So I decided to hand quilt this top next.
I made a backing from appropriate vintage fabrics and loaded it up.
But I just couldn’t move ahead. Sigh…..so here I am taking the top apart. It wouldn’t lay flat. Not. At. All.
You can see why above. The blocks vary a bit in size…… I decided to take the blocks apart, square them up and sew it back together. This quilt maker has her quirks. See the patch turned outside in?
Do I take the 9 patches apart and redo those? She handpieced with huge stitches and very course thread (string?).
I picked this thinking it would be quick and easy…..I should have known.
Have a great day!
KatyQuilts 
Oh boy, I feel for you. I have one that was returned from the longarmer, a pink pinwheel. Guess it wouldn’t lay flat either but it looked fine when I sent it off. I will have to tackle it one day.
Gotta say, since you have gone this far, take the 9 patches apart: or at least the worst of them.
what a conumdrum you have. you have gone this far. i would advise separating the 9-patches and putting them back together. there are some that seem okay so you wouldn’t have to do all of them. probably squaring the pink squares will be a tremendous help. i had thought you were going to hand quilt this one. may or may not have been easier. your other choice is to tackle it as it it (but i would square the pink squares). good luck whatever you decide. patti in florida
I “taught” a group of grade six students how to make a quilt. I had briefly mentioned that sometimes a fabric doesn’t work because it’s too strong a colour, but that the back would be perfect. Of course, the kids heard that loud and clear, and each of them inserted at least one “outside in” block in their 9-patches…
It’s hard to know how far to go sometimes when repairing a vintage quilt – wishing you happy sewing!
Alas…but honoring the maker is important. So maybe leave the “quirks” as much as possible. And it will surely pay off in the end.
I have some vintage blocks with the same type of stitching and thick string/thread. I haven’t done anything with them yet, as I’m trying to decide whether to take them apart and reconstruct them (they vary in size as well). I love the pink, though! It will be a pretty quilt when finished!
Oh my, you are dedicated! I’m sure the original maker is smiling down on you for your efforts. I recognize many (if not all) of the prints as feedsacks so she may have in fact used the “string” from taking the bags apart to piece these. I have 4 large balls of feedsack string and I did experiment once pulling the string into one ply and using it. It was very strong but time consuming. I know that this one will be worth the effort when all is said and done. It is beautiful. Thanks for rescuing it!