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. :)

That is exactly what I did when a seam on my very first finished quilt pulled apart when washed. I hand stitched it with teeny tiny stitches. Oh, and I told the recipient, my new great-nephew's mom, what had happened & gave her permission to bring it to me any time during the hopefully long life of the baby quilt for repairs and or replacement. :D

There are no dumb questions but they are the easiest to answer. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Yes, please feel free to ask ANY question here! (How else will you find out the answer?!)

you don't ask a question for your own information - you ask for all the rest of us bumbling around who haven't thought that was a question to ask! Thanks from the rest of us. :)

the (fix) depends on the problem- if its simply a little bit of a seam that has come undone it is quite easy to just hand stitch it closed again- if it's something different a strategically placed applique may be needed-
or you might need to tuck some fusable web inside and press to fix a problem-
no reason to stress over (fixes) when you don't even know any will be necessary-
i'm a long armer and often while quilting someone's quilt i see a problem=and fix it. depends on the problem- but there is no reason to believe there will be any problems.
look forward to your quilt coming home-quilted and beautiful!

There aren't any dumb questions here! We all learn from each other.

Thanks for the comments friends!

Ditto!

Welcome to the forum. You have just taken the first step on a long and fulfilling journey with the rest of us. You rarely hear of a quilter who quits, we all just keep on going, learning with each quilt. Welcome--your quilt will be fine and beautiful.
Sue

That was not a dumb question, but I have to say I was laughing out loud because I remember thinking the same thing. You are going to do just fine.