Aging fabric
 

A friend of mine asked me to work on a quilt that her grandmother made. There are a number of sections that need to be replaced. While I feel like I have a handle on how to work on the repair (I think anyway - time will tell). When I am looking for fabric for that patching it is all so new looking next to the other fabrics in the quilt.

Is there a way to "age" new fabric so it won't look as new against the older fabric in the quilt? I understand it will always look newer, I would just like to dim the newness a little bit

any suggestions?

thanks

teresa

Maybe try a light tea stain on a piece to see if that ages it a little. Or leave a piece in bright sun for a few days to fade it some.

Tea stain was my first thought. It's easy to do and does seem to make fabrics look older.

Thank you for your suggestion! I will give it a try

I have also used a light bleach solution. The aging is a problem even if you have the exact same fabric from the creation of the quilt. If there is still fabric there and it hasn't all shredded away, you can use a piece of bridal illusion veil quilted heavily over the remaining fabric -- test several pieces for softness!

Sometimes using the back of the fabric will look like it has been aged.

Have been thinking of tea staining as well, for a similar old quilt repair problem that I have.
Though I haven't jumped into it as I have huge hesitations.

Does tea stained fabric hold it's colour? Or how do you stabilize it?
Or is it just for show, and you should not plan to wash the fabric, as you will wash the staining out?

How do you do your tea staining?

Likewise, if coffee staining, is it all the same re the process? as well as the permanency, or lack of?

THANKS!

I read an article on tea staining yesterday. The stain is permanent, doesn't require a mordant (stabilizer) and will work on polyester (I want to soften the "whiteness" on a polyester shower curtain). This is a pretty simple description of the process Tea staining polyester.

bkay

If you've got the time, sun fading is the best way to aged colored fabric. Wash it in hot water and then let it sit in the sun for a few days or weeks until it's light enough.