Someone said, "if you wash a quilt before you gift it you can repair it if necessary". How in the heck do you repair a quilt that is already quilted? Do you just hand stitch the seams that have come unsewn?

Obviously, I am a NEW quilter. I just finished my first top, it is at the LAQ and I am fully prepared for it to fall apart!! :|

You will be amazed how well it will hold up.

Yes, I had to whip stitch a couple seams once. It looked ok. I put some fray check on for good measure.

Depends on where the repair is needed. You can hand sew the seams that have come unsewn or maybe SITD. I am sure that your quilt will be fine. As I have never sent my quilts out I am not sure about repairs for a quilt that has gone to a LAQ. I guess a lot would depend on the pattern used. Now much help sorry. BrendaK.

Oh, I'm sure your quilt won't fall apart.

But they might have been talking about an older quilt. Or let's say some fabric ran after it was washed. Or an appliqued piece fell off. Or a previously unnoticed seam had opened. Or a block was placed upside down and no one noticed until after it was quilted.

They can be fixed. Not saying it would be fun. But the quilting in the area could be unpicked, the block put in the right way, and then the area requilted.

The applique piece could be easily reattached more securely.

The seam could be stitched together, or if a hole was discovered, then a piece appliqued over it.

So there are solutions. And I'm sure somewhere in your quilt making journey, you're going to be faced with one of the above situations. Don't panic. There is always a solution.

I'll bet you can't wait to get your first quilt back. I remember being so antsy and excited. I hope you post pictures!

Ahhh, thats so cute. LOL. Im sure it will be fine.

It is not something that happens often, but it is better to launder it and know with certainty that the quilt is going to be okay after the recipient washes it :D:D:D

I agree with the others. Chances are that all our quilts will survive the first wash - but better to know that before gifting them. Also I think it's much nicer to give a freshly laundered quilt as a gift, rather than one that has unknown amounts of starch, sizing, other chemicals... The other reason I launder my quilts is that I expect the quilt to look slightly different - maybe puffy from shrinkage of the batting - after washing. I don't want the recipient to think that they "ruined" the quilt after their first washing just because it looks different - it was meant to be that way!

and IF a stitch or two come loose hand stitching is easier and faster

Oh, by the way....NOT A DUMB QUESTION. Dont ever feel that way here. :)