QuiltLady,
I normally would never recommend washing a quilt in warm water, but in this case, that might do the trick. Maybe try washing just the backing in cold water & dry on low heat. If the holes don't close up, I'd try the same thing again but washing in warm water (still gentle/handwash cycle) and then dry on low heat. The warm water will cause the cotton to swell. Cotton fabric is slightly less sturdy after being exposed to heat, but in this case, that might do the trick for you. I had some luck with that with this queen duvet cover that had been sorta quilted with old mono thread that the customer wanted turned into a new quilt. I washed it in warm water, which helped a lot more than cold water but some of the holes were still there & it had other issues, so I ended up backing it with a matching muslin. In your case, I wouldn't worry about it after washing in warm water. If you pick a matching thread, it will help hide even more holes and, honestly, when people love something that much, I can tell you that they never notice all the problems with the fabric. I quit taking commission quilts using customer fabrics because without fail, they would insist the fabric was in fantastic condition, send me pictures of the best parts & I'd get the thing & find out it had 1" holes in it, places where it was thread bare, pulled threads, and so forth. Beauty truly is in the eyes of the beholder & I'm sure whatever you do to the quilt that keeps that same backing will completely thrill your nephew.
