It is beautiful and the Amish are really experienced in doing this by hand. I would seek one out or send it to one to have it hand done if you are intimidated by doing it yourself. It is lovely and will be a real treasure when it is complete.

Please, please do not machine quilt this beautiful DWR. While some do a fantastic job, long-arm machines were not being used at the time this quilt was created. It was made with hand stitches and I highly recommend being consistent in the finishing. Amish, Mennonite, a person or church group who hand quilt, please!

altho I am a L/A quilter, I completely agree with the above....costwise if done by machine not much different than hand ( if done custom). Muslin on the back and hand quilted is the way to go

this is a real treasure if it were mine I would never machine quilt it I would check around quilt guilds, quilt shops and or church quilting groups and have it hand quilted or you could check some quilting groupd and take a class and do it your self it is beautiful Good Luck with whatever you decide to do

Just checking in with a similar story of a DWR that I treasured for years.
My father had been given a DWR top at some point in either the late 20s or early 30s (possibly in exchange for legal work). When I was a teenager (late 50s/early 60s) my mom got an elderly lady in town who was bedridden but still did hand quilting to quilt and bind it. I slept under this quilt throughout my teenage years and up until the mid to late 90s at which point the muslin of the background was deteriorating and some of the small pieces were coming unstitched as well. I then folded it and displayed it on a quilt stand along with the state flower quilt that was also in much the same shape. Unfortunately when our house burned in 2000 they didn't survive.
Please get this beauty you have hand quilted and bound. Then go ahead and use it. That's what it was meant for!

Exactly my first thought, why put something mechanical on it when it has been done by hand? Will it cost more and take longer, probably. I'm trying to think what was on the backing of mine, I would go with a high quality muslin and knife edge, instead of "binding". It was made during a simpler and gentler time, that is how I would treat it.

I just did one similar to this about two years ago. I just put the binding on and hand sewed it, it wasn't hard at all.

You definitely have a treasure, the quilting is wonderful, and there is a nice variety of fabrics and colors. I have never used a long arm quilting, but don't they offer the option of putting on the binding? I have no idea, but using bias binding, you should be able to bind it without a lot of problems. I think it's a wonderful quilt. My Mom quilted, however, they were utilitarian quilts and were well used and worn out by the time I came along - I was the youngest of 7 children, and there was a 7 year gap between my youngest brother and my sister, then I came along 2 years later. Dad always said that they thought they had reached the end of the line, with my sister as the caboose; however, they hooked 2 more cars onto the train.

Talk to your long armer or whoever quilts this for you about using wool bat--it has enough loft to take out any poofiness there may be, gives wonderful,lightweight drape--would be perfect for this beauty.

Gorgeous top. Please please please have it hand quilted and bound. Machine quilting seems like a crime for an old quilt top made by hand. My humble opinion. And please don't cut off anything.