Soft vintage quilt feel
 

Sorry I haven’t posted in a very long time. Have been in the hospital. I’m starting to feel a little stronger though and would like to start on a quilt for a Christmas present. Can someone tell me why the quilts of today don’t have that soft vintage quilt feel about them. So many of them feel stiff and store bought. I loved the way my grandmas quilts felt, soft and cuddly. Any suggestions?

To me, quilts soften over time. That can't be created. I also think today's quilts are "quilted to death". Some are so stiff from the micro quilting that is done on them. Perhaps, you are also thinking, love from Grandma, that makes everything better.

Grandma hand quilted. If you do that your quilts will be much softer.

What toverly said...... and, it helps to start with thin, thin, cotton batting and then many, many launderings. (think dryer lint in the dryer from fabric and batting)

I think the batting and use is what makes the difference. I have seen pictures of very old hand quilted quilts (think welsh quilts) that are just as densely quilted as any of today's quilts. Although I can't attest to how soft they are, pictures I have seen shown them draped over things that make me think they are like you describe. Antique batting was not bonded or needle punched or any of the modern conveniences we have today. Some quilts just had carded wool in them as the batting which required encasing it in something else, like cheesecloth type fabrics. Others had hand carded cotton. The nature of these battings required dense quilting to avoid batting migration and bearding usually 2" or less apart. Now I do agree that quilting spaced at 2" is not dense but I really think batting makes more of a difference than density of quilting. As a longarm quilter I have quilted both very densely and openly and IMHO the batting makes all the difference in the drape.
I definitely agree that use and repeated launderings will greatly contribute to a soft and drapey and cuddly quilt. Think of blue jeans. They really don't get nice and soft and comfortable until they have been used and laundered a lot. So even today's modern cotton battings will make a quilt soft and cuddly once it has been loved on for a while. But to hasten the process I would look for unbonded cotton battings like Quilters Dream. QD batting is still needle punched.
Another option is to not use any batting and back your quilts with something like Minkee and you will definitely get the feel you are remembering.

A lot of use - and washings - will soften up almost any quilt.

Also, some of the quilts were made from used garments which had been washed and the fabrics were soft to start with.

Some of the old quilts were lined with old sheets and tied.

I don't think "over washing & dryer drying" is the answer.......grandma didn't wash her Quilts often, nor did she have a dryer.......
i think fabrics she used were mostly recycled from other things....curtains, aprons, clothing....and she usually used muslin for the back....personally I do too...when washed, it is soft as a marshmallow(good quality muslin).
dont know for sure, but maybe the fabrics were manufactured differently too...probably not as many chemicals......

and it seems true, hand quilting is softer.....

Someone pointed out in a thread somewhat recently that vintage quilts, being hand quilted, only have the thread running on one side of each stitch whereas machine quilted quilts will have thread on both sides of each stitch which would add to the stiffness. That seemed to ring really true to me, since it seems no matter how densely you hand quilt something, it still is softer than if you machine quilted it. Yes, different battings will make the quilt feel different too.

I think hand quilting makes a huge difference.
Glad you're feeling better. Keep it up :)

your grandma probably used old clothes to make her quilts