Vintage Quilts – can they be used again

Vintage quilts come in many shapes and sizes.  They are mostly though tossed aside without any thought because they are in rough shape.

Today I’ll introduce you to my newest cutter quilt…or vintage quilt and why I bought it and what I plan on doing with it.

What are cutter quilts or vintage quilts~

They are quilts from back in the day wink wink.  They are older than us and are usually hand made – including the stitching and quilting.  They are worn out.  There are holes in spots where the fabric has just fallen apart and failed.  The holes usually show off the batting and the quilt top, just from the underside view.

Where can you find these quilts~

antique stores, swaps, garage sales or yard sales, thrift stores neighbors……. they are everywhere. You never know where they are hiding.  A few others I have picked up are from Ebay…but I try to spot them myself.  I’ve done well at yard sales where they are using the vintage quilt to hold items on the group.  I ask if its for sale and go from there.  You never know!

How much are you going to spend~

They can range from $5 – much much more. Sometimes the price surprises you!  I picked up this quilt for $20.  I thought that was a fair amount considering the usable spots on the quilt itself is a lot.

How do you care for your vintage quilts~

Be super gentle with it.  These large quilts get VERY heavy when they are wet so don’t hang them after washing or pull on them.  You’ll end up doing more damage sometimes trying to clean it up.  They can be smelly or musty, so they do need some washing, you’ll just need to be very gentle with the process.  Definitely do not stick them in your washer.

Here’s the front of the quilt I picked up.

Here is a quick look at what the quilt looks like when you turn it over-

Typically the edges go first or maybe one piece of fabric.  A lot of times one fabric would wear out at a much quicker rate the others.  So the whole quilt might be in awesome shape but every pink triangle is gone. Happens all the time.

For some reason I’m not deterred by the worn look though.  I find it interesting and I just fold the quilt in a way that you don’t see that part, until I’m ready to use it.

What are the plans for these type of quilts?

-these are also called cutter quilts.  That means there are spots that aren’t usable and will need to be cut out or fussy cut around.

-make wall hangings out of the good spots

-frame a square

-sew up a doll or plushie

This little bunny pin cushion is made with my latest cutter quilt and is a pattern in the quilt group membership area. So cute and simple to make!

Ideas for using your vintage quilt~

feeling stitchy has a few great ideas

primitive bettys shows off her collection

Are you a collector of vintage quilts?  What do you do with yours?

 

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