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Foundry Quilts

What once was lost–now is finished.

The Quiltfolk Foundry. Where lost quilt tops and blocks are found, finished, then offered for sale in our shop. At the Foundry, “orphan” tops and blocks can continue their story as quilts that finally found a home. You’ve seen these so-called “orphan” quilt tops and blocks in flea markets and antique malls. You may even have vintage “orphans” of your own. Our mission is to collect these special blocks and tops and then, with a trusted circle of talented home sewists and quilters, we turn those lost materials into beautiful quilts, ready to find the next chapter in their story. Your purchases allow us to place these lost-and-found quilts in a loving home and make it possible to pay our artisans to finish more vintage quilts in the future.

The Foundry Process
About Our Pricing

Available Quilts

Dorothy | Foundry Quilt 001
Sold
The first quilt ever completed by the Quiltfolk Foundry is a classic blue and white patchwork quilt with timeless appeal.
Rebecca | Foundry Quilt 002
Sold
A quilt that began ca. 1850-70 is ready for its close-up. Gorgeous appliqué from the past meets today’s best custom longarming work in this quilt masterpiece.
Jacob | Foundry Quilt 003
Sold
A lost quilt top from long ago gets the Quiltfolk Foundry treatment with yarn-dyed woven fabric on the back and cozy big-stitch quilting.
Constance | Foundry Quilt 004
$1,150.00
Some “orphan” tops cry out to be completed. Now that this quilt is finished, the embroidered flowers, cornflower blue setting pieces, and cheery baskets can find a home.
Fern | Foundry Quilt 005
Sold
Named after Fern Arable of Charlotte’s Web, we think this lively, perfectly scrappy quilt has personality to spare. It is suitable for farmhouse or condo living.
Phoebe | Foundry Quilt 006
Sold
About a century ago, a quiltmaker created a stack of beautiful 4-Patch blocks in red, gray, and black, but they were never made into a quilt—until now.
Billie | Foundry Quilt 007
Sold
It’s hard to believe this quilt started with loose, shaggy patchwork made a century ago. The Quiltfolk Foundry hopes you enjoy the finished result.
Holden | Foundry Quilt 008
Sold
What can we say? We love this quilt. Holden’s bright corduroy top simply had to be turned into a quilt. The result makes us smile, and we hope you’ll smile too.
Frances | Foundry Quilt 009
Sold
Sometime around 1910, a quiltmaker made a set of darling Double Pink blocks that never ended up in a quilt. We decided to help out.
Lily | Foundry Quilt 010
Sold
Springtime, gardens, and sunny days come to mind when looking at this quilt. But until she came to the Foundry, the quilt was only a top. Welcome home, Lily!
Roxanne | Foundry Quilt 011
Sold
Maybe it’s the combo of burgundy and peach setting fabrics or the scraps that look like they came from housedresses or curtains, but whatever the reason, Roxanne’s a great quilt. 
Paloma | Foundry Quilt 012
Sold
There’s something about Paloma. The contrast of the white doves on navy and the groovy yarn-dyed woven we added on the back resulted in a staff favorite.

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Stay in the know.

We will be releasing more quilts in the weeks and months ahead as well as discussing other projects and patterns that come from The Foundry. Enter your email below to receive our latest updates!

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Foundry PROCESS & PRODUCTION NOTES

How a Foundry Quilt is Made

How does a lost quilt top or collection of “orphan” blocks become a completed Quiltfolk Foundry quilt? 

It begins with falling in love. Every Quiltfolk Foundry quilt starts when our buyers, led by Foundry Creative Director Mary Fons, see something special in a lost top or in a jumble of loose pieces and parts. Some materials we find through friends, others via online sellers or in antique markets. 

After we make a purchase, it’s time to make design choices. Certain Quiltfolk Foundry tops require no repairs or additional sewing. In these cases, we choose the appropriate batting, then select the backing and binding fabrics we believe will enhance the top’s beauty. We then collaborate with a Foundry quilter to determine the quilting design that will bring out the best in the quilt. 

