I had an applique quilt machine quilted by a long arm quilter out of town. I am not at all happy with it. I put so much time into hand appliqueing and was going to try to enter it next year in a Fair quilt show but can't now because the machine quilting is done not so great. Would anyone rip out the machine quilting and have it done by someone that could do custom quilting (which may be out of my price range and the binding is already machine sewn on so there isn't that extra quilt batting and backing for a machine quilter)or I just may hand quilt it myself. It's not heavily quilted thank goodness and there are spots where she missed quilting a section. I guess you get what you pay for. Thought it was a good deal but not. So would anyone be crazy enough to take out the machine quilting stitches? :roll:

I rip out machine quilting (and over applique) all the time! It is a pain, but always worth it to me!! I find it easier to pull the stitches between the backing and the batting. Good luck!

Yes, Mine had so many pleats in the back and the batting was thick and not to my liking. It took me a month, little by little and I did it. I still have to send it back to the LAQ to be redone. I found if you clip the threads at 3 inch intervals, Then you can wiggle the thread out one by one. Work in small areas.

i had to take out about 3 feet of machine quilting one time from a king size quilt, it took about 6 hours and was a mess...but i got it done and re-quilted it...so,
totally up to you, if you want to take out what has been done get a new sharp seam ripper and go to town, it will take a while. then you have to clean it up and start over. is it really so bad? maybe once you finish the binding and wash it it will be great? those two final steps really can make a quilt sing !

Thanks so much for your replies. So I am not too crazy ;O(
It is really kind of bad...she also didn't go over the applique but there needed to be quilting in the large applique pieces. This person also quilted a quilt for my grandson that i made for him for xmas. And ckcowl said if I wash it it turns out better looking and that is what I did on the grandson's quilt. It is not so bad and he is not old enough to know any better...lol I just wanted it to look half way decent. She didn't even clip threads and when I clipped one it started to unravel. Maybe I can get my husband to sit and take out quilting while he is watching tv....not!

I used one long arm quilter and when I received the finished quilt, it was terrible. First, the back was upside down. Everything had been marked and both the front and back had obvious directional prints. I could have lived with this, but.... On the back there were over 30 significant areas (1 inch or longer) where the bobbin thread had looped up like eyelashes. When I contacted her, she denied it. I offered to send pictures and she finally agreed to redo the quilting. It was only a simple meander pattern.

She said she would remove the quilting, but I didn't trust her to do that without damaging the quilt, so I undid the entire thing! It was lap-sized and it took me several hours to remove it all.

I returned it and she re-did the quilting. This time she paid more attention to what she was doing and it was fine. Needless to say, I found a new quilter! lol

If you aren't happy, I would remove it. But, it is time consuming.

I've got a sm. wall hanging that I had machine quilted on a longarm. Afterwards I thought it didn't do anything for it, it took away from the pattern. So little by little I'm ripping out & hand quilting. If I rip it out totally, I probably would never get it done! Either way, I work on it when we go rving. Hopefully, I'll have it done by spring.

Thanks oatw13...after the replies that is what i am going to do ...remove the quilting. I didn't know if I was insane in thinking to do so. I am the type of person that likes things done right or it will bother me forever. I put so much work in the hand applique that it just bothers me so. Thanks again and will keep you all updated on my progress. I have a pic of the quilt before I had it quilted and will post it if I can find it. Thanks again!

I would take out the stitching. If you are not happy with it now, you will never be happy with it.

I can't figure out why you would have a beautiful hand applique quilt machine quilted. If it is heirloom quality, and it sounds like it is, have it hand quilted. Esp. if it is anything like your avatar.

Blinky,

I'm raising my hand. Removed machine quilting once -- I was the machine quilter and had no one to blame but myself. Took many hours, but I was happy when I redid the work.

Please post a photo!

thanks ptquilts...applique is my passion...i just attached a pic somewhere on here of the quilt before i had it quilted...lol

If I am not happy with it, I will redo it.

This quilt is gorgeous! I do a lot of applique work myself and never can find the heart to top stitch over it! I usually free motion around the outside of the appliqued detail. You can then stitch other designs in the open (unappliqued) areas. It really makes the extra details you've done stand out. And yes, I would take out the other stitches first then have fun doing it your way! :)

thank you sewing4kix.....i am definitely going to rip the stitches out...i have never done machine quilting on my Bernina ...not sure whether to try it or just hand quilt it...i am leaning towards hand quilting....thanks again! i do love needle turn applique...you can take it places to work on!!!

