How to Use Old Quilts in Crafts
Vintage quilts can be purchased at estate sales and thrift shops, sometimes at quite a bargain. While the look of old quilts is a classic one in country decor, sometimes the quilts that you find have some fatal flaws, such as disintegrating pieces or very large holes. If the quilt that you've found can't be saved, you can still use pieces of it for other crafts and save the basic quilt look for your home decor.
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Instructions
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Investigate all that you can about your quilt before using it in any craft project. If this quilt is old, take it to a local quilt shop for evaluation if you don't know a lot about quilts. Sometimes old quilts are quite valuable, and if there is any way to restore them, this would be the better choice.
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Measure out how much usable quilt material is left after you cut out all of the bad and useless parts. Cut around all the bits that are falling apart, but save as much as you can. After you have the good bits left, figure out what you can make with the remains.
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Make somewhat larger pieces of old quilts into placemats, doll blankets or wall hangings. Cut the quilt piece into a square or rectangle and finish the edges with seam binding or bias binding.
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Make stuffed animals out of the smallest pieces that are left. Most stuffed animal patterns can be made with relatively small pattern pieces, so this is a useful way to use up the last of the quilt scraps that you may have left.
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Save at least one quilt block from each vintage quilt, if possible. These blocks make attractive wall hangings, and a collection of them will be a good visual history of the quilts that you have used in decorating your home.
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Tips & Warnings
If your quilt pieces have just a small amount of fabric missing, try to find replica fabrics to replace them. Civil War fabrics and Depression fabrics are especially popular and easy to find.
Never cut apart an old quilt before finding out as much history as possible. You may cut up a very valuable piece of art without knowing it, if you are unfamiliar with quilts and quilt values.
