Quilt Restoration

[Marna L.]

I received a ca 1930s Grandmother's Flower Garden as a gift. I love it. It is in fairly good condition and the handwork is beautifully done. The entire binding is in tatters and will need to be replaced. I will restore that last. My quilt restoration questions are:

1. Most all the 100% cotton patches have held up very well but some of the "flowers" are pieced of dress-weight fabric and are shredded or missing altogether. Should I use antique fabric, which I do not have yet, or replica yardage to replace these pieces?
2. Should I piece a "flower" and then applique it in place or piece it to the background?
3. The quilting still remains intact in these shredded areas. In fact the backing fabric, piecing and quilting are the integrity of this quilt. How should I re-quilt the pieces I replace? I do not want to remove the quilting from the backing and I do not want the replacement quilting to distract too much from the original. I hesitate to use a fine thread as it may "cut into" the backing fabric.
4. There is a 1x2 inch area backing, batting and top, that is completely missing from the quilt. Best way to fix this?
5. There are a few slits in the top no longer than an inch or two. I thought of using one sided fusible to re-join these areas. Thoughts, suggestions?

I have been a quilter since the 1970s and have confidence in my ability to tackle this restoration. When I have completed this project the quilt will be for "display" purposes only.

Thank you for any and all responses and advice that will help restore a piece of our quilting history.

Marna

[Margo C.]

Marna, I know nothing about restoring old quilts so I really do hope that some of our other members can help you with your questions.

I would like to address your comment about not using fine thread because it will "cut into" the backing fabric. You might want to review Bob Purcell's educational video about polyester threads: http://www.superiorthreads.com/educa...dition-or-myth

I would suggest that you try to visually match the thickness of the original thread when you re-quilt the areas that you patch. It was probably quilted with cotton thread, but you are really concerned about the fiber content, you can tell by removing some of the existing thread and burning it. If it's cotton, it will turn to ash. If it's polyester (which I doubt if it's from the 30s) the fibers will melt into a little black ball.

[Margo C.]

One thing I would suggest is that if you use reproduction fabrics--make sure you wash and dry them so that any shrinking they are going to do will be done before it is added to the quilt. Personally, and I think I may have seen this somewhere, I would put a replacement piece right over what is there. I would mark the quilting pattern, that is already on the piece you are replacing, on a piece of tracing paper. Then I would applique the new piece on and use the tracing paper as the guide for how to do the quilting over. Like Margo said, I would try to match the thread that was used (probably cotton) to replaced any quilting.

The 1"x2" area is a whole different problem. Is it where a flower was? If so, I would trim out the excess and trying to match the backing, replace it all by hand. The only way I would use wonder under for the frayed areas is if I wasn't planning on replacing them. Since you are only going to use it for display purposes, it would hold but it will also cause that part of the quilt to be tight against the batting and I am not sure that is the look I would want. A lot of this is really up to you. Just went back to reread what you wrote and you said you would be using a one sided fusible so I guess that would not be a problem. I am not an expert--these are just my thoughts on how I would tackle it.

[Margo C.]

I'm thinking that when you get ready to quilt, just turn it over and quilt from the back, following the old stitches!

Instead of a fusible web, you might want to try BoNash bonding agent because it will leave the fabric soft:
http://www.softexpressions.com/softw...Bonash.php#kit

Watch videos about the product on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...onash&aq=f

[Margo C.]

I've been to a lecture by a textile conservationist, and on a short course, and one of the main things I came away with is whatever you do it should be possible to undo with the least amount of damage to the original item. This would exclude using the usual iron on fusibles, I know that they do have a heat activated adhesive that they use which is similar to our usual iron-ons but it is also removable, however it is a specialist item and could be difficult to find. Another thing that would be appreciated by future historians etc, would be a full documentation of what state it is currently in and what you do to it.
If I re-call anything else I will get back to you.

[Marna L.]

All very good advice. Thank you very much.

[Marna L.]

My sister had recently restored a GFG quilt, and it came out beautifully. I will send you her e-mail and maybe she could help you. for the most part, I think she matched the colors and era as much as she could and replaced the frayed material. She also dealt with backing fabric that had also frayed, and I dont know what she did to fix it. I think there is a method using a fine mesh to patch it up. But I could be wrong.

[Marna L.]

Okay I just sent you her address to you.