How to Easily Fix an Old Patchwork Quilt

Making something beautiful and useful out of basically nothing is a talent to be admired! That’s the charm of old patchwork quilts. Their creators took simple scraps of old clothing, drapes, and extra fabrics and invested their time and effort to produce something completely new and usable. The mish-mash of beautiful vintage patterns and colors finds me picking up these beauties whenever they’re cheap! But their years of warm usefulness has usually started to show! Today I’ll share with you how to easily fix an old patchwork quilt.

Yes, there are preservationists that completely repair antique quilts that are worth a lot of money. This is not that type of re-do. These are easy, quick fixes for beginner-level sewers who own a simplistic sewing machine. All you need to know is how to do a zig-zag stitch and be able to sew on a button. With these tips, you’ll be hunting down your next old, patchwork quilt!

These simple patchwork quilts were made by everyday moms and grandmas for their kids, grandkids and families as bedspreads and extra throws. They weren’t meant to be fancy. They were practical, useful, and often sentimental because of the fabrics used. I like to think of them as organic as homegrown produce from the backyard garden.

When I’m refreshing these old beauties, I try not to overthink it. However I can fix them the most easily, quickly and creatively seems to suit them best. Adding a little folk-ish charm with some everyday repairs seems to add to their already charming personality!

I picked up this lap quilt recently at a church sale for $3! Yep, I had a smile on my face when I tucked it in my armpit, since both my hands were already holding heavy grocery bags full of goodies! The charming mix of vintage barkcloth fabrics from the 40’s and retro fabrics from the 60’s in an autumn-colored mix had me at hello! I always have room for another quilt;) {See some of my other vintage quilts in “Men’s Suit Patchwork Quilts” and “Thankyou, Quilters”}

Before doing any washing, take a look at the quilt’s weaknesses:

In several spots, the sewing on the squares had come undone. Often is seems to be one or two particular fabrics that maybe shrunk more in washing, or just weren’t as tightly woven. On my quilt, the black floral fabric was the problem child. At least half of it’s sides needed some help. This fabric does seem to be from an older era than the others-maybe a cotton from the 20’s or 30’s?

Another problem area is often the binding that goes around the edge. The edges have gotten a lot of wear and tear and often this is the area where it shows the most. Here the black fabric has once again given way. But isn’t the green yarn stitching a cute way to edge this piece?

As much as I like the green yarn stitching around the edge, I’ve never been a fan of the yarn ties in the middle of the squares:

I feel similarly negative about furry toilet seat covers. Trends from the 60’s that I never want to come back. If your tastes are different, don’t take offense! Different strokes for different folks, right?

Now that you know this old quilt’s weaknesses, let’s get fixing!

I grabbed black, gold and white thread for my sewing machine. I put a white bobbin thread in, since the back of this quilt is muslin. I set my machine on a wide zig-zag stich and started sewing down all those loose seams, matching the thread a little to the squares. Sometimes I ran over the seams twice.

There was even one little spot that had a hole. I simply ran back and forth over it with my zig-zags to tack it down. Easy-peasy. Don’t overthink. I think the zig-zag stitching adds charm!

I also zig-zagged any edge sections that were fraying, so the batting would’t show. I want this quilt to feel sturdy and solid enough to be used by the campfire on cold, fall nights.

Next I cut off the tired-looking yarn ties. The vintage fabrics still look beautiful, but the yarn ties just aren’t helping this quilt any.

The front of the quilt still needs to be attached to the back though, so the batting doesn’t slide around. My zig-zag stitching helped a little in spots, but I wanted regular attachment points throughout, so I can launder this at home. Enter my vintage button stash:

Any day I can use vintage buttons is a good day!

I tossed around the idea of using all green, like the yarn ties had been. Then I thought about all black to really punch up all the colors. But in the end, I decided I really wanted the fabrics to be the focal point. I chose buttons in the predominant colors of brown, green, gold and rusty orange. I also thought about punching up the look by using gold thread, but decided on a more subtle black. You can really change the look with your choice of little details like that.

After the repairs and updates were made, I washed the quilt in the washing machine and dried it in the dryer. The yarny holes pretty much closed up in the wash/dry process.

Now this old quilt is ready for a whole new generation of family fun!

I think buttons instead of yarn ties is a nice update! Don’t you just love all the pretty fall colors in this quilt? There’s even some of my favorite aqua mixed in with the warm, autumn colors. It even looks good next to the Autumn Joy Sedum!

I’m sure this quilter’s creator would be happy to see her hard work appreciated!

Taking something quite ordinary (and cheap) and investing some time and energy can result in a beautiful, usable, completely unique home accessory! With some simple sewing skills, refreshing a vintage quilt can be a satisfying little project. I hope you’ll be on the lookout while you’re secondhand shopping for one of these oldies, now that you know how to easily fix an old patchwork quilt!

 

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