Conservation of Historically Significant Quilt

In 2007, I was hired to conserve a museum quality, historically significant quilt. Embroidery dates it 1853 and places it in "Phelps", a town in upstate New York along the relatively new Erie Canal. Its design and embroidered mottoes celebrate the growth of the country and the economy.

Phelps Eagle Quilt 

Most of my work was on the brown fabrics of the eagle. They were very weak and had split open in several places. I placed a piece of new fabric below and couched threads across each hole to hold everything in place. I also reconstructed the arrows, which had almost totally disintegrated, with woven ribbon and silk, reproducing as closely as possible what was indicated by the remaining shreds and outlined by the quilting stitches.

Phelps Eagle Quilt Conservation

Before		After
reconstructed arrows
Before		After
body
Before		After
left wing
Before		After
body
Before		After
neck
Before		After
scallop border