Help with fixing an old top
 

I need some expert advice. A friend has brought a top to me that her husband made from what looks like different shirts and pants. There are areas where the seams are coming apart and she wants to know if it can be fixed. I think if I put a stabilizer of some sort behind where it is coming apart and resew it by hand it will work but I am hoping someone who has done this has some advice for me. Thanks in advance.

Using an iron on interfacing is a good idea. Go ahead and sew your seams, and then you might try putting "fraycheck" and the raveled seams.

Yes, you could probably fix the areas that are coming apart. However it will be time consuming, and the top will probably continue to come apart in more areas. It looks like the fabrics are fairly loose weave and the seams not deep enough. Quilting it fairly densely would help to hold it together. I would ask the friend whether it's truly worth it to her to try to salvage the quilt, when the same amount of time could be used to make another that would not have these problems. It might be that the quilt has great sentimental value, or perhaps not.

Sometimes the people that ask have no idea of what is involved.

I did one with the iron on interfacing under the seams as suggested. Because it was also made of poor fabric with small seams, I then did a zig zag with invisible thread over every seam. I realize that could ruin the value of a quilt, but it had no value except for sentimental value and it was the least noticeable way I could think of to hold it together. It has since lived to see another couple of years as a snuggle quilt.

If you don't mind compromising the authenticity of the quilt, you could bring the areas that are coming apart by hand and then machine stitch over each seam to prevent further damage. Just an idea.

I agree with Dunster. And because it's tied, it's not very secure. It will continue to shift and put stress on the seams.