help! quilt is disintegrating

[Shantimama]

I have a beautiful quilt that I bought about nine years ago. I love the colours, the pattern and I especially love it because it was on my bed when all of my babies were born. The pattern is Tumbling Blocks and it is just one fabric that is gradually disolving, the rest are fine. The patches that are doing this are not quilted. Is there any way to save the quilt? Could I make a template and pick a new fabric and somehow replace all of the ones that are gone? It sounds like so much work but I hate to think of this special quilt becoming nothing but a ratty piece of cloth. The other fabrics are holding up fine.

Please help!!

[spero]

Can you just whipstitch by hand around the pieces that are fraying? It would take some time and patience; but if you used a hoop & were careful to go through the batting, it might stabilize the fraying fabric a bit.

[Shantimama]

Unfortunately, it isn't just fraying - it looks like it is actually dissolving - there's practically nothing left of it in a few patches. It's like it just melted away. Weird, eh?

[mamajessica]

It could be done, but I believe it could quite possibly take more time than it is worth
Is it a detailed quilting pattern (the sewing over the fabric)?
This would make it even harder.
Basically you would have to take off the binding and separate the quilt enough to get in between the batting and top, then carefully take out the quilting to each disinegrating peice, replace each peice by hand, re-do the quilting and put new binding on...Not Fun.
Your other option may be more simple but not look as good. If you were to cut new blocks bigger with 1/4 inch seam allowance, hem them, then cut out (very carefully!) the blocks that are falling apart, leaving a 1/4 inch seam allowance to attach to , you could hand sew in the new blocks. The sewing would show and you could possibly ruin the quilting done in those blocks, but maybe not!
Sorry so long, but I understand loving a quilt so much you would do "just about" anything to save it!

[Kari_mom]

I have repaired my quilt my grandmother made me, it was very special and was made of scraps from the dresses she had made herself. Some of the squares were falling apart as you described. Since I had only about 6 squares to deal with, this is what I did:

From the front of the quilt, I carefully removed the quilting stitches and the piecing stitches holding the damaged fabric in place. I then cut new squares the same size as the original squares plus 1/4" seam allowance just as my grandmother had done. I then slipped the new squares into the 'windows' created by removing the damaged fabric and slipstitched them carefully into place. I re-quilted and it was done!

If you were to take it to a textile conservationist, they would recommend not using the quilt anymore and stabilizing the existing damage by basting polyester tulle over the damaged piecework. Here is a link that might be helpful:quilt conservation , googling the same terms will yield many more resources.

HTH!

[Shantimama]

Thanks! The peices that are damaged are not quilted, so replacing those individual pieces sounds like a possibility. I know it will take time but it is worth it. We all love this quilt and even though we use others at times I don't think I could stop using it altogether. I rememebr focusing on some of the peices while I was in labour with my youngest daughter and the sweet feeling that came with pulling it up around myself and each of my newborn babes for our first snooze together.

[mamajessica]

Yay! let us know how it goes...