margaret harrison Posted October 28, 2008 Report Share Posted October 28, 2008 My 80 year old aunt asked me to quilt some tops that were made by her grandmother; she thinks they were made in the early 1900s. (They were given by the grandmother to my aunt's mother before she got married.) Some are made of flour sacks and feed sacks others are cotton fabric probably from clothing of that time. Recently she contacted a longarm quilter who would not quilt them because of the fabrics were so old. I have had my Millie less than a month, know nothing about the dangers of quilting old fabric, but really want to finish these for her. (I'm less afraid of the powerful Millie than I am of my own ignorance.) Any ideas on what I should do or not do--including would it be best to find a hand-quilter for this job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hollyrw Posted October 28, 2008 Report Share Posted October 28, 2008 I have agonized over much the same situation. I have a couple of quilt tops made by mother's grandmother or one of the grandmother's sisters. We're not sure. I finally decided that these were generational quilts and what I had to offer was beautiful machine quilting. Having said that, they are still waiting to be quilted. I want to make sure I've got enough practice first so that I can do that "beautiful" job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted October 28, 2008 Report Share Posted October 28, 2008 Can you post some pictures of the quilts...then maybe we can help you with designing a period quilt. Certain patterns were used in different time periods, and if you want a period quilt maybe we can help you with that. If not then just go for it, and quilt as you desire....haven't we all heard that enough as time goes by you will turn that off as well. Just because fabrics are old doesn't really mean that they are weak....now if there are weak spots in the fabrics or seams then I would maybe suggest putting some type of iron on stabilizer behind those places...a very light weight pellon would be my first choice. Now if the other quilter wouldn't quilt on them because she would take away the antique value then that is a totally different story and one even you will need to face and live with. Because once you have modernly machine quilted an early 20th century top, it will totally give it a lessor value, but it will still be in the family, and a item you can use and enjoy. I would go for it as long as it was for me...I have turned down tops of this same period of time from customers, because they couldn't convince me that they were ready to deal with that and I didn't want them to have second thoughts after I had quilted them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollyc Posted October 28, 2008 Report Share Posted October 28, 2008 I do these old quilts all the time. Even though the fabric going into these quilts were often cut from old garments, the fabric has survived a long time. It will withstand machine quilting. I would not recommend frogging as the repeat quilting can cause fabric damage(real life experience) Use stencils and other older techniques for these quilts and you can maintain the integrity of the era in which they were sewn. It is wonderful to bring life to old quilts. Wash them in oxyclean when finished I sometimes wash them 3 times, they get that soft old feel. Never, ever wash a quilt top, no matter how dirty before it is quilted, it will fray away. I have pictures of old quilts I have done. Take a look if interested. http://www.fotki.com/hcain/holly-quilting-1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted October 28, 2008 Report Share Posted October 28, 2008 Holly--your rescue of the ebay tops is wonderful! I love the DWR with the signatures. And I also love that you didn't quilt them to death. You are so right to quilt lightly to match the era of the tops. You give great advice!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginnysnowden Posted October 28, 2008 Report Share Posted October 28, 2008 I have done several probably 5 of these old quilts. They were all hand pieced. I made sure that all the seams were secure. All the advice above is good the quilting in the manner of the era is the best. It worked for me. ginny snowden ps I found that two of the quilts had mildew on them scarey. I did not wash them, informed the customer recommended a couple of solutions and let it go at that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
margaret harrison Posted October 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 Appraisal, pellon, lightly quilting, every suggestion was wonderful. (I have no idea what frogging is, but I'll check that out also.) To post pictures I would have to learn how to use a digital camera. Maybe after Christmas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 Originally posted by margaret harrison (I have no idea what frogging is, but I'll check that out also.) Frogging is where you have to sometimes take out or unsew stitches ....:P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb2bie Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 Hey Holly, I see your last name is Cain. That is my Gramma's maiden name. Where is your family(or husbands) from? Gramma had lots of siblings born in Michigan. Could we be related!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheri Butler Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 I too have done "several" vintage quilt tops. Just pick a theme from the era, like baptist fans. I wouldn't do "heavy heirloom" type quilting on these old fabrics, but just the basic's like they did back then, and you will be amazed at how authentic all around they look! Obviously,, the quilting wouldn't of been so perfectly stitched back then (thanks to your millie!), but, never-the-less, it will be georgous to see those old quilting styles done up on those beautiful old quilts! If you search the internet, you can get some great old quilting patterns from the early 1900's up thru the 30's and you'll be just fine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chocoholic Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 Frogging is removing stitches that you have mistakenly put in. Think "rippit" rippit". