Cotton batting

[Marion D.]

Here is my secret to looking puffed up instead of smooth: wash the quilt! The fabric tends to shrink up a little more, and you get that old fashioned "lumpy" look!

I prewash all my fabric in my washer (top loader) and dryer, using normal laundry detergent and fabric softener. (I can hear people fainting now, but really, at this point it is just fabric!!!!) In June, when I no longer need the warmth, I will wash whatever quilts I have used during the rest of the year in the top loader (no fabric softener this time), but I DO NOT put them in the dryer. Instead I spread them out to dry on the hammock in the back yard. I do check for rain first, and I put the quilt upside down.

[Marion D.]

I am no expert on this but wonder:

Very old quilts sometimes do look 'lumpy'. If you examine them closely, esp if they have holes, you can see the batting has moved into clumps and left other areas empty. Long ago, battings were 'raw' - there were no stabilizers or needlepunching like we have today to keep the batting from clumping up. I do not think this clumping was desirable - it left areas with no batting and other areas with too many lumps. It just happened with use and age.

I don't think it's a good idea to go for 'lumpy'. It's perfectly fine to go for crinkly, puckery, soft and 'old fashioned' looking such as Margo talks about. But you really don't want lumpy and clumpy.

JMHO

[Margo C.]

Well said, 2L!!

[Margo C.]

I'm beginning to think that I'm following my heart instead of my brain.

As a child we owned one quilt that was made by an aunt. It had applique cats on it and I loved that quilt to tatters, and I thought that when I grew up I was going to be a quilter. It was the seed that started my love of quilts. Thirty-five years later I made my first quilt, but I've always wanted to replicate the quilt of my childhood, lumps and all. I found a book of applique cats at a quilt show that looked almost exactly like the cats on my childhood quilt and with the 30's reproduction fabrics it seemed that now was the time to do it.

But now, having read your posts, I think perhaps I should let my memory remain just a treasured memory.

[Nancy R.]

I think you should still make the quilt. It sounds wonderful and I think that cuddling up in it, even if it isn't lumpy, will bring back old memories while the making will create new memories. We didn't have any quilts when I was growing up so I'm making all new memories. But each quilt I make contains memories of the making and joy in the fabric and design. Just go with your heart and let it be whatever you want it to be.

Nancy

[E.M. T.]

For what it's worth...I'd make that reproduction...following some of the great suggestions
offered here...remember, like as not...you don't remember when it was new..and bright and
less lumpy....only later when it was worn and soft. You can love it and snuggle it and wash it
and remember it all over again...they all start out new. IMHO

[E.M. T.]

Oh, you should SHOULD SHOULD remake that quilt!! It will be such a special quilt and the more you use and love and wash it, it will become softer, crinklier and more loved. Please don't let my comments/opinions stop you from remaking your special memory. It may not be quite as "lumpy" but it will bring you joy and love! And who knows, eventually, it may become lumpy too!! Please go for it!!

[E.M. T.]

Yes, go for it, make your 'memory quilt'. Each quilt is unique of it's own, but also can be related, like family and then we love them for their relationship to us. All you new quilt would need is 20-30 years of loving use to resemble the one in your memories.

[E.M. T.]

Well, I do have the cat patterns and the fabric. It is true that while a new quilt can never be just like the old one, it would be a reminder of a treasured memory regardless of the batting inside. And since I've never done an applique quit before, it will be a good learning experience for me. You've convinced me to go ahead and make it as I've been thinking about it for years now and it's time to stop thinking and start sewing!

[E.M. T.]

:wink: 8) Be sure to post some pictures as you progress !

[Lotti D.]

Looking forward to your cat quilt. Have fun with it

[Lois B.]

I'd love a cat quilt myself. I had kittens as a child and now the rest of my family is alergic to them big time. You are making me think, maybe I need a cat quilt. Your questions have inspired me to at least remember those lovely kittens in my past.