When is a quilt ready to be "retired"?
 

With the craze/fad for "worn looking" jeans - how badly worn does a quilt have to be, before one can "comfortably" say "it's had it and is no longer serviceable"?

How do you send a quilt that has given long and faithful service "over the rainbow bridge"?

If ever?

Do you have a farewell ceremony?

Just wondering - I see a lot of requests for renovations for quilts that are in literal shreds.

(I am not talking about a faded spot, or a small tear that is comparatively easily fixed or overlooked.)

I think it depends on the value of the quilt--historical, sentimental or a unique quality. If it is a utilitarian quilt that is not practical to restore or provide useful parts (parts can be used in many creative ways), it should likely be retired the same as other worn out fabric items--to the garbage with whatever farewell ceremony you feel appropriate.

Timely thread, Bear. I just donated about a dozen old quilts to a shelter. At one time I thought I would "fix" them but have lost interest for the most part. Some really needed too much work and I'd rather focus on other things. But they weren't so far gone that they were unusable to someone who just needs warmth.
I always bury my furkids in quilts- and some haven't been old :)
I have a quilt that has a date of 1855 on it and it was so heavily quilted that it's still "alive". But it looks awful. Not sure what to do with it.
I have a pristine one dated 1866 that is so gorgeous I'm afraid to use it!!
I love antique quilts!!!!!!!!!

i was thinking that the threadbare quilt on my bed should be replaced. but i love the pattern and it would take me forever to replicate it. and it was a cheap store bought, foreign made quilt from 20 years ago. so for now, it stays on my bed.

I feel you are emotionally attached to a worn-out quilt, you could pick a section that is in the best shape, and cut it out and frame it before throwing the rest away. That way you still have the reminder of the quilt you loved without the worry of maintenance.

My DD's baby quilt was transformed into a stuffed dinosaur for her son. It was faded and thread bare. I stitched it to another fabric as backing to give it some stability. After 23 years as Spike he is still around. Now another quilt made for another GS was requested to be repaired. After I saw a hole the size of a dinner plate I said no. Look in the cedar chest for a new one. He just kept the ragged one as is.

Bear,

I just gave a quilt a new grandma and included a letter about making it for her. My request was that someday the quilt would be tattered and torn.

My only worn quilt isn't going anywhere, except in pieces. It's totally hand made for me by my grandmother. I used it so much it wore out. She was so happy to have someone use a quilt that she made me a new one with a different pattern. They both have fabrics from dresses she made for me when I was a child. I am framing okay pieces of the tattered quilt. One for me and one for each child who wants one.

Had some small quilts that wore out; folded in half (more holes in than out) and sewed over the double layer to use for dog blankets. You could also just fold a quilt to suitable size and make a durable envelope for it, to use as dog bed or picnic cushion. At the very end, there are places that recycle old unwearable/unusable fabrics into fiber.

My sis still has and loves a blanket that was given to my brother about 60 years ago. It is still a great blanket, and I use it when I am at her house. She has had it rebound at least once.

When the fabric is wearing through and the seams are frayed, it might be time to recycle it as batting for a new quilt (that is what my Grandmother did).

Nan, my sister bought one of those a long time ago and I gave her a lecture on why she shouldn't have bought a cheap import. We still laugh about it. I totally overreacted to it haha

When I was young and dumb and uninformed about what and how a quilt should be made, I made my 5 siblings a granny square quilt throw. I know at least 2 of them STILL have them; they were worn out, falling apart and the one sister who barely sews, just sewed a big patch over the area. The quilts were just tied but it was their 'go to' blanket when one of her kids was sick. They still remember it. I imagine the others are long gone.

Make a "Teddy Bear" out of old quilts....

It's a tough question - I still have my "pinkie blankie" - a white and pink quilt my grandmother sewed for me, with hand-embroidered kitten faces on the blocks. I used that quilt to death as a kid, it was patched and repaired many times and the entire back was replaced at least twice. Now it's reached a point where the fabric just falls apart if you touch it and there's really no way to salvage any of it. But it feels wrong to just throw it in the trash - that "blankie" was my "safety blanket" and helped me through a lot of bad times when I was small.

I have recently thought I should take it to our family property and bury the quilt in the area where we scattered Grandma's ashes. I feel like it deserves that level of respect, and being all-cotton it wouldn't be bad for the land.

My cousin still has his "blankie" too - his was a blue crazy quilt, and his was also patched a million times, but being a crazy quilt it's harder to tell, and having more layers has helped his stay "alive" longer. He can still point out which of the pieces are from the original quilt, though!

My mom. gone now 13years...made my two baby girls a pink and blue baby gingham baby quilt...they are now 51 and 49 and they still have the quilts...now I have made my great grandbabies one... hard to find gingham these days...I have a small wallhanging done in all gingham, grandmothers flower garden...need to quilt it and get it hemmed...one of those UF0's...but just got my George sit down machine quilting machine...so maybe I can get some quilting done...that is after I practice a lot!! Been longarming for years, but this is quite different...wish me luck...

or, you could make pillows, stuffed animals, “I found a heart” items, etc.

My grandmother used to make a cover for her old one and we tied them. I remember they were so warm and heavy. How I wish I had them now I am sure there were some worth copying. As my quilting has evolved I am making more and more copies of old ones.

When the fabric keeps tearing is when I get rid of it. With my great-grandmother's quilts - I took out a 2 foot section plus enough binding to make a small example block and then just tossed it into fabric recycling (Our community has that). The quilt my late sister had is getting some repairs and a new backing and going into the car. I don't worry about damage or stains to car quilts/afghans. I made this for her using leftover halloween fabrics, but many of them are cheapo Joann's fabrics that have faded or not lasted well.

Will probably never get rid of the quilt my daughter made me years ago. She made it in the heat of summer when she lived in Florida and gave it to me at Christmas that same year. She was not someone who ever showed any interest in sewing but her quilt is in perfect proportion and was hand done and quilted. The binding is terribly worn and the beautiful raspberry floral squares have faded but I still love it. It has been kept in use all these years both inside and out. Put it into a duvet at one point but decided I'd rather have it as is than hidden. Used it just the other night when the temperatures dipped.

I consider replacing a binding to be a "minor" repair. I have two quilts in my living room now that have very frayed bindings, but the "rest" of the quilts are in pretty good condition - if one excludes some fading of some of the fabrics.

I believe in retiring quilts that are to "ragged and torn" to continue using without causing more damage. Fortunately I have personally only had to do this one time, so far.

I had possession a family quilt dating from the last half of the 1700s that was "dead on my watch" by the time I received it. I donated this quilt to the textile museum at Colonial Williamsburg in 2002 because it was in a too poor condition to keep at home with the historical value in it. They were the ones who dated it.

It is one of two Virginia quilts in their collection from this period and the only one with written provenance, They tell me it will likely never be displayed, only preserved for research, due to the condition.

The background of plantation-grown flax, spun into linen fabric, is still strong, though it shows evidence of very old repair (Civil War damage???). But the brown English chintz and calico in many the blocks was likely mordant-fixed with iron and the threads are disintegrating in many places. The hand quilting was likely done with linen thread because it, too, is holding up quite well. But, in general, the quilt was too old and too unique to keep safely at home for personal use. I was so glad I was living in Williamsburg, VA, at the time because that was the perfect permanent home for this "used up" quilt.

Jan in VA

Cute idea...I like the idea of repurposing old, worn out quilts. You might also be able to cutout a usable section of the quilt and make throw pillow covers, potholders, or fancy up some tea towels with strips of the quilt.

~ C