Originally Posted by ckcowl
if you push needles through your fabric, it makes holes...this is just the way it is. does not make a difference if it's a quilt or a skirt. once you wash it the holes close up around the thread. it is not a defect it just is. and for the person who's quilt was ruined by the long armer...if you don't want to wash and dry your quilt at least wet it...the holes will close up. it is not the long-armer's fault that the normal holes show and you choose to not wash it. if you do not want needle holes, don't quilt them; tie them instead
I have had many, many quilts quilted by longarmers in my 23 years of quilting. I am probably averaging 10-12 a year, and that is the only one that had the "punched tin" look. It is awful! I had a beautiful quilt that does not look good and since everything but the batting was pre-washed(my original batting before her replacement without my knowledge) was prewashed, I don't feel good at all about washing it with 100% cotton batting. I do not like the shrunken look. She started to quilt and the batting was being pushed through the back. So she switched out the batting and then told me "I am not charging you for the batting!" She tried at first to claim it was the fault of the backing being cheap. Changed her story quick when I pointed out it was purchased in her shop! Needless to say, I have not had her do another quilt for me. It is not a given that you will have large needle holes in your quilts!