How To Repair An Heirloom Quilt

Woman's Day

Materials:
12 to 16 quilted place mats (12 mats will yield a twin-size coverlet; 16 a full or queen; if you want a quilt, use 15 for a twin, 20 for a full or queen.)
11 yards of 1-inch-wide ribbon
scissors
pins
Scotch tape
thread to match ribbon
sewing machine or hand-sewing needle
1½ yards of 54-inch-wide poplin or old sheeting cut to 78x54 inches
large-eyed embroidery needle
6-ply embroidery floss to match ribbon (optional)

Instructions:
1. Place four place mats in a row, aligning their short ends, right sides facing up. Place another row of place mats, short ends aligned, adjacent to the first. Cut a 78-inch strip of ribbon (the ribbon will run the length of four place mats, which are generally 19 inches long each; other ribbons will be cut to run the width of four place mats, which are generally 13 inches wide—measure yours to be sure they're standard size, and if not, adjust the dimensions of the cut ribbons accordingly, adding 2 inches for folding over at ends).

2. Place the ribbon over the bound edges of the long sides of the two adjacent rows of place mats. Pin it in place to secure both rows together, folding the 1-inch excess at each end of the ribbon around to the back. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 with two more rows of four place mats each.

3. Apply strips of tape over the short edges of the place mats to temporarily secure them, or pin them together. Roll over one long edge of one set of pinned place mats, and topstitch the ribbon next to each long edge to secure the lengths of the place mats together. Repeat for the other set of pinned place mats.

4. Place each of the two sets of joined place mats next to each other, long sides aligning and right sides facing up. Cut another 78-inch piece of ribbon, and place the ribbon over the bound edges of the long sides of the two adjacent sets of place mats and pin in place. Again, roll up one side of the joined mats so that they flow under the sewing machine easily, then topstitch the ribbon along both long edges of the ribbon to join all of the mats along their lengths. Remove pins

5. Cut three pieces of ribbon 54 inches long. Remove the tape or pins, securing the short sides of the mats. Then position the three strips of ribbon over the bound short ends of the adjacent mats, pinning in place and folding over the ends of the ribbon to the back. Topstitch these ribbons along both sides to secure all the place mats together. (Alternatively, all of the ribbons may be secured to the mats by hand, using a running stitch.) Remove pins.

6. Press under a 1-inch hem on all four sides of the poplin or sheeting. Turn the coverlet face side down on a surface, place the poplin or sheeting over the coverlet, wrong sides facing. Pin the poplin or sheeting to the coverlet around all edges. Then turn over, and stitch in the ditch along the bound edges of the mats to secure backing to coverlet.

7. Secure the backing to the coverlet by hand-tufting with a large-eyed embroidery needle and embroidery floss, or with several layers of thread at ribbon intersections.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io