Boy-Oh-Boy I Sure Need Suggestions ~
 

I'm needing suggestions ~ a tranquilizer ~ I don't drink, but I'm willing to start after seeing the quilt. Please be gentle with me, I'm pretty fragile over this, right now :0) Hugs and kisses will be welcomed....

I made a long overdue quilt for my brother honoring his service during the Vietnam era. Given to him last summer. He called and said that the quilt was starting to tear....it had never been washed.... I rec'd the quilt yesterday in the mail.

The backing is all the same fabric, the front has none of this fabric.... and as you can see by the picture it's rotten fabric.

The fabric was from an exchange/swap (Not Quilting Board) of patriotic fabrics last Spring for quilts of valor, one of the rules it had to have a name on the selvage and something to effect it needed to be a 'known' fabric yada, yada, yada....

It had a nice 'hand', it wasn't thin or loosely woven to my eye, you couldn't read a newspaper through it... but obviously was old or whatever....It is a well known fabric name (which I don't want to slam on a public arena) I think it's matter of the age of the fabric, or how it was stored before I rec'd it. If I had for one minute thought it to be not 'good' fabric I would have never used it.

Enough background...It's a lap size (Although it's extra long as he's 6'8") with an easier pattern on the front (French Braid). It was sent out to be LA quilted, I don't DM quilt.

What to do? The mental gymnastics I've gone through at this point....I'm thinking the best thing to do is call it a lesson and start with a replacement quilt.

Please also understand, I'm not saying that fabric swaps are bad, I've participated in many but this one has bit me in the patootie. [ATTACH=CONFIG]467285[/ATTACH]

Is this fabric only in the backing?? Is the front of the quilt in good shape? If so you can put a second back on it, quilt it very lightly just to hold it together and rebind. Leave the "bad" on, don't un-sew it, just add the new back.

I agree with Jim's Gem. I would put a new back on it and do a simple, maybe STD just to hold it together. I probably would cut off the old binding so that the edges don't get too bulky. Sorry this happened to you. It could happen to any of us. It just takes some creative thinking to come up with a solution.

I have had issues with black fabrics ( especially older black fabric) and what seems to be a fast disinigration of the cotton fibers. A manufacture told me once they use dyes that are have some acidic content to get really dark colors to saturate, particularly black and some navy. Almost without exception cottons today are not dyed with acid dyes, which is why vinegar does not work to stop bleeding on cottons.
Most likely this was a chemical used in the dye process that was not fully removed. Based on that ...the rest of the backing is at risk... so removing it is the best choice for a long lasting solution.
If this was a quilt that had been washed.. I might be inclined to believe the quilt got bound up in the agitator and caused the tearing. Since it appears the tearing is confined to a specific area ... I would not rule this out , if the quilt had been washed.
You certainly do have hugs coming your way!

Instead of taking off the binding, I wonder if you could turn under the new backing fabric and butt it up against the binding and sew it down with a decorative stitch. I don't know if you would like the look of it, maybe place the new backing fabric against the binding and see if it would be noticeable. Sorry that happened you but I think you can fix it since you didn't use any of the fabric in the front or binding.

Cutting off the binding would be an easier solution than un doing it. It would only affect the dimension of the quilt slightly. If your outside border is just a fabric one not and pieced, it would not mess up any design. Just cut off the binding and resew a new one on after adding the new backing.

I would cut off the binding, and put a new backing on it. Instead of stitching (which would show on the front), I would tie the backing onto the quilt, and have the ties show on the back only. You can put the ties close together, to help the quilt for stability, and you'll have a good fix to help stabilize the fragile fabric already on the quilt. That, with the new backing, should hold it together well for the future. Put the bindings back on and you're good to go.

I think I understand what you are saying about not affecting the design to the front. Inserting a photo of the front, apologies if this comes through as big as the post #1.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]467300[/ATTACH]

Sounds like you have some good suggestions here - hope it all turns out well for you. What a bummer!! A friend of mine had this issue with some "old" black fabric -- she had pieced a quilt with it and it started to come apart when it was being quilted at the long armer. Hers was not able to be salvaged though.

Does he by chance have a cat? It almost looks cat scratched. Also, I think you should tell us which manufacturer so we can avoid their fabrics! There is nothing wrong with stating the truth about a particular brand, even if it's bad.

Also, if the problem isn't cat scratching, I would definitely contact the manufacturer and tell them about what happened. They might attempt to compensate you in some way, with perhaps some new fabric.

Otherwise, everything the others said. You may not have to completely replace the backing, just sew in a "patch" where the shredding is occurring and then hand quilt it to secure it...or ask your long-armer to do it. You could even tie it to secure the patch. Use a fun floss to tie it or use buttons. Doing this would also eliminate the need to remove the binding.

Also, cute quilt!

I've refronted and rebacked a number of quilts, works fine. It is a lovely quilt and a lovely gesture.
And yes, don't depend on the dark colors for longevity.

Hmmmmmm..... cutting of the binding will slightly affect the dimensions of the light blue stripe. It will not be the same size as the ones in the middle. But it would only be removing about 1/4". You could just undo the hand sewn part. With the binding "open" you can sew over the previous stitching of the binding then turn it over and re-sew the hand sewn part. Hope that's understandable. :)

That is a very nice quilt. I think I would remove as much of the backing as possible - think removing the paper from a paper pieced block. The threads that are under the quilting stitching - I would leave alone.

Sorry this happened to you.

