Welcome to Mending Month on CRAFT! All month we’ll be bringing you projects you can do to bring new life to things you already own. First up is a continual project I’ve been working on: mending one of my quilts. It’s the first one my mom made for me, and it must have been ten years ago by now. The wear is all on the top, where the fabric just seems to be shattering at any point of bending (seams) or tension. I’ve been told it could be UV damage aggravated by sitting on the quilt all the time, but who really knows what caused damage like this! Here’s what I did to try to bring it back to life. I made an Instructable about this a while back, too.
Find the right fabric
I asked my mother to look through and see if she had any of the fabric she used to make my quilt, and it turned out she did. Not all of them are exactly the same, and that’s ok. As long as it fits the color scheme and roughly matches the print size, it’ll look fine.
Make paper templates
If you don’t have access to the pattern from which the quilt was made, use pieces of paper to make templates for each patch size you plan to make. Lay the actual size template on a new piece of paper and draw on whatever seam allowance makes you comfortable.
Cut the patches
Use a rotary cutter and plastic ruler (if you’ve got ’em) or scissors (if you don’t) to cut out your patches. Iron the seam allowances to the wrong side of the fabric, using the paper template as a guide. If you use steam, the paper won’t burn.
Affix the patches
There are many ways to attach the patch. Topstitch or zigzag on a sewing machine, or hand embroider/applique the patches to the quilt. Some methods make the patching more evident than others. Experiment. Let us know how it goes and leave suggestions in the comments!
ADVERTISEMENT
