Changing Fabric/Fabric Color After Quilt is Complete
 

Hello,

I am a novice quilter and new to this forum. My boyfriends mother, Sharon, makes beautiful quilts, and so me and my boyfriend asked Sharon to make one for us to give to my sister and her soon-to-be husband as a wedding gift. We will pay her for costs as well as her time that she put into making it.

It has been very difficult finding the right color pattern, especially since I live 1.5 hrs away from Sharon so our communication has been via texts. We finally decided on the color scheme, but now that the quilt is coming together, the colors look very different from the pictures, and I know my picky sister will not like it at all. I have no idea what to do because Sharon is such a sweet woman and potentially my mother-in-law.

Is there anything that can be done either by me or a professional quilter to remedy the situation? Is is possible to somehow modify the color of one patch, so the colors fit better? Any embellishments that you would recommend?

This is a picture of the quilt so far, Sharon wants to use the same dark green fabric shown as the border. This picture looks closer to the actual colors than the ones I received from June via texts.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]347538[/ATTACH]

Any ideas would be appreciated! Thanks!

This is the nightmare that every quilt maker fears!!!

My advice would be to go ahead and pay her, as planned, thank her profusely and if you think your sister won't like it, keep it yourself. Tell Sharon you fell in love with it and couldn't part with it. That quilt is too close to being done to change much. Plus, see above post.

I think the batiks are beautiful. I don't think there is much you can do without ripping out fabrics and replacing them. That is a lot of work.

That's what I was thinking also. After the border is on and the quilting is done you may like it better. What would your sister not like about it? The color? The pattern? What does she like? Hope things work out for you. BrendaK

Smile - pay for it happily - give it to your sister or keep it -------------- would your future mother in law know if your sister doesn't use it?? I would never let on it wasn't what you expected.

Selecting fabric for a quilt is so hard. I always fear that I won't end up liking the finished quilt, even when I can actually see the fabric in person. That is why I ask the person I am making the quilt for to select the pattern and the fabric. That way they get what they asked for, and everyone is happy. It is too late for that...sort of.

You could do what suern3 suggested, and keep the quilt. Then you could share with your sister a few simple patterns that you are comfortable making...even as a beginner, there are some you can enjoy making. Have your sister select the fabric, and then make the quilt yourself. You could tell Sharon that seeing the quilt she made inspired you to make one for your sister yourself. If you are unsure of sandwiching the three pieces, perhaps Sharon could do that part for you...for pay, of course.

I really feel for you. Making a quilt is not cheap, and now you have a quilt you don't really like. Have you seen it in person? Maybe it will look better to you in person. Sometimes the border sort of makes the quilt.

At any rate, welcome to the board. I am sure you will get more advice. Folks here have good ideas. :)

Dina

My blue isn't your blue.
Her red isn't his red.
The Joneses yellow is more orange the the Smith's.

Nobody sees color just like the next person; therefore it nearly always behooves you (how about THAT old fashioned word!) to pick/choose/buy your own fabrics when you are having someone make clothing, quilts, drapes, chair covers, or baby things for you.

Let this be a lesson learned, keep the secret "close to the vest" - as they say in card games - and let your potential MIL believe it was perfect. Someday, years from now when you are as close as her daughter, you can tell the story and all have a great laugh about it.

Jan in VA, who makes commissions for people who are always required to be present when the fabrics are purchased for their quilts.

This is a very dangerous and hard to do solution. Ask your future mother-in-love for your scrap fabrics. The colors that your sister will not like and that will keep her from using the quilt can be recolored if your are super careful and have some experience with coloring fabric. You will need to experiment on the scraps first. Find the product that works for you. I would recommend you check out the ones available from Dick Blick. When you find the product that produces the color you want, sew a small quilt section, top, batting middle and back complete with some quilting stitches. Practice coloring the fabric until you can color only the top fabric with no bleeding to adjoining fabric and no bleeding to the bottom fabric. This is very difficult, but it can be done. Considering the patience needed you probably need to have at least a week to accomplish this after you decide on the product.
There is a good chance of a ruined quilt if you have less than a perfect result. This is usually only done by someone with considerable painting experience or fiber art experience. I recommend you really think long and hard if you haven't done something similar to this before. It is quite hard.

It would be easier to remake the top than to change the color!! She may suprise you and really like it. If not take it back, keep it and get her a Walmart quilt that she can return if she doesn't like it! (Was I sounding harsh here?)