How to Fix Tears in a Quilt

A quilt is a common family heirloom handed down from generation to generation.

Quilts are often precious family heirlooms passed down from generation to generation. Care for your quilt properly and it can last for hundreds of years. To maintain the condition and maximize the lifetime of your quilt, promptly repair tears before they increase in size. The use of specific techniques when repairing tears will help you maintain the quality of the quilt.

Things You'll Need

• Sheet
• Scissors
• Fabric that matches the quilt
• Needle
• Thread

Instructions

1. Spread the quilt on a flat work surface. Spread a sheet on the floor and put the quilt on top of it, or spread the quilt on your bed and work there.

2. Locate all tears. Sometimes small tears might be difficult to spot, but if you catch them early you can prevent them from growing and seriously damaging your quilt. Examine the fabric inch by inch on both the bottom and top to ensure that you are aware of all tears.

3. Cut a small patch of fabric that matches the color and print of your quilt. Place this patch on top of the tear.

4. Thread your needle and sew the patch in place using tiny stitches. Sew around the entire border of the patch to stop it from fraying and make sure you have covered the entirety of the tear, which you have now prevented from becoming larger.

5. Repeat until you have sewn a patch over every tear, regardless of the size of each rip.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are repairing a patchwork quilt, it is less important that the fabric you use for a repair patch matches the rest of the quilt. Patchwork quilts get their character from the diversity of fabric used in their composition. Every piece has a story. When choosing a repair patch for a patchwork quilt, use fabric with a history instead of looking for the best match.

• To preserve an authentic, heirloom quilt, search online for vintage fabrics from the era when your quilt was made for use as repair patches.

• Find a quilt repair service in your area by conducting an online search or looking in the yellow pages if your quilt is very valuable or you are not confident in your own sewing abilities.

References

• Googo Bits; How to Clean and Care for Handmade Quilts; Christie Halmick; May 2005
• Quilt History; Repair, Restore, Conserve; Kris Driessen
• Amish Quilts and More: Quilts Care

Resources

• "Harriet Hargrave's Caring for Fabric and Quilts (Quick-Look Guide)"; Harriet Hargrave; 2000