Has anyone ever......
 

ripped all the quilting out of an almost fully quilted project?

I'm going to do it, anyway; I've made up my mind. But I'm curious. Am I the only one mad -- as in crazy -- enough to do this?

I'm also mad -- as in angry -- because I created this mess by not planning ahead and realizing how it would look. And now I can't live with it. The project is the little red string quilt I made, which was an experiment to begin with, but even experiments shouldn't look, as the Brits say, like a dog's dinner.

I quilted it on my DM, using a serpentine stitch.....and that's the problem, I think. I normally like using that stitch but on this quilt it looks like stray threads lying all over the quilt. I think it's because I quilted it diagonally, along the X formed by the center white strips and in the other direction from corner to corner of each little square.

In any case, it's coming out. If I don't give up and throw it in the trash, I'll re-quilt it using a straight stitch, not in the ditch but beside the ditch. It can't look worse, and may look better.....and maybe I can look at it without wanting to weep! Or curse!

Yes I have. If I am not happy with it not...I will never be happy with it. Good luck.

Yep!
Then I stitched all round the top, put it in a lingerie bag and washed, dried Ironed and re quilted it. Looked perfect.

Not a whole quilt but a whole intricate section of a quilt that included quite a bit of backtracking. It took forever but I was glad I did it.

I haven't yet, but I am planning it. Made a two color quilt, took to the long arm quilter and after 6 months, I decided to collect the quilt. She had just finished it that day!! And she hurried too. One side has lots of puckers. So it needs to be redone. By someone else. Maybe I will hand quilt it myself. Take your time unstitching your quilt and when it is all finished, you will love it.

Yes. I wasn't crazy about how it turned out (I'm picky about not seeing holes where the stitches were), but a good pressing and starch helped a tad.

It was "in front of the television" work for me for several evenings.
Good luck!

If you're crazy then so am I because I have done the same thing. I made my brother a quilt and it was one of my first FMQing projects. It was horrible so I ripped it out and requilted it. He probably wouldn't have noticed in a million years but it bothered me enough to rip it out.

If you don't mind possibly sacrificing the backing you can "skin" it. I know some people have successfully skinned the quilt without nicking the backing but you have to be very careful. Especially if you do it with a rotary cutter or blade type tool.

https://gypsymoonquiltco.wordpress.c...ing-made-easy/

I have but not on a big quilt. I'd start over making the whole quilt if it was heavily quilted and big.

Yes, my friend was very unhappy with the quilting on her quilt and I helped her unquilt the whole quilt. Amazingly it didn't take that long and she was so unhappy with the first quilting that it made the ripping worth the work.

I have done this more than once. I use a electric seam ripper, looks like a small men's beard trimmer, works great and fast. just cuts thread.

I haven't, I just give it away (quickly) once it's done and redo it. I did have a friend that did that, it was almost to binding stage and waved due to the quilting. She totally took it out and redid it. In our Quilt show she won the Meticulous Workmanship award. It was definitely worth the time for her.

I did it once with a small cherished baby quilt so I could fix seams that were coming loose and fix the backing and binding. It was a labor of love. Take your time and breathe deep.

Yes I have done that . Hated the quilt and had to redo it.

I am in the middle of one right now, and I am loathe to get back at.

I haven't done it, but someone I know had a very large bargello quilted by someone else. She was not happy with the final result and picked out the whole thing. Oh My Goodness, the seams.....so many seams.

Yes, I did! It was a 50x 50 quilt that the quilter left a pleat in the backing? There was no living with it.

You have my best wishes. It's seems overwhelming but work in small blocks of time. Just a suggestion to rip from the backing side. The batting will protect the actual quilt. The backing was toast and went in the trash asap. I didn't want reminders.

I used one of the curved knife cutters and worked on one stitch at a time.

Again, best wishes!

Oh dear! I’ve ripped out about 1/3 of a heavily quilted lap size quilt. I thought about it for a couple of days and decided it had to be done. I need to learn, though, if I’m unhappy as I quilt along, I need to stop sooner before there’s more to rip out!

I've thought of that: washing it. But was worried about the batting. Hadn't thought of a lingerie bag, which is a great idea, thanks!

Yep, I once ripped out every quilted stitch on a large double/small queen sized quilt because I didn't like the way I'd stitched it. I just used a regular seam ripper and cut a stitch every couple of inches and then worked the thread out. Took a while, but it was worth it in the end.

Rob

Thanks for the idea of "skinning" the quilt. But I took too long to decide on that backing; no way am I sacrificing it! And I'm already begun the ripping out. It just takes time and is boring -- all while I call myself a few names! -- but it can be done.

Thanks to all who commented, who understand, and who have wished me luck. It's encouraging to know I'm not quite mad -- or that others have been, too. Maybe it comes with quiltmaking!

This is exactly where I was. I couldn't stand it, so have to undo it. I am a "fixer" by nature (not always a positive trait!) so couldn't let it go, even though this is not an important quilt, in the grand scheme of my quilt making.

