Mend Your Favorite Quilt

As soon as I moved to Arizona, the top of my quilt started to disintegrate. Was it the dry air? The fabric just seemed to crack and shred. My cat had nothing to do with it, I swear. My mother made me this quilt some time ago, and I can't bear to see it so broken.

Is your quilt falling apart? Here's a way to patch up broken pieces.

You'll need:
Fabric that matches the original quilt
a sewing machine or hand needle and thread
scissors
paper
a ruler
an iron
a plastic ruler and rotary cutter with mat (optional)

Make a paper template of each sized piece you'll be patching using a piece of plain paper. I did this by laying the paper down on the quilt and folding it to size, then I cut off the excess.

Take your real-size paper template and lay it out on a new piece of paper and add the seam allowance (I used 5/8"). This will be the template for the patches.

I use a plastic ruler and a rotary cutter, but you can use scissors, too. Just cut as many as you need.

Using your seam allowance paper template layered under a single patch, fold the fabric down to the original sized piece line on the template and iron. Repeat for all sides. Using steam, the paper will curl, but not burn. Repeat for all patches. Trim off the "tails" on the diagonal edge.

Affix the patch to the torn spot on the quilt with pins, and top-stitch it in place or use embroidery to attach it any way you like.

Repeat for all spots that need patching. You can see I've still got a long way to go on mine...