is nothing like having a couple quilts in your vehicle. Why have a brand new one where you've paid oodles of dollars for the material, when you can have a used and repaired one you might get for 50¢ or a bit more. Often they sell for ridiculous prices because no one wants them or wants to repair them.
~a picnic blanket.
~it can be used for kids beds or for a child's blankie (once repaired and washed)
~a pet's blanket (why not, they love blankets)
~a table cover
~a thrown blanket over a worn chair, couch, etc.
~window blankets during the winter months
~window blankets during the summer months to keep the heat out.

Again, why use brand new quilts for the above, when you can use a cheap one you've found somewhere.

Now lets talk about how to fix it.

~If the backing is torn or in desperate need of repairs, use your seam ripper and carefully take it off. You don't want to tear the front. Throw out the backing - it isn't worth keeping in most cases.
~you will probably see holes where the thread as been. I just found out that if left for a bit, those holes magically disappear. Never knew that until I did the quilt I'm working on now.
~throw the old batting away. It isn't worth trying to save it.
~repair the top if it needs to be repaired. Just use your trusty seam ripper and work slowly. You don't have to take the whole quilt apart to fix one block or seam. Just use your seam ripper to take apart a small area. It might take a bit more time, but heh we have lots of time for quilting.
~don't wash it until its been repaired and quilted. You don't want it to come unravelled anymore than it is.
~trying matching it with similar material. If you don't have similar material, you can use new material or you could see if you can find an item of clothing at a thrift store.
~when making a new binding, try not to use new material, but to find similar material - same as above.

Now the purpose of doiing this:

~practice, practice, practice - you learn how to use your sewing machine more. You learn how to quilt a quilt on an older quilt so when you come to making a new quilt, your all set. You can have fun doing different quilting stitches when quilting it. You can learn how to do a binding. If you make mistakes, it doesn't matter because this is just a fun quilt. You can learn how to hand quilt, how to quilt in the ditch, how to use a walking foot, how to use your 1/4 inch seam allowance, how to use a darning foot. The learning is endless when it comes to repairing an older quilt.

So next time you see a quilt at a yard sale that needs repairing and its cheap, pick it up and have fun fixing it up. You won't regret it.

[Guest1]

Wow - thanks for those tips CJ!! I never consider buying one because I'm not good enough to fix them...never thought about what else they could be used for!!

[sunshine]

I buy them and chennile bedspreads at yard sales, cut them up to make clothing items (jackets, skirts, etc) or stuffed toys.

[dolphin]

I found one in our garage when we moved here. It is badly worn and may just be a candidate for reconstruction. I'll have to dig it out and see what I can do.

It would make great practice for machine quilting.

Thanks CJ!

[Katybird]

Thanks for the great information. You have given me some great ideas.