(Machine embroidered quilt label purchased from CannStitch)
As mentioned in my last post, the Sue Bonnet quilt has been repaired with two days to spare. To do so, the entire top row of Sue Bonnet girls was cut off. Out of the 4 girls, only two could be saved. The saved appliques now adorn a matching pillow.
Rather than rip out all the quilting stitches, I cut around the Sue Bonnet appliques, leaving the batting and backing attached. Then, I bound the edges with bias tape. Finally, I attached the Sue Bonnet mini quilts to a remnant of machine quilted fabric with a simple running stitch. For good measure, I quilted around the Sue Bonnets dresses to make sure the appliques stayed in place.
The pillow was made in the regular fashion though I did insert a zipper first. I am after all giving this to a 3-year-old who will almost certainly get it dirty. Being able to just wash the pillow cover will make my job easier in the laundry room.
The quilt was much easier to fix. The hardest part was picking out a fabric to bind the edges with. At first, I was going to use yellow, but I couldn’t get an exact match to the original yellow. In the end, I chose a vintage looking fabric that complemented the flowery fabrics used in the doll’s dresses. The fabric is also similar to the pillow fabric without it being too matchy matchy.
Cutting the top line of Sue Bonnet girls did make the quilt too short for Elly’s twin size bed, but I’m OK with that.
The original quilting did require a touch up here and there where the stitches had fallen out. Reworking the stitches reminded me how much I enjoy quilting by hand. I already have my next 3 quilts planned in my head.
The Life, Designs & Crafts of Marie Haigh 