Reinforcing Edges Before Replacing Binding on a 60s-ish quilt?
09-06-2020, 04:18 AM
#11
Power Poster
Join Date: May 2008
Location: MN
Posts: 24,474
Thank you for the pictures. It is a lovely quilt.
If it had been mine - and it was a quilt that I was using a lot - I might have just either serged or zigzagged over the weak /fraying edge and called it "good enough" - just to keep it from fraying out. Not a pretty finish - but one I have used on the hems of jeans and bath towels.
But I think you are looking for something "nicer" - if the quilt is large enough - and the quilting stops far enough away from the edge - I would just fold it under an additional 1/4 inch (so instead of 1/4 inch you would have 1/2 inch) fold under - and sew the edges back together like it had been - assuming the fabric is strong enough.
Otherwise - if you can find a binding fabric suitable - I would fold those raw edges back in - baste the edges back together - and than use a 3 inch double fold binding - it would finish at about 1/2 inch - that would just encase the edges.
If it had been mine - and it was a quilt that I was using a lot - I might have just either serged or zigzagged over the weak /fraying edge and called it "good enough" - just to keep it from fraying out. Not a pretty finish - but one I have used on the hems of jeans and bath towels.
But I think you are looking for something "nicer" - if the quilt is large enough - and the quilting stops far enough away from the edge - I would just fold it under an additional 1/4 inch (so instead of 1/4 inch you would have 1/2 inch) fold under - and sew the edges back together like it had been - assuming the fabric is strong enough.
Otherwise - if you can find a binding fabric suitable - I would fold those raw edges back in - baste the edges back together - and than use a 3 inch double fold binding - it would finish at about 1/2 inch - that would just encase the edges.
09-08-2020, 05:48 PM
#12
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Northern California
Posts: 267
Bearis--thank you so much for these great suggestions. I like them both almost equally. I did find a Moda Bella (love those color cards) called Indigo for the binding--a perfect cross between the faded-to-gray navy blues and lighter grays, once darker, of the rectangles in the quilt--that could work nicely.
I like the idea of remaining 'true' to the original quilt and your suggestion to refold or underfold the edges to an half-inch. The 0.25" edges are quite bulky because of the wadding used and because it comes up to the edges on both front and back sides of the quilt. It does seem to be a old-timey Stearns & Foster Mountain Mist type 'wadding' that is quite heavy. Because of that bulk, I think I will have to underfold the edges to a half-inch whether I self edge or add a double binding from 3 inch binding strips. I guess it will all depend on how it looks and feels after the underfold and seaming of front and back edges together. I am giving myself permission to use my sewing machine to do that--possibly top-stitching a double quarter-inch seam. ;->) I can always revisit using 3 " binding later.
Again, thank you so much for your interest and suggestions.
I like the idea of remaining 'true' to the original quilt and your suggestion to refold or underfold the edges to an half-inch. The 0.25" edges are quite bulky because of the wadding used and because it comes up to the edges on both front and back sides of the quilt. It does seem to be a old-timey Stearns & Foster Mountain Mist type 'wadding' that is quite heavy. Because of that bulk, I think I will have to underfold the edges to a half-inch whether I self edge or add a double binding from 3 inch binding strips. I guess it will all depend on how it looks and feels after the underfold and seaming of front and back edges together. I am giving myself permission to use my sewing machine to do that--possibly top-stitching a double quarter-inch seam. ;->) I can always revisit using 3 " binding later.
Again, thank you so much for your interest and suggestions.
09-08-2020, 07:25 PM
#13
Super Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: The Deep South near Cajun Country, USA
Posts: 5,410
Pellon has several fusible interfacings that won't be stiff & scratchy. If you are still considering fusing the frayed pieces together, this info might be helpful. https://www.joann.com/on/demandware....acingGuide.pdf
09-08-2020, 11:23 PM
#15
Super Member
Join Date: May 2012
Location: S.E. Queensland, Australia
Posts: 1,465
You won't want to sew too close to the edge and have it fray again after a few washes so I would sew the 2.5" or 3" binding to the front, 1/4" in from the old stitching, trim off the frayed excess, and fold to the back and hand stitch down.
