Help with Vintage Quilt Top
 

I inherited a couple of "utility" quilt tops from my Grandmother's Aunt Edith, which I would like to finish. One of the tops is a Granny Square block made of 2 1/4" finished blocks. Except for the muslin setting blocks, the blocks are fabrics from scraps of old shirts. In the spirit of "making do", many of the squares are themselves pieced. It was hand-pieced and made before 1956.

The problem with the quilt is that the half-square triangles that border the quilt are too small, generally leaving no seam allowance. Aunt Edith's "making do" attitude meant that she took the same size muslin blocks she used elsewhere in the quilt and cut them in half to attach at the border. In addition to leaving no seam allowance, it also means the entire edge is on the bias.

Should I just finish it "as is", carefully trying to minimize the stretch from the bias edges and recognizing that all the points on the edge will be cut off when I bind it?

Or should I remove all those half square triangles and replace them with ones which are both correctly sized to include a seam allowance and don't have the bias on the outside edge?

If I replace the outside triangles, should I try to match the muslin (which is always hard) or go with an entirely different fabric?

Thanks for you help with this.
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What a great quilt! Hope you come up with a solution.

I would bind it as is, and call it good, rather than replacing all those squares with new fabric just to save the points. I might even put on an extra wide binding, so the loss of points looks more intentional. How wonderful to have a quilt made by your grandmother's aunt!

If it were me, I would just add a border of a different, but coordinating, fabric. You would lose the points on the outside blocks, but it would be much less work, and waste less fabric, than replacing all those triangles. Also, it would be in keeping with the “make do” attitude of the quilt.

I agree with not replacing. I think you keep the integrity of the quilt as it is. I don't think you will notice those almost points that much once you put a border on it. It is terrific. Lucky you.

I would finish it as is. Run a straight line stitching all the way around to stabilize the bias edges

Thanks to everyone for your quick replies. It sounds like the recommendation is to finish “as is” and let the points get chopped if needed. The quilt is about 84” by 72”, so I’m not feeling the need to add a border.

The quilt also made me feel better that there is a universal truth of UFOs: there is probably a very good reason why it wasn’t finished. As I am working through my own stash of UFOs, there is usually a problem that kept me from finishing at the time.

As you said, SuzSLO as someone who picks up quite a few UFOs, there are usually reasons on why they are not done. The nice thing is that I am willing to undo the work/time of someone else that maybe I'm not willing to do on my own projects so it all works out.

Those wrong sized setting triangles is a common issue and I agree with the others, cut it off smooth and let the points land where they may and either finish like that, or put on a border of something that is vaguely coordinating.

I agree with Dunster. I would hate to use new fabric on an old quilt. It reminds me of the Bible that says "never patch an old wineskin with new skin." the new fabric might shrink and put strain on the old fabric. Lucky you to have such a wonderful piece of history in your family.

I think I would just finish as is as others have said. Lucky you to have it.

Welcome to this board. Lots of helpful people here.