A few months ago, a client asked me to repair an old quilt that had been made by her paternal grandmother. As you can imagine, over the years it has lost a bit of its shine and became quite tattered. She asked if there was any way that I could repair the torn pieces and cover up the stains that had proven impossible to take out. Her intention, to gift it to her daughter for her birthday as a keepsake.
Although I specialize in making and refashioning custom clothing, I have a great appreciation for the history and craftsmanship found in quilts. For this reason, I gladly accepted the commission. Thinking that it might be a good opportunity to upcycle old clothes instead of using new fabric for the repair, I asked my client if she had old pieces of clothing that belonged to her and her daughter which could be used for her repair.
When we met up, she surprised me with a collection of various garments that belonged to her daughter, herself, and her parents. Excited with the idea of incorporating three more generations worth of clothing into the original quilt, we selected a few pieces that worked well with the existing color scheme of the quilt.
The quilt in question is a Dresden Plate Quilt. A popular pattern from the Great Depression era, this quilt was probably made sometime between the 30s and 50s, based on the style of prints used.
The main issues that needed to be addressed on this quilt were the fraying edges, torn pieces of the flowers, and ink stains on the white background. I decided to cut a bit of the quilt that had once been covered up by an old repair. The textile was in such a bad shape that it unfortunately would have been too expensive to restore. To replace the broken sides, I used a combination of mustard yellow blouse to make a wide border at two ends trimmed with a thin binding of the burgundy t-shirt. I then cut the navy t-shirt into strips that I used as a binding sewn all around the fraying edge. I love how the navy and burgundy accents make the yellow flowers pop.
The t-shirts and blouse had patches that identified where they came from and have significant meaning for my client. For this reason, I used those patches and a few other keepsakes to cover up the stains on the white background fabric. Those patches were hand sewn with visible hand stitching for added detail. I replaced the petals that were completely gone with printed fabric from her daughter’s baby hat and left a few frayed pieces to mark the passing of time.
Repairing this old quilt has transformed this disused and tattered object into a modern practical blanket that is infused with memories spanning four generations. Its value, like most had made pieces, is now immeasurable to the owner, and ready to serve a new generation.
If you have an heirloom piece that you wish to update or transform into something new, whether it’s a quality garment or a quilt, you can contact me for a quote.