In 2023, I put a new binding on this vintage quilt. During the recent Winter of Care and Repair Challenge, it received a few more patches and mends. I’m certain it won’t be the last time this vintage quilt gets an appliqué over a worn area.
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| Vintage quilt. |
Collaborating with Anonymous
I have a fondness for this quilt! It’s been on the bed for several years. I like its scrappy, make-do, improvisational nature—and that of its maker. While I don’t know who made the quilt, I’m happy to care for it, mend it, keep it in good condition, and preserve the original maker’s work. A happy collaboration with an anonymous quilter!
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| The quiltmaker had an interesting stash of fabrics to work with for this scrappy quilt. |
The original quiltmaker evidently had an eclectic stash of scraps and apparently some yardage (the red and blue prints used for the alternate blocks) for this project. I’m guessing the prints are probably from the 1940s and 1950s. Some fabrics (especially the stripes) appear to be from shirts. The feed sack backing could possibly be from an earlier time.
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| Feed sack backing of a vintage quilt. |
I came to find out through making a few of the repairs, that the middle layer is not a batting. It is some sort of woven textile or a blanket. Another make-do attribute of this quilt! So even though this quilt is thin, it’s heavier than one with a cotton batting.
Mixing in new fabrics
On a sales call earlier this year, I saw a quilt displayed in a quilt shop. Several of the fabrics had a retro vibe to them… which reminded me of my vintage quilt. Walking the aisles of the shop, I perused all the bolts of fabrics and purchased several prints that I thought had similar colors and patterns reflective of the fabrics in my vintage quilt.
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| Purchased new fabrics (left). The tiny floral (far right) is from my stash. |
Several of the fabrics I chose are from fabric collections that I rep. It was interesting to focus on individual prints and pull them away from the other coordinating fabrics. Taken out of their original context, they took on a new meaning for me.
The mends
Here are photos of the worn and torn places of my vintage quilt, along with the mends that were made.
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| Holes and worn areas. |
I actually had to unpick part of the binding to make the repair to this area.
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| Preparing the appliqué patches and the unpicked portion of the binding. |
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| Patched and mended. |
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| Worn area. |
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| Appliquéd patch with new hand quilting. |
A Make Nine 2025 finish
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| 2025 Make Nine tracker with the Mend/Upcycle prompt. March 30, 2025. |
One of my Make Nine 2025 prompts is a Mend/Upcycle prompt. I’m counting the mends on this quilt, as well as my participation in the Winter of Care and Repair, to fulfill this prompt.
Now that I have a curated bundle of vintage-inspired fabrics, however, I’m itching to follow Anonymous’ block pattern and make a few blocks of my own. Maybe coordinating pillowcases with a scrappy cuff are in my future. That would be a fun, easy, and purposeful project.