This is my process, Rob. I'm cutting every 4 or 5 stitch with a seam ripper and then the back thread just comes out in one tug......mostly. It's slow, tedious, unrewarding work but is kind of penance for getting this far without admitting how ugly it was and how I'd erred. I looked at it this morning and wondered "What was I thinking?" After that, the decision to rip was easy.

I'd have been ashamed for anyone to see that quilt, if it does nothing more than reside on a shelf. So, no matter how long it takes, I'll be glad I did it. It can't look worse.

Yes, just part of a row. It took about 10 minutes to make the mistake and about 4 hours with Jack the Ripper.

Had to laugh. I was doing some unquilting on one of my own and the phrase that kept going through my head was "a moment on the lips a lifetime on the hips" only I was muttering it only took me 5 minutes to quilt this bit and almost an hour to unpick it.

Yup, took it off the long arm, and when the mood striked me I would slowly start frogging when I was bored, it took me 7 months. It is done now and I’m glad I spent the time ripping it all out, I’m very happy with it now! At the end of the day it’s a personal choice, how much is your time worth? How much do you love the project? And would you feel better if you just tossed it. I feel your pain!

I bought an old quilt in a second hand store, it was cheap because it had been done (badly) on a domestic machine. I picked out all the quilting, with plans of requilting it. Stitches were large so it wasn’t a horrible job. Never got around to doing it over so I sold the top for 3x what I paid.

Yep, been there, done that.

Yes! Finished the quilt again...just before Christmas and sent to a niece for a Christmas present and have not heard one word from her.
It was a friend who long armed it, one of her first quilts to do. Uneven stitches, inconsistent tensions. Never again. I have never understood how she could complete and return and never said a word about the poor outcome.
I loved the quilt, should have never let a rookie get her hands on it and I should have never rehomed it.

I'm not sure the batting was washed. The lingerie bag is great for the top, though.

Wow! I never had to do this yet (knock on wood). I have however ripped out seams from clothing, handbags etc more times than I would want to count.

Now that I think about it, yes. I was in a thrift store and saw a cute little girl quilt for sale - very cheap. So I bought it. At home, I discovered that the flannel backing had shrunk - apparently it was not pre-washed - and the quilt was bowled. As a newbie to quilting, I had no idea that the backing was just one of the problems...

After removing all the quilting, I realized that there was another reason for the "bowling". The borders were all cut 1/2 inch too short on both ends for the center of the quilt. So that meant it also needed an additional 1" for each border to "un-bowl" it. It was some time ago, but I think my solution to that was to make cornerstones fit into the border.

It turned out cute, but I learned to leave the 'project' quilts I find in thrift stores behind. It was donated to a charity and I am sure it found the right little girl to love it. Thinking about that made the effort worthwhile.

Okay, thanks. Mine is sandwiched with spray adhesive and I'm not taking it apart......(I hope!). I'll probably just iron it, maybe using starch, before the re-quilting. Right now I'm pretty sick of it, so it may not get re-quilted for awhile.

To Cathyvv: Your thrift store purchase made me laugh. It reminded me of something my boss used to say: "You've stepped in blood" meaning you sometimes find yourself involved in something that becomes much larger than you ever wanted or intended!

I'm still trying to figure out why I didn't know better than to quilt this as I did. It's not as if it's my first rodeo. But at least I've learned something: think it through before you even thread the machine!

just last week unfortunately! I had customer quilt with 10" borders, planned lots of intricate Welsh designs and the borders were wayyy too wavey. I picked out for a week, sprayed and starched,ironed, took off 3 borders and re-did and then quilted--piano keys and corner motifs!

In the middle of ripping 1/2 a quilt quilting I did with my walking foot. The main quilt was Irish Chain, the backing a wedding ring fabric. So being a novice back when I made this I was just outlining the wedding rings and got 1/2 way done. Then I grew tired of it and put away for yrs. Now I'm not a novice anymore and looked at it and decided it had to come out and done right from the Irish Chain side...I do a bit each day...no rush it sat for yrs, what's a few more.

Yes, queen size log cabin, that was 5 years ago, and quilt top, batting, and backing are still stored in the closet.

Yes, indeed I have picked out all the quilting I did on a quilt. It was one of my first 5 or 6 quilts and I had spent so much time laying out the quilt that I did not want to leave it as it was. I pinned my three layers but did not know how important it was to make sure the back was absolutely wrinkle free before pinning. I had many, many wrinkles on the back after quilting. Lesson learned: use painters tape to keep the back taunt and flat when layering, use spray baste and look at the back before you start quilting.

I am pleased to say that this over sized throw is still one of my favorites because it is a scrappy that is almost completely from the stash of a quilter who passed away. And.....I made the effort to make it as perfect as my skills at that time allowed. So glad I made the effort to pick out all of those little stitches.:)

I'm about to do that in a few weeks. A friend of mine has done the stitch in the ditch and now has decided that she wants to take it out and have it long armed. So I'm driving over an hour to her house and help her rip it all out. Its one of my least favorite things to do but what are friends for.

If it is any consolation.....we have all been there.