Quilt Repair

There are several options for quilt repair. Some are more aesthetically pleasing than others.

Mending Tape Method

Mending tape is available in different colors and widths. Iron the fabric flat to remove wrinkles. Cut the tape a 1/2" longer than the tear. Use a dry iron on the wool setting. Heat the fabric. Apply one strip under the tear and iron it into place. Apply a second strip over the tear and iron into place. You can get by with one strip on the top, but using two makes it more durable.

This is a quilted pillow case that I was asked to mend.

It was cut on the back with pinking shears and it had a zipper that was cut through as well. It was too jagged to sew up.

This video shows how to do it.

I ran out of blue and had to use white to make up the difference.

Glue Method

Use Fabri Tac if you have the original fabric the quilt was made with. Dilute the Fabri Tac with a small amount of acetone. Brush it onto the back of the mending fabric. Apply the fabric onto the quilt. Hold it in place until it bonds.

Hand or Machine Darning Method

If you need to stitch a hole closed, cut a piece of fusible sheer weight stabilizer a 1/2" larger than the hole. Place it under the hole and iron it in place. This will allow you to mend the fabric without the support slipping. Stabilizer is necessary to prevent the darning threads from ripping out of the frayed fabric. It is used for both hand and machine darning.

 

Hand mending allows you to get under the top fabric on a finished quilt so the thread doesn't show on the back. Pick a thread color that matches the top. Use a size 4 embroidery needle and several strands of all purpose thread to satin stitch over the hole. Insert a stiletto under the stabilizer and lift the fabric to make stitching easier. Move the needle out from under the stitches as you go so there's no gap. Remove the stiletto when you're done. 

Machine darning is best for mending fabric that is not quilted. For machine darning, you need a closed toe darning foot. The open toe is an embroidery foot. The closed toe is a darning foot. The darning foot has a spring action that lifts the foot so it doesn't get caught on the raised threads as you stitch. The foot is closed so it doesn't get caught on the threads or fabric while moving in multiple directions. Both the embroidery and darning feet are wrongly advertised as free motion quilting feet. They are not quilting feet. Using them for quilting causes irregular tension and stitch problems. The problem with machine darning is that the top thread will always show on the back of a finished quilt. If the back fabric has the same colors as the top, a matching thread color in the top and bobbin will work.

Large Wrinkles

No one likes large unsightly wrinkles on a quilt. Fabri Tac undiluted will close them. 

If the wrinkle is close to a seam on the quilt top, iron it to create a crease.

Squeeze a small amount inside the wrinkle close to the fold and hold it down a few seconds until the glue bonds. The process is the same for wrinkles on the back, minus the ironing.