When we find a collection of lost blocks or a top that needs a bit more TLC, the Foundry process becomes more involved. Some blocks need stabilizing; others contain patchwork that has to be separated before being sewn back together. Additional blocks, borders, or sashings may need to be created in order to make a quilt with the proper dimensions. In these cases, design and construction choices are made carefully every step of the way. The bottom line: When we think a collection of pieces and parts or a top is worth rescuing, we figure out a way to make it happen.

Once the last corner of the binding is turned, a Quiltfolk Foundry label is hand sewn onto the back of the now-completed quilt. We photograph the quilts in-house and then place them for sale in our online shop. When you purchase a Foundry quilt from Quiltfolk, it will arrive in a custom-made muslin bag, tied with a grosgrain ribbon.

 

A Note on Imperfections

Every Quiltfolk Foundry quilt in our shop began its life as an unfinished vintage top or collection of loose blocks. We seek out lost tops and blocks that are in good condition, but due to the source material’s age and care history, some imperfections in the finished quilts may be present. We hope you’ll see them as we do, just another part of the story!

 

Care Instructions

There are many theories about how to wash vintage quilts, and since Foundry quilts incorporate vintage textiles, we can consider them vintage too. You may already have a method for washing vintage quilts, but if not, below are two options that have been recommended to us by quilters and collectors with experience in this area. Whatever method you choose, our experts agree that you should wash vintage quilts only as needed, dry them flat, and avoid dry cleaning.

Method A: Hand
Fill a top-loading washing machine with warm water and mild soap, such as Orvus. Add the quilt to the water. Dunk and swish the top gently to saturate, then let it soak. Use the spin cycle to remove the water. (Our experts say spinning doesn’t involve agitation, and, therefore, it won’t stress the top; it also helps dry the top more quickly to avoid mildew.) Rinse the quilt the same way and spin. Dry flat.


Method B: Machine
Add one or more dye-trapping sheets, such as Shout® Color Catchers, to your washing machine. Machine wash in a front-loading machine set on the gentle cycle. Use mild detergent and warm or tepid water. To dry, lay the quilt flat on the floor atop a clean sheet, away from pets and children, reversing the quilt front to back until dry.

 

Anyone Can Adopt a Top

If there’s one thing we’ve learned so far, it’s that finishing vintage tops and orphan blocks is fun. 

Searching for a project with potential provides you with the thrill of the hunt. When you find a top or loose blocks that you love, imagining all the ways you might finish it is as fun as selecting a brand-new pattern. After that, comes the joy of shopping for fabric, which, as any quilter will tell you, is one of the best parts of making a quilt, period.

But the most satisfying part comes at the end—trust us. When you complete a quilt that a quilter started long ago but couldn’t finish, it’s truly an incredible feeling. By finishing a quilt after years, even generations have passed, you become a collaborator with the quilter who began the project. You will likely never know the quilter’s name or where the quilt began its journey, but you’ll always know who helped see it come to life: you.

We think you should try finding and finishing a “lost” quilt too—and we’d love to know about it! 

If you decide to try your hand at finishing a vintage top, post pictures to social media, tag @quiltfolk, and use the hashtag #adoptatop so that others can see what projects you’ve chosen! We hope lots of quilters will be inspired to finish what another quilter started so long ago. 

We look forward to seeing your quilt collaborations with quilters of the past!

About our pricing

Pricing quilts can be difficult. This is why we’ve taken out the guesswork by using the same formula for all Foundry quilts, based solely on our costs. These costs include purchasing the top or blocks, sewing sections as needed, and making light repairs (in many cases). We also purchase batting, backing, and binding fabrics, and we factor in shipping and handling, labeling, and packaging costs. And most valuable of all, of course, is the quilting itself, which is done by passionate home sewists across America. Combined, these costs can be quite significant, and they vary depending on the “orphan” top or blocks and the custom way they’re finished. 

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