Recently I have had several questions about quilt restoration, and I’ll break them down by topic into a few posts here. For more information, be sure to check Heirloom Quilt Restoration.

Quilt Restoration Question:
I have three quilts that my great-grandmother made in the 1920s. Along their journey to me, they have been machine washed, and now the batting is bunched up into little balls in some places inside the quilts. Is there anything that can be done?

Quilt Answer:
Unfortunately, there isn’t much that can be done with bunched up batting. There is one remedy that I’ve used for small areas, and although it is extremely tedious and difficult, it does help, especially if the batting has become hard little clumps inside the quilt.

The idea is to break apart the hard clumps and redistribute the batting within the little quilted “pocket” between the rows of quilting stitches. This will have to be done without damaging the rest of the quilt, so it is very careful work. I have used a long hatpin from the back of the quilt to reach inside and just poke apart the batting, then push it around inside the little “pocket”. Always go in from the back of the quilt so nothing will show from the front. In case a small rip should occur (Heaven forbid!) you can mend it on  the back without ruining the front. Count on about 20 minutes for one small clump of batting. Work very slowly and carefully. One little slip can make a rip, and you certainly don’t want to cause any damage.

Often quilt backs are a fabric with a looser weave, and the spaces between threads are larger than tightly woven dress fabrics you may find on the front of the quilt. This makes it easier to shift batting around with the pin without making a hole. If you are really lucky, the back will be some kind of cheap but sturdy cloth with spaces between the threads large enough that you can slip a lace-making crochet hook through. A hook may break apart batting lumps and move the fluff around more easily than a hatpin. But, if you slip with a hook, it will definitely make a larger hole or rip than a pin, so use caution. Don’t pierce the fabrics, go through the spaces between the woven threads, and if any fabric is brittle or shows signs of crumbling, just leave the quilt as it is. Please.

The remedy above is a last resort. If you lay your quilts out on an unused bed for a few days and just get used to them, you might decide that they are fine just the way they are, lumps and all. You can consider the bunched up batting to be part of their provenance, and celebrate the fact that you will never feel the urge to wash them.

And you do need to remember that quilts like this were made to be used. It is safe to assume that they have been sat on, slept under, and laundered many times during their lifetime. It is likely that they may have been through a wringer! You have to marvel that so many quilts of that era have survived at all.