Quilt Qua
Helping to Expand Your Creative Expression
Help! My Kid Just Cut a Quilt
By: Penny Halgren
There were a lot of funny things about this....That I took humor in on that day, not just that it is now 20 years later.
It happened on just a nothing day. Stephanie was at preschool, and Bubba and I were home, quietly working.
He was working in his room. And I was working on a quilt in the front room.
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Only 5 minutes earlier, I had been in his room, and he was playing on the floor with some trucks - scooting them around on top of this fun little "quilt."
Little did I know what he had in mind. But, then, maybe he didn't know either. It may have just been one of those spur of the moment things.
I'm sure he liked the quilt. After all, he had marked on it where the trucks would drive, and he played with it quite a bit, building towns and driving vehicles all around.
I finished cutting my fabric, and went in to check on him after about 5 minutes. (I rarely left him alone for more than about 5 minutes at that age. He is, after all an engineer now, and has always loved to take things apart.)
Imagine my surprise when I strolled into his room to find this quilt on top of his bed (and another quilt), him with a pair of scissors in hand.
Fortunately for him, I wasn't a screamer or the type to push the panic button. I just walked over to the bed to see what was going on.
Lo and behold, there is was, a giant slice through this little play quilt!
"Hmmm," I said "What are you doing?" in as calm a voice as I could muster.
"Just cutting fabric, like you," was his reply.
How could I respond to that? Other than to explain that maybe I could give him some other fabric he could cut.
So, here was the problem. It never occurred to him that I couldn't just sew it together and make it look like new!
But, I could sew it together and make it usable. And here is how I did that:
Step 1
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Find 1 inch wide double fold bias tape in a color that matches or goes with the quilt.
I used the same tape on the front as the back.
Now that I am a little more experienced, I might take some fabric from my stash (or even some fabric I saved from making the quilt) and make my own bias tape.
This also gives you the flexibility to use different fabric on the front and back and get it to match better. For example, I could have made 1 inch wide double fold bias tape from the blue fabric with hearts, and it would have looked much better.
On the backside of the quilt, lay the bias tape (folded) on top of the cut - making sure that the cut is as close to the center of the bias tape as it can be.
Pin both sides of the tape frequently to secure it for sewing. Fold the ends inside, so you have finished edges.
Using a zigzag stitch, sew the tape onto the back of the quilt.
Step 2
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Now turn the quilt over to the front.
Use the sewing lines from the back of the quilt as a guide, lay the bias tape on top of the cut and try to cover all of the stitching lines from the back.
Again, fold the ends inside the tape, so there are finished edges.
And, now zigzag stitch the bias tape onto the top of the quilt.
Like I said, I would recommend cutting (or letting your son or daughter cut) a quilt, but if it happens, be assured that it has happened before, will happen many times in the future (hopefully to someone else - and not you twice), and not to despair.
Bias tape can work wonders, whether it is bought from the store, or made from matching fabric.
Happy Quilting!
Penny is a quilter of more than 24 years who seeks to interest new quilters and provide them with the resources necessary to create beautiful quilts.
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©2007, Penny Halgren