This quilt belongs to the husband of a dear friend from high school days. As a surprise Christmas present for him, she asked me to do what I could
to repair the quilt to a usable condition. I had never attempted to repair a quilt before but I thought that if I could successfully repair
this Velveteen Rabbit of a quilt I could repair just about any quilt.
The quilt measures approximately 70” x 80”. The original fabrics appear to date from the 1920’s or 1930’s and are laid out in a basic scrap
quilt design using 5” squares. It has been hand quilted in an “X” pattern through the centers of the squares from corner to corner. The “battings” used for the quilt are old wool army blankets – in excellent condition with no moth damage and very heavy and warm. The backing is
solid white cotton, quite thick, and in good condition. It may or may not be original. The quilt appears to have been repaired at least once before with even a polyester-type thin baby blanket sized blanket used in a few areas to reinforce the wool blanket filler. It also appears that someone cut out sections of the quilt top at some time – possibly to repair another quilt or to make a pillow top – because some of the sections that were missing had been cut along the seams. As the “before” pictures show, it is a much-loved, very tattered, Velveteen Rabbit of a quilt.
I decided the best approach was to attempt to save any intact squares, remove truly tattered sections, and overlay new fabric over threadbare squares and completely missing sections of the top. I used vintage fabrics that dated from a similar time frame of the original as much as
possible but had to use modern fabrics made to look like vintage fabrics from the ‘20s, ‘30s, and ‘40s for the remainder. The reproduction fabrics blend quite well with the true vintage fabrics. I
also decided not to attempt to hand quilt such a thick quilt. I commend the lady or ladies who did!! I chose to use the old-fashioned, tried and true, tacking technique to tie the quilt together. I used 6 strands of black cotton embroidery floss to accomplish this – tying a hard knot through all layers at the corner of each 5” square. In some sections I replaced individual squares and in other sections I sewed large sections of squares together before placing them on the quilt. I hemmed each edge that needed a “finished” look with a ¼” hem on the machine and then hand appliquéd the square or squares onto the quilt fitting it as close as possible to match the corners and pattern of the original quilt. I accomplished this in almost all sections of the quilt.
I rebound the quilt using strips of modern reproduction fabrics. The completely repaired quilt is shown in the last two pictures.
This quilt top I was asked to quilt and turn into a usable queen-sized quilt. The top was made probably in the 1930's or 1940's at the latest. I added the polka-dot border and backing and bound it in bright red. I tied the quilt with six strands of embroidery floss in the middle of each square.
This is a small Santa art quilt wall hanging I made for my Aunt and Uncle. In addition to being cat lovers, they are fanatical about Christmas and have an EXTENSIVE Christmas collection. My mother crocheted the delicate snowflakes that I attached to the quilt surface.
This is a lap quilt I made for my best friend from college days. I love the Dresden Plate pattern and it was a perfect pattern to show off the Mary Engelbreit Friendship fabric.
June92007+004+-+Copy.jpg)
.
This is a sampler quilt I pieced while I took a beginning quilter's class in Mobile, Alabama.
