I have been repairing quilts for many years now, with the help from the supremely talented Amy. There is almost nothing we can’t tackle! We only repair quilts, not woven blankets or printed synthetic fabrics
I had my quilt restored 2 years ago, Jennie was amazing! Very understanding and comforting as I was nervous to send the blanket away. She made all the right calls and got the blanket back to me in amazing condition. 2 years later and my blanket is still going strong🥰 still very much my blanket despite having some changes made but it is in the best condition. Best decision I ever made to have restored. Thank you so much☺️ Chelsea
Hi, Amy and myself have been repairing quilts together for about 5 years now, before that I worked alone, but Amy has brought so much skill and knowledge to the team! Some quilts are very old, some newer, but all very loved. Each one gets a bespoke treatment depending on what state they are in. Some have to have lots of fabric replaced, while others will be patched up with wabi-sabi style mending. I work closely with Jennie still and we prepare quotes together etc.
Prices: A quote range can only be given once we have the quilt and after a detailed chat about what you would like and what can be done. It’s important to realise that there is a difference between repairing a quilt so it can be used again, and attempting to restore a quilt closely in line with the artistic intention of the maker, often using the techniques originally used. Repair is sometimes not possible without changing the character of a quilt somewhat (if most of the original fabric is unstable for example). Restoration is more expensive as it’s extremely labour intensive to source matching fabric, treat stains, replicate often complex hand stitching, and repair embroidery etc. It’s also important to note we often won’t know what we will find until we start work. Often we find fabric is much more damaged than can be seen from the outside or wadding has disintegrated inside the quilt etc. It has to be remembered that with some quilts, without replacing ALL the fabric and ALL the stitching, some damage will always remain. Sometimes by handling fabric and attaching new and older pieces they become more fragile and at some point we have to decide that it’s good enough as is, to stop costs spiralling further. If a quilt is antique or very precious it may be best to retire it rather than try to carry on using it.
In light of all of the above our initial quote is sometimes no more than an estimate. We know this can be frustrating, but we will keep you informed at every step and if we find things that escalate costs you will be involved in the decision about what next. Obviously all work already carried out will need to be paid for even if you then decide not to progress with further repairs. This to be fair doesn’t happen often and we may also end up charging less than we had quoted!
We charge a £35 fee for assessing and preparing a quote, plus p&p for returning the quilt to you, even if you decide not to go ahead with the work.
Lead Time: We have been inundated with requests and our waiting list for work to start has crept up to around 3 months. Quilts that need extensive hand stitching will need to be fitted around work and family commitments, so it’s difficult to confirm an estimated finish date. But again we will keep you up to date as we move through the list and through the repair!
Please contact me to discuss your requirements [email protected]
Here is some recent feedback:
“Hi Jennie, I received the quilt back today. Thank you for the transformation! I’m very pleased with the work.” (Bill)
“Dear Ladies, I just want to thank you very much indeed for making my 59 year old quilt come alive again! You have done a wonderful job on it, which will now now continue to bring joy to my family for years to come.” (Catherine)
“Last September I finally sourced some fabric to mend my late Victorian family heirloom patchwork quilt which had languished with too many worn-out squares for far too long. Over winter I tried making some patches (difficult) and because I was reluctant to unpick all the tiny stitches, I started sewing them over the damaged squares. This was very fiddly and time consuming, it was really hard not to sew through to the backing layer and the result looked dreadful. One spring morning I woke up and thought ‘I wonder if there’s anyone who could help me with this?’. A few minutes googling and ‘cheekyhandmades’ came up top of the list. I emailed with some photos and was very soon in touch with the amazingly helpful Jenny and Amy. I accepted their quote, posted off my quilt and sat back to await the result. 2 months later, and I have a stunningly beautiful quilt to enjoy and pass on to my daughter and granddaughter. Not only have the 2 badly perished rows been replaced with new fabric but Amy checked all the other squares, did some minor repairs and very sensitively and intelligently replaced the centre squares that were wearing thin. I can’t recommend their work highly enough and was really thrilled to be able to show it as a surprise to my 92 year old mother who originally rescued the quilt from the house of her deceased great aunt in 1967. Thank you Jenny and Amy!”
Below: From extremely damaged and worn to patched up and back to life in just a month!