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollyc Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 DEb2bie...my husband's family is from eastern Montana, old cowboys who settled there from cattle drives from Texas. Don't let any mildew on these old quilts stop you. The DWR that I did was coral and light brown in some spots. I washed three times with Oxyclean, threw in the dryer and it is charming. Doesn't damage the fabrics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PattyJo Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 I finished a 9 patch quilt that had been pieced by hand. Each block was a bit different in size so I did a wiggle stitch down and across each stitching line. Time consuming, but it came out beautifully. Just a suggestion if you have some ballooning blocks. Also have done some old ones with a simple stipple meander. Clam shells and Baptist fans always look good on old quilts. If you can, please post some pics so that we can see them when you are finished with them. :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeri Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 Don't, don't don't do Oxy-Clean with an old quilt. I did on recommendation from someone who retores quilts and the turkey red is now orange. For some fabrics it may work for some it does not. Mine is vintage 1880's and the dyes did not stand up to that chemical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeri Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 I've quilted many an old quilt. There are several questions to ask and the quilt to inspect. I've accepted some and turned down others. Take a look at the construction. Can you put it on the mahine and quilt it with no damage? Most would have been hand pieced so is the piecing solid or is it coming apart in places? How are the edges of the quilt? If you put it on the machine is the border going to come apart? Are the fabrics in the quilt fragile? This happens a lot when the fabrics are from used garments. Are parts of the quilt frayed? I won't put it on my machine if I question the solidity of the top . If the quilt is solid and the piecing is solid no problem put on your machine if that's what the owner wants. I always make sure that the owner knows that quilting an old quilt may make it useable or finished but that it may decrease the monetary value of that quilt and if that's a consideration they may want to have the top appraised or have it hand quilted. Often these people are not quilters and don't know availabel options. Just ask many probing questions as to the goal of the owner of an old quilt. Machine quilting an old top won't increase the monetary value but it may make the quilt more valuable sentimentally to to owner. I have recommended a church hand quilting group to several potential customers who wanted to preserve the historic value of their quilt. Even though you are in the "business" of quilting quilts for people those that you are honest with about old quilts will appreciate that honesty and often refer future customers to you. jeri Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caroljean Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 i did an old top from the 1930's ..............before i was smart enough to be fearful of it. anyhow it survived and i did too. look for loose stitches and secure them and look for fraying or very thin places. have to be careful not to let the hopping foot get under the seams and then make a tear. just inspect it closely and beware of the weak places and you should be just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyeQ Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 I've done a BUNCH of these. Some hand pieced some machine, some very well done others that could not lay flat under a steam roller. A few with mildew. I've quilted all ways. If they were hand pieced and looked fragile I did MORE quilting on them to secure them. After quilting them I washed them in Woolite for dark colors on gentle and let them air dry. They turned out great and a whole bunch of them are being used in my cousin's house full of kids with great success. Some are in my webshots album. Have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merryjo2003 Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 I've heard quilting these old tops deminishes their value. That being said, I quilt them all the time!:P I look at it this way. If they aren't being sold as a historical piece to some collector, and the family wants to preserve them and enjoy them, why not! Put the history on the label and quilt them with a period design like they might have been quilted. At least they can be displayed and enjoyed by the newer generations! And they aren't just rotting and falling apart in some trunk! I have a few of my own, too! I love them. You just have to be careful not to put any tension on them when you quilt them so you don't pop seams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnHenry Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 One of my beautiful quilts was ruined when washed with Woolite against my instructions. I recommend Shaklee Products, used to be called Basic H and Basic L, but now the Laundry Product is called Get Clean Fresh Laundry Concentrate. Never had a problem with any fabric or dye. Woolite seems to be dangerous with certain dyes but not with others. I'd also like to note that cotton batting seems more appropriate for old timey quilts than polyester. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.