A Very Special Quilt Project
Enlarging a Special Quilt
Bonnie contacted me with a special request. She had been gifted a quilt that was created by a dear friend of hers that had passed away. For a while, Bonnie had used the quilt in her guest room, but then changed the bed from a full size mattress to a queen. The quilt was no longer big enough for the new bed. Could this beautiful quilt be enlarged to fit the new bed? After looking at it, and discussing some options, we decided that yes, it could be expanded. To move forward with this project, we added some requirements:
The new fabrics must blend in with the existing fabrics. The availability of specific quilting cottons is fleeting. What may be available this year will probably not be available the next year. Also, as time goes on, specific colors and tones will change. Fortunately, I was able to find colors and patterns that either complemented or blended with the existing fabrics in the original quilt. I also worked closely with Bonnie to make the final fabric selections.
The addition to the width and length should not be “obvious” that something was added to make it bigger. Just adding a series of borders would be too obvious. I took the idea of the pinwheel blocks that were in the original quilt and continued it as an additional border around the whole quilt. Fortunately the math worked out easily so that I could add two rows of pinwheels around all four sides and then add a simple border to achieve the new dimensions that were required.
The integrity of the original quilt MUST be preserved and honored. The only “deconstruction” that was done on the original quilt was the removal of the original binding. Everything else is still intact, just as it was created. In the end, if Bonnie were to decide that she wanted the quilt back to its original form, that could be done fairly easily.
The quilting pattern on the new portions should, at the very least, complement what was done on the original portion. I searched high and low through my resources to find the original pattern, but could not. In the end, I opted for a complementary pattern
Left side of heirloom quilt before any modifications
Right side of heirloom quilt before any modifications
Overall view of heirloom quilt before modifications
Detail of the back side of the heirloom quilt
More details showing the original quilt and its border fabric
More details of the original quilt and its border
Detail of the hand embroidered panel and the custom quilting around it
Fabrics sourced for the additional pinwheels to be added to enlarge the quilt. Many different quilt shops were visited to find the appropriate fabrics for this project
Pinwheels are all made and ready to sew together and attach to the original quilt. Fabric possibilities for the new outer border are also being auditioned here.
The new pinwheels have all been added. Now the quilt is ready for the new border and the additional backing to be added
The enlarged quilt has been assembled and is now on the longarm to do the quilting process. The only parts being quilted in this step are the areas that have been added. All of the original quilting has been retained.
Here are the details of the back top that were added. The client requested that I add about a 16" band of pinwheels and border along the top that could be revealed when it was turned back at the head of the bed. The quilt was also now bound in a beautiful yellow print.
Here is a view of the expanded quilt in one corner.
Here is an overall view of the newly expanded quilt. I took great care to honor the original design, piecing and quilting and all of the beautiful workmanship that went into it. As you can see, the overall size was greatly increased, but the overall design aesthetic has remained as true to the original as possible.