You don't need to cut off binding just undo the hand stitching on the back and lay new backing on top then machine exactly on old row os stitching then hand stitch.
Have you thought about tying the quilt and not quilt.

This is what I would do too. It's only the hand sewing of the binding that needs to be un-sewn. I too think I would leave the misbehaving back on, add another backing and tie it backwards. Good luck; so sorry this happened!

I would cut off the binding and then put on a new backing and rebind. I have been Quilting the Front to the batting then once done FMQ all the layers together.

That is a heart-breaking problem in a quilt! You have my sympathy. Wish I could magically fix it for you, but I haven't yet perfected that quilting technique.

The fabric appears to be ripping from the quilting, so I'm going to take a wild guess and say it's dry-rotted. My opinion - as someone who has never dealt with this problem - is that the backing should be removed. The dry rot will continue to spread throughout the backing.

Putting another back over it might work, but might not because as the fabric deteriorates it is likely to break away and ball up under the new backing. It also adds another set of stitching for the fabric to tear away from.

If I were in your situation, I would remove the back simply so I never have to deal with it again.

When they say tie to the back, I think they mean that the knot would be on the back side with only a small amount of the tying thread showing on the front, so as to not diminish the design of the original quilting on the front. I would recommend a crochet cotton or embroidery floss for tying.

"All things are possible…" If your brother could survive Vietnam, "we" can handle this. Take a deep breath, look over the solutions offered, and then make your choice about solutions. Personally, having given quilts to people who didn't know what they were receiving (son & DIL), and seeing the resultant "abuse", I would not remove backing, and choose binding solution that was the easiest for you. After so much effort, and hope for the recipient to recognize the time, effort & love you put into your creation, it is heartbreaking for there to be an issue.
Hugs to you, and your brother, and move on past this temporary bump in the road.
P.S. Personal opinion, it must be hard for your brother to see all the adulation heaped upon soldiers of recent conflicts after the opposite reception of Vietnam vets as they returned from their "conflict". As part of the American public (though not a protester!), I regret the lack of recognition that our Vietnam vets faced.

Agree with Jim. Just add another back.

Crochet thread #10 works well for ties. Just put the stitch through the batting and backing and tie it. Warm and natural is pretty stable and I think that would hold fine. If you match the color to thread to the color of your backing it won't be very noticeable. Good luck!

Definitely hugs going your way. How very disappointing & frustrating BUT I think you have received some very good, dooable ideas & after some very deep breaths, you can do this. The comment about very dark colours & different chemicals makes sense to me. Good luck with your do-over.

Oh Onaemtnest! I'm so sorry this happened to your brother's quilt. I have to wonder if it will only be confined to just that one area. Hind sight is 20/20. If it was and there was no other area that seems to be affected, I'd say patch it and get on with life. However, there's no way of knowing what will happen in the future and if you'll just be patching the quilt forever more.

If you did need to replace or cover over the whole back, and cutting off the existing binding would have no big impact on the front, I say cut it off and get that done.

Hugs to you dear. (( ))

This is a very sad thing to happen to something that is so special. It would appear that the dye used in th manufacturing process destroyed the strength and elasticity of the yarns and they shredded. I would suggest that you contact a guild of LQS and ask for the name of a quilt appraiser or restorer in your area who could give you an expert opinion before you do anything. The solution is not easy for sure but you need accurate information before you start.

"Warm and Natural batting which if memory serves needs to be quilted every 8 or 10 inches would I tie about the same distance as the batting suggests for quilting?"

I don't think you need to worry about the batting, it is already stabilized by the quilting holding it to the front. Since it doesn't look like the quilting is dense, I think I would open the binding, and then remove as much of the old fabric as possible, being very careful not to break any of the quilting stitches or pulling on them (or just leave the backing on). Then I would replace the backing, but would only tie as much as is needed to hold the backing in place. I'm not a very experienced quilter, but if I'm understanding correctly, the quilting is to stabilize the batting, which is already accomplished by the quilting already done. The new backing will be held by the binding, so I would tie sparingly (just enough so the backing looks and feels "attached"). Hopes this makes sense.

I could see taking out the hand stitches on the binding, putting a new back over the old, and then sew the old binding back onto the back with hand stitches again. that would certainly help protect the new back along the edges. what a heartbreak! all the hugs and kisses you need sent your way!! thank goodness he told you and knew not to throw it away!

Sorry to hear about the quilt. In the 1940's, I made some pretty plaid dresses for myself and my little sister. We always wore dresses to school. The plaid had black in it, and the black parts soon starting fraying and falling apart. Like someone else said, the black must have had something in it that compromised the fabric.
As for your quilt, I much agree with opening the hand stitching of the binding and putting new fabric on. Don't know if I would try to snip the black away as much as possible or not. That's up to you.
But to put on your new fabric, use Washable School Glue to lay it on. Finish the binding, and then tie it, but not with yarn or floss. Use your sewing machine. Some call it machine ties or tacking. The glue will hold the fabric in place as you stitch in the ditch from the front about every six inches or so. Do about three stitches forward, three stitches backward, and three more stitches forward. Then move to about six inches away and do that again. These ties end up being almost invisible from the front. I have looked at some quilts that I did like that and wondered if I really quilted it. I had to pull on the top fabric to see that, yes, it is quilted.
You will be able to do that on any home sewing machine. Just roll the quilt the long way as you get toward the middle. I just did a quilt 88 inches wide on my Featherweight. Got right to the middle.
Good luck to you, and I love your quilt.