Originally Posted by
QuiltingHaven
My sister-in-law had a quilt that looks like a lot like yours except it was made with octagonal 2 1/2" pieces and triangles. I, first went looking for feedsack fabrics and small flowers/dots/circles, etc. Then I gently took out each piece that was frayed, broken, holey, etc. Then, I used the "sick" pieces and made paper patterns and then found the fabric that was the closest that I could find in my fabrics plus the ones I purchased. Yes, it took me a good 6 weeks to repair this valued quilt for n 81 year old and she was thrilled. Here are a 3 pictures for you.
This is EXACTLY what I would do to mend this. I have done something similar on two quilts where the fabric was just disintegrating...I did not remove the old pieces, but used them as a basis for template which I hand appliquéd on top of the damaged area. if there was quilting inside that area, I mimicked that, quilting from the back to follow the original stitches...........Both quilts were saved.