How to Quilt>Taking a Quilt Top Apart

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Taking a Quilt Top Apart

This quilt will be cut apart into sections.

Q: I have a quilt that I want to make into something different. How do I take sections of blocks out of the quilt without ruining the fabric?

A: There are several steps in this process, and if you are careful, you can easily take sections apart without stretching or tearing the fabric so you can use it in your new project.

Step 1

Determine how you want to take your quilt apart. In my case, I wanted to have 9 blocks in each section.

The first thing to do is look at how the blocks were sewn together into the quilt top. Look for the seams of rows or columns. In this case, the quilt was sewn together in rows. Since I wanted squares, I knew that I would need to work around some of the seams.

Cut every third stitch with a seam ripper or pair of scissors.

The sections were to be 3 rows by 3 columns. So the first thing to do was to remove a section 3 rows wide, which is fairly simple.

Press your seam allowance so that the right sides of the quilt top are facing together and the seam allowance is clear of the quilt top.

Next, take a seam ripper or a pair of sharp scissors and cut every third stitch. This doesn't need to be an exact science. The idea is to cut enough stitches so that the seam will come apart easily. I have found that cutting every third to fifth stitch accomplishes that.

Step 2

Pull the bottom thread out of the seam.

Once the stitches have been cut, turn the quilt top over so that the continuous thread is facing you.

Loosen one end of the thread and gently pull it. Because the threads on the other side of the quilt top are cut, it should be relatively easy to pull this thread out.

Gently pulling the thread, will unstitch the seam.

Remove the tiny threads with masking tape or lint remover.

Masking tape is an amazing creation - and just perfect for removing those tiny threads that were created when the stitches were cut.

I have found that by turning the quilt top over to the "smooth" side of the stitches (not the side that they were cut on), and placing masking tape on the stitches, they come out in a breeze.

Step 3

Now, you have a row 3 blocks high, and it needs to be split into sections 3 blocks wide.

Because this quilt was sewn completely in rows, taking the "column" seams apart is a little trickier.

To take this seam apart, you will open this joint.

In the picture to the right, the seam running from top to bottom is the seam joining the two rows.

You need to cut the stitches of that seam just enough to be able to cut apart the seam that runs from left to right.

Once that is done, the entire section can be removed.

 

Now that the stitches holding the rows have been cut, you will be able to cut the seam that runs from left to right in order to remove the section.

 

The picture on the left shows the stitches that were cut that held the row together.

Now the seams running left to right can be cut, and the entire section will come apart.

Remove the stitches and extra threads as you did in the previous steps.

 

 

 

 

Step 4

Re-stitch the blocks together.

Since the stitches were cut that held the rows together, the very ends of those seams will be unsewn, and will need to be stitched back together.

To do this, I place the sewn part of the quilt top in my sewing machine, making a solid starting point.

Simply stitch to the end of the section. There is no need to backstitch either at the beginning or at the end.

These seams will be stitched over when the quilt top is put back together.

 

 

 

Step 5

Press the seam allowance you just sewed.

 

Now just press the seam allowances you just sewed, just as you would on your quilt top.

And you are done!

 

Continue to take apart the sections of your quilt using the same techniques.

 

 

One section taken out of the quilt top.

 

Happy Quilting!

Penny Halgren
www.How-to-Quilt.com
www.TheQuiltingCoach.com
www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com

Penny is a quilter of more than 27 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

 

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