re-binding a quilt
 

About 17 yrs ago I hand quilted a whole cloth quilt for my daughter for her wedding. She has informed me that because she washes it so often the binding is all frayed and want me to fix it. My question is do I remove the old binding or re-bind over the old binding. I do not know how badly it is frayed as she has not shown it to me, just asked if I could fix it.

Save yourself some time and aggravation. Just put it right on top of the other one. Only you will know.

after you repair it, give her instructions on "washing" a lovely whole cloth quilt. agitation is the enemy. soaking and spinning work just fine.

I would just add the new binding on top of the existing. Yes, agitation is the enemy. soaking and spinning will work much better for the quilt.

I would remove the old binding if it is to bad shape. If only in a few places then only remove the warn spots. Cut them away and piece it together. I tried to put the new over the old and had a mess, so I ended up removing the old.

I would put the new binding over the old one. May have to be a bit wider than the original but much easier than taking it apart.

I had to rebind one that was so worn, I trimmed the whole quilt just beyond the binding and started fresh.

I agree with cjsews, since it's a whole cloth quilt and you will not be losing any points on stars, I would trim just past the binding and make a whole new binding. You're only going to lose less than 1" on the width and the length.

I agree with the above two posts.

I do suggest that since the quilt has been washed a lot that the fabric you intend to use be laundered prior to attaching the binding no matter the method.

The only issue with trimming is that if it is hand quilted, you don't want to trim any of the quilting threads.

I think once you see the quilt you will know what to do. My first preference would be to sew a new binding over the top of the old one and my second preference to cut the old one off and start again. Best of luck!

I also agree, cut the worn binding off and start fresh.

Why is it necessary to wash it so often? I'd suggest that she switch out her quilts to make them last longer. Some folks use detergent that is too harsh also. Have her do some research on detergents.

The quilt was made 17 years ago. If it has been in use all that time, and only the bindings are worn- I thnk that may have come from just handling it.

I'd try to remove the old one. If it's difficult, I'd just bind over. you'll be using white or cream, right? I'd think the worn binding might show thru.

It gets so dirty because she allows the three dogs on the bed. This does not make me happy but it is not mine and she knows how I feel.