I'm needing help with nearly antique quilt
 

Nearly 50 years ago we received a quilt from an elderly friend (in her late 80's at the time) of the family as a wedding gift, it was totally hand pieced and quilted by her. A year later when visiting with her she handed me a flimsy that she had hand pieced which is an over-sized Queen sized quilt (it drapes over an over sized deep mattress and hangs yet over the bed skirt a bit.

I've carefully stored this flimsy quilt all these years. As you can see it is definitely 50's ~ 60's fabrics which appear in wonderful condition. I'm NOT a hand quilter so will be taking this to my long arm person. I'm perplexed and I'm asking for suggestions from the board membership here.

What batting would you suggest, as it will be on a guest bed for me to admire, but removed and replaced with another quilt when we have company so no one will be sitting on it. I'm leaning towards W/N white, but suggestions please.

Of course I don't have fabric that old as I've only been quilting maybe 10 years should I make bias binding in one color or scrappy from multiple strips, more seams???

I'm totally freaked out with binding this myself as I usually bind my quilts by sewing to the front by machine and hand binding the back. Never dealt with inny-e corners that the four patch pieces that are between the wedding rings are going to require.

I'm considering looking for someone that I could 'hire' to bind the quilt. I've pondered, don't faint here trimming the edges of the quilt to square it up the edges and not have to deal with "what I don't know how", but I really want the scalloped edges.

I've pulled this quilt out, put it back in storage because of my perceived complexity of binding it, off and on for a couple of years. Because it is special to me and I've been told the that the hand stitches are remarkable considering she was nearing 90 years old when it was pieced.... I really, really want to get it finished and out of storage.

I will try and post the pictures here if they are too big I will apologize in advance.
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I don't have a clue as to binding or batting you should use but I just wanted to tell you that you really have a treasure in your possession. Good luck in whatever you choose to do.

I will be watching this for any advice that your are given.

Oh, No, please don't cut the edges. I have 2 of these, and I hand bound them. It will pucker for you a little, but that's okay. Or find someone who will. It will be worth the money to do it this way. They are a pain, but they can be bound as it is. And oh, so gorgeous. This is one beautiful quilt. Don't change it. The edges are part of the beauty of it. And oh, so much work she did to make it. And yes, it will have to have bias binding.

If this beauty was mine, I would do whatever it takes to maintain the original design of the borders. If doing the bias binding intimidates you, then by all means, hire someone else to do it for you. Again, if this were mine, I think I would back it and bind it with a muslin material, and probably use cotton batting. This is definitely a quilt that is begging to be finished, both for its historical value, and to honor the original quiltmaker for her hard work to make it looks beautiful. You have a treasure there, enjoy it :)

You can check with your LA person. They may do binding or have someone that they can refer. Please to not cut off those squares. I would go with Muslin binding

I agree with others to do whatever you can to maintain the integrity of the scalloped edges. There are tons of tutes and You Tube videos about binding a scalloped edge quilt. So either take the plunge to do it yourself or hire someone. Don't cut it.

As far as batting I would highly recommend consulting with your longarmer on that. DWR quilts are notorious for being a bit full in spots (especially when hand pieced) and it will be very difficult for your LAQ to quilt out the fullness without getting tucks and pleats with a batting as flat as warm and natural or warm and white. She or He will probably need to evaluate the quilt and based on that you can make a decision together based on the quilts condition, the longarmers expertise and most importantly your wants. Your photos show the top to be in great condition and I am not seeing any fullness but it is hard to tell from a photo.

I made one similar to that as my first quilt. I cut my binding on the bias. Made it much easier to apply. Beautiful quilt.

What a treasure! I would do a facing rather than a binding. It will leave the edges nice and flat and preserve the wonderful shape. Plus it's much easier to do.

I would send this to the Amish to be hand quilted and bound.