Take the stitches out. You should be happy with the quilt.
Sit outside, the wind will help with the cleanup. Nest spring you may find your thread in a bird nest. In SC we have many days to outside. If you were near I would be glad to help.

I agree. You worked so hard on this quilt, you deserve to love it totally! Earlier today I ripped out the quilting on a PLACE MAT because I decided I wanted to take out the batting. At the time I wasn't sure if it was worth it, but I think it is. It took me about an hour. So put on a good movie, grab a friend, and start ripping. If you need a break, just log in to quiltingboard for a while! Good luck, and keep us posted.

I'm in same situation. I made a large lap quilt for my best friend. I was so careful to make sure all seams were flat, quilt so true when I trimmed it. I only wanted a simple all over stippling (how could that go wrong). My co-workers wife does long arm and price was good. I explained (3 times) I DID NOT WANT IT REALLY BIG just a med stipple-
what did she do-BIG!! I'm so upset. I was so careful to make it smooth and now it has puckers in it. The stippling only goes through part of each block and I'm not sure after numerous washings how will it will hold up. I was thinking of SID each block but due to size will be a hassel (that was the point of sending it out). She gave it to me at work so I couldn't really tell her how upset I was-so I send I liked it. Send of story- I am up set and I paid her for it!!!! Live and Learn. Hope your quilt issues get resolved. Have a great holiday :-D

Thank you everyone! ....and twospoiledhuskies i feel for you!!! Yes, live and learn...i am definitely going to take the stitches out after reading all your posts! have to quit for the night on my computer...just came upstairs to my desktop real quick...one of my little dogs chewed up the power cord to my laptop downstairs. the last time he did it not too long ago he blew up my laptop! catch up with you all tomorrow!...and yes doing the board inbetween ripping out stitches sounds like a great idea!! Good night!

If it's bad quilting and you know it's going to bug you forever, spend the time to pick it out.
I would also talk with the quilter and explain why you're unhappy with it and see if she'll give you some sort of refund.
Most longarmers want their customers to be happy. I suggest you need to find someone else if you plan to send a quilt "out" again.

I have taken out machine quilting stitches from 2 lap sized quilts....I was the quilter and had tried something new...that just didn't do it for me. It took awhile....but not as long as I thought it would....I re-quilted it and was so pleased with the finished product.

I can't get the hang of hand quilting. I have a Janome p6600 and it does a fine job of making easy work of it for me! lol Just let your applique be your guide and it will look fabulous. :)

I had to take the quilting out on my "quilt from hell".....it's a pain, but if you don't like how it's done, then DO it! The one point I want to make....if you have the binding on, and no extra backing around the edges, it'll be impossible for a longarm to do the quilting -- unless maybe you ADD a 5 inch border on the backing to be taken off later. If you hand quilt it -- you'll be doubly proud of what you've made.

Your quilt is too wonderful to allow bad quilting to spoil it. My vote is to remove the offending stitches. All that hand work seems to be asking for hand quilting.:)

That quilt is far too beautiful to accept second best on it! you applique work is lovely.
I would rip out the stitching. Good luck I shall be sending good thoughts that it all comes out easily and look forward to seeing it finished properly

I long arm quilt and I do rip out my own work. I find it easiest on the machine under tension. I cut every fifth or sixth stitch for the entire piece I want to remove. Yes it takes awhile and its hard on my eyes, but then I can just catch the bottom thread and pull and it all comes out. Nothing to fear.
Mary

That is gorgeous!! I'm worried that after you remove the stitching, you will be left with little holes everywhere. I usually run a needle over the holes to "close" them, but I am talking about a very small area. Can't imagine doing a whole quilt.

My quilt group was crazy enough to take the stitching out of a store bought printed quilt and then added a border and hand quilted the whole thing for our annual Christmas drawing. The fabric was really hard to quilt on and I don't think it looked all that special when it was done. If it were up to me I would have started from scratch with a new top. But for your purposes it would be a waste not to redo it if you put all that work into it and aren't happy with it.

I just took out quilting on a free motion piece...where I am not very practiced so the stitches were extremely small...took me 6 hours or more for a strip about 20x4...but it is for a gift and I am so happy with what I did later...have to finish it today.

