Help with a Wedding Quilt! I Goofed!
 

I'm a new longarmer. I quilted my son's wedding quilt and when I took it off the frame, I realized the tension was all wrong. The top looks great. The back has stitches good in some places and thread laying on top in other places. Tension too loose.

I'm debating taking it apart and starting again. But I would have needle holes in the fabric. Or I could leave it as is. The perfectionist in me is having a hard time with that. It is a wedding quilt and it should be nice.

Thoughts?

Lots of times the needle holes will close up when the item is washed. If it was me, I would rip it apart and redo it.

If you hit the holes with a little steam from your iron they will close up.

Needle holes will disappear if the quilt is washed or run through the dryer with a wet towel.

Now to your question - how extensive is the 'bad' stitching? If it's a little bit here and there, you probably don't need to do anything about it. If it's very visible - even to a non-quilter - than do what you have to do.

only you know what you have to do and feel okay about it ;-)

You all reinforced what I already knew. I need to rip and re-do. A wedding quilt needs to be done right. Thanks for the tips on the needle holes.

Can you show us pictures? If you have' nests' or areas that the stitches are not (stitches) on the back it might come apart when used/ laundered, should be fixed. It is Always a good idea to check the underside of the quilt when you stitch the first line of stitching ( I stop and look after going 3-4" when I first start) ensuring everything looks right, then get going; each time you change bobbins you should check again and if you stop for any length of time when you get going again. That way if there are any tension issues you catch them early, much easier to fix a little area then a whole quilt. I keep a 12" mirror tile on my longarm table. Every turn of the quilt, bobbin change or break/stop I take a look to see that the back looks as good as the top.

Same for me on checking the back--only I have to wait until I roll--hope for the best until I do. But I do always do a sample stitching when I change bobbins, or for any reason have to quit in the middle of a row. I have not figured out yet how to look at the back with a mirror. Maybe my rolls aren't high enough off the bed of my table? The son who does most of my quilting has figured out that using the same thread on the front and back is the secret to our success, and is very resistant to changing that thought. So we do most of our quilting with a light beige or off white for the light colored quilts, and black for the dark ones, with no using one color on top and another on the bottom.

If you wind your own bobbins why not use colors? If prewounds..they come in many colors.....I love them all!

I can run my fingertips under where I have just quilted and can "feel" the stitches.......that comes with practice, but it saves lots of frog stitching...there is also a round little mirror on a long flexible handle that one can use to check...can't remember where I got mine...maybe hardware..or auto supply type

If you are not too worried about showing off the quilting on the back why not add a false backing - I have not done this myself but have heard of other people doing it, it would certainly save all that ripping out of the quilting.

I agree with Debra. If it was me, I would start taking the stitches out. You want it to be the best work you have done since this is a wedding present for your son. I quilt on my Bernina and you ALWAYS have to check when starting ANY quilt that everything is correct on the back especially when threads are changed.

I like the mirror idea. I'm usually on the floor, looking up at the bottom of my quilt with a flashlight checking the tension. With this quilt, I was using white thread on a light background - hard to see the stitches. Thus, the problem.

You all convinced me to start ripping. I was trying to avoid it but I'll feel better about it in the long run. Thanks for all the advice:)

I bought a long mirror in a plastic frame meant for attaching to the back of a door and lay it on the bed of my LA. Then, with a flashlight, it's easy to check the tension on the back. Shine the light at the quilt back and look at the reflection in the mirror. Of course, if you're doing pantos you have to remove the mirror. It cost me less than $10 at a discount store.

When you rip don't rip every stitch, break a top stitch every 5-6 stitches. Go along 12-24 inches this way then pull the bobbin thread and they will all come out. Then you can use a lint roller to get all the little thread pieces after you are all done. 5-6 stitches isn't much better than doing each stitch but it sure makes it go faster. It will still be time consuming though.
Good luck with it.

I agree with several of the other comments, you have to check frequently as you are quilting to see what is happening on the back of the quilt. Either with a mirror or feeling the stitching. I use a flashlight to check. Check particularly at the beginning of the row, when changing the bobbin or rethreading the machine. It is better to find the mistake after only a small area of stitching then the whole thing.

I had to do that rip out but i was glad i did it the next time i quilted it looks great.

To look at the back, I use a large hand held mirror with a small flashlight duct taped overtop the handle. Turn on the light and aim it at the area you want to see, and look at the reflection in the mirror. Sometimes I'll temporarily raise up the pick up roller to see better if the area I want to see is closer to the belly bar (front).

I forgot to say that I put a cardboard wedge underneath the bottom part of the flashlight before taping it onto the mirror handle. That way it is tipped towards the mirror surface, and shines there. The mirror then reflects the light exactly onto the back of the quilt where you want to see.

I think you made the right decision. Best of luck!

I agree, you will always know it is not your best and will be sorry in the end if you do not rip it out and redo the parts that aren't right.