I love the quilt...it is define....please share where you got the pattern or did you make it up....its so warming...
homey...and welcoming.

Be patient and take breaks...its a neck killer.

this is what I did too...less chance of slitting the front...I used really small scissors and snipped very carefully, you'll need to take the binding off and new backing and batting but its worth it, you'd never be happy with it...

Yes, yes, yes.......remove all the quilting. I too am a longarm quilter, and that is why! I had someone quilt two quilts for me, and I was so upset when I got them back....I cried and cried and then got to work. After that, I looked into doing my own quilting. Can't blame anyone then......I have been a quilter for 13 years now and love everything I do!!!!!! gloria g. in South Carolina

Sorry to hear you had a bad LA'r experience. Is it possible to work around what the LA'r did and add some more quilting so that you can get the look you'd like?

If you go through with ripping it out, I would suggest that you remove the binding as well. You'll be able to put a new backing & batting so if you send it to a different LA'r they can start fresh and do a good job for you.

I would let your LA'r know you really weren't happy with the work she did. I would like to think that those of us who do LA professionally REALLY want their customer's to be happy. I have ripped the quilting out of customer quilts because a tuck happened on the back or something got messed up w/the tension. Occassionally, we misinterpret what a customer wants (especially if you're getting instructions via email or a written note & not face-2-face). Things DO happen, even to the best of us.

I like to think my prices are reasonable & that the quality of my workmanship is WELL worth it. I often wonder how some LA'rs could afford to offer such low prices. Depending on the intricacy of a pattern a 62 x 82 quilt top can take between 6 - 10 hrs (taking into consideration most quilts need some touch up w/an iron, perhaps extra care because of wavy borders or fullness within the quilt, square'n up backing & battings, etc). So if you figure the 'average' e2e design takes 7 hrs that means 62 x 82 =5084 @ 0.015 = $76.25/7 = $10.89 per hour. I consider that a very REASONABLE amount to pay someone for their craft, especially if they offer more than your basic e2e styles and the quality of their work is good.

But, I ramble & a need to get back to work lol

I too have taken out long arm quilting. When I first got my machine and was practicing I did a design on one of boys boys bedsize quilt. I decided I didn't like the design so took it off and undid 3 full rows on a full size. My hubby helped, though it took both of us two evenings to take it all out. It is time consuming but worth it.

If you don't like it now.....you won't like it later. Your work is worth it! I think we all feel this way.

Oh, many a time!!!!!!!!
If some stitches are just small mistakes, I mark them with a small safety pin, and go back later to decide if they're really worth "fixing", but I've been known to rip several borders. Oh yeah ...

As a short(mid)arm quilter, I hesitate to machine quilt any project such as
yours. First, you have put too much effort into the beautiful applique, and
no amount of machine quilting would enhance it. Second, it deserves hand
quilting to retain value. Just my opinion and I share this with ladies who
have brought me tops such as yours.

Several posts recently mention poor quality longarm quilting. I am a "longarmer," so I can say this: I would NEVER EVEN THINK of delivering a quilt with 'eyelashes,' pleats, or any other such atrocity! First, if a longarmer mounts the quilt correctly and tension is adjusted properly, those mishaps are rare. When they do happen, there is only one thing to do, and that is rip out and fix. Time consuming? Pain? You bet! I charge more than other longarmers in my area, and I refuse quilt tops that are too sloppily pieced. My best customers are those who've had a 'nightmare' quilting job done on a quality pieced top by a sloppy longarmer! They are more than happy to pay my higher rate. There are lots of 'it's ok if you can't see it from town' type piecers AND longarmers. They need/deserve each other. Quilt snob? Too picky? Maybe so, but I have happy customers who appreciate my snobbish, picky ways, and I'd happily sign anything I quilt. My suggestion is that you ask to see a longarmer's work before turning him/her loose on your quality pieced top!

Yes I have done it many times. It takes a while but worth it in the end. I saw on here where someone else said she does it between the backing and the filling and I also find that is the easiest way.

My daughter is a machine quilter (pricey but worth it). She quilted a quilt for one of her customers and, when she got through, my daughter was unhappy with the quilting. She said she spent almost a week picking out the quilting and requilted it. When the quilter entered the quilt in a major show it got a first place ribbon.