I recently received a quilt back from a long-armer -- there is a hole in the border. It looks to me like the needle on the long-arm machine got stuck and the fabric ripped when she tried to dislodge it.

I contacted the long-armer by e-mail, saying "I received the quilt back. The quilting looks nice, but there is a hole in the border where it is quilted. Weren't you going to say anything to me about it?"

Her response was "Didn't know there was a hole in the border."

I e-mailed her back and even sent pictures of the tear/rip/hole. She has ignored the e-mail and I have not heard anything else from her.

What should I do?

I sure wouldn't use her again. Is there something decorative you can do to hide the hole and keep it from fraying?

I'm sure someone on this board will help you come up with a good idea.

Guess I'm kind of a black & white person....for a starter....if you haven't had a reply in a reasonable amount of time....I would post her Long Arm quilting business for others to see and comment on. I would hate to think that others would have their quilts ruined AFTER what you have received...... but this comment is made purely on the info you have posted....

Maybe an applique? A label over the hole?
Sorry this happened to you.

This is very likely what happened to make the hole.
When you advance the quilt with the needle down, it will move the machine along with the quilt. If you reach out and grab the machine to move to a new location and forget to raise the needle out of the quilt, it will make a little rip.

Ask me how I know this.....

What I did was to take a piece of the original fabric and matching the print, appliqued it over the top of the rip. Also you need to do in on the back.

You will never see the repair.

I do believe that your Long Arm Quilter should at least be willing to make this repair for you. I did when it happened to me.
And I didnt wait for the quilter to find out, I told her about it up front.

Could you post a picture of the hole? It might be easier for people to give ideas if they could see it.

I agree with what has been posted already.
If she hasn't made an attempt to correct the problem for you, or even answer your emails, then she is not a respectable business person. Go ahead and tell the 200 people you know.
As for fixing it. It depends on how big it is. If it is tiny you may be able to sew it together so that the stitches are inside the quilt. If not, try taking that area apart and placing a piece of same fabric underneath. Bond some fusible web to the RIGHT side of that piece before putting it under the rip. Then fuse it. It will prevent the ripped edges from fraying and will hold the edges down so they don't catch on things. Then redo the quilting in that spot on your own machine. Finish off with binding. That would be my best solution.

That would be a good way to fix it. I don't know why she wouldn't have told you about it. I haven't done anyone else's quilts yet but I hope to someday. I would be calling that person up as soon as it happened and ask them how they would like me to fix it. It's a machine and you can't control everything that it does....that's understandable, but atleast man up that it got messed up and fix it. People pay good money to have quilts quilted and they should get good service.

I am sorry that she has not contacted you yet..hopefully she will.
I agree with the one who stated that it came fromm quilt advancing..I always tie off my thread and put the needle in the up position because I am so afraid this will happen to me....As far as the hole..I am wondering how big it is? Could a little 007 work to smoosh the fabrics together and heal the hole? Other wise applique will be the only way.
I woudl feel horrible if this was a customer of mine..and I would try to fix it straight away! I hoep she takes care of you!

Not good. I think she's embarrassed and doesn't know how to handle it and is hoping you disappear.

Actually this happened to me when I was quilting a customers quilt. What had happened is that all of the threads weren't clipped on the top and one was 'looped' in the seam and the foot caught the thread and since LA's run so fast, it created a hole with all the thread that had to be cut and picked out. I did tell her about it and offer to repair, but she said she'd take care of it. So sometimes even though everything looks okay, trouble may be only a small thread in a seam away. And yes she should have at the very least told you!

She should have told you about the hole, and offered to repair or make an amend to you. You sure don't feel as if you can recommond her quilting services to others. Hope you can make the repair, and be happy with the quilt.

Merry Christmas

Being from WI and a longarmer... alls I can say is, I'm sorry. I can't say this hasn't happened to me, once is enough though. When anything goes wrong on a customer's quilt I always take the high road.. meaning I call, write or whatever, tell them of the problem, and fix it for them, and give them something off of the quilting (free batting)
It is hard to admit our faults sometimes.. the pressure of this time of year is hard to take for anyone who gives a service, but it is not an excuse to make a mistake with out fixing it the best you can.

One thing you can try is Heat and Bond, removing it from the paper, and stick the gluey stuff (quilting term~I think)
under the tear, next to the batting. Put a teflon sheet on the top and press. I have another product I have use on clothing, Bond, it is a powder that is like the gluey stuff.
It patches pants, wool, anything, even hunting clothes.

Hang in there!

Since she has made no effort to rectify the issue, has not repsonded to your emails, I suggest you contact quilt shops and guilds in her area and tell this story. It will have the effect of lessening recommendations for her work, no less than such a business deserves. You can google this local information if you don't live near her.

Jan in VA

This also happened to me, and the longarmer didn't tell me about it, when I saw it I took the quilt back in and asked what happened, the needle got stuck and ripped my fabric, the owner of the shop offered to repair the quilt, she did a nice job, but I STILL know the quilt is damaged. What most bothered me was them not telling me that they damaged my quilt, they waited to see if I noticed.

I agree with everyone above.....as a new longarmer, I find it hard to believe she didn't see it. I look over everything on my quilts!!!! Dang shame!

My, my, this is exactly what happened to me! I had taken in my POSTAGE STAMP quilt in and it was my DH that noticed it before we left the studio (looks exactly like the machine got caught up and just hammered away in one spot, tearing it). The comment was, I'll just stitch out a quilt label to cover it! Like the hole was not a big deal!!! I did a small applique within the quilting lines on the lining. Well, from this, I decided to get a frame and new machine and do my own quilting-everything would be MY work. BTW, I think I'll be posting a pic soon...:)

Regarding the hole...I had a small rip in the back of my first quilt and this is what I did to fix it. I took some matching material and cut a small piece so that the design matched the area where the tear was. I then ironed some fusible web on one side and then on the top side as well so that it made a small patch. Very carefully with tweezers I slid the patch in between the batting and the top fabric and pulled the edges of the tear together so that they would meet as best as they could. Then I carefully ironed the area. It really looked pretty good when it was all said and done...you could barely see it and I know it will wear okay. Oh, I also put a little drop of fray check on the seam of the edges just to ensure it didn't fray in the wash.

Oh dear. These stories make me hand quilt although I have been wanting to have some professionally done. I haven't mastered fmq and am too worried about something happening to my work.

I agree with your statement. She is probably terribly embarrassed I know I would be. Since I don't know how big the hole is I don't have any recommendations that would be different from what has already been posted. Good luck.

I don't know what the quilt looks like ar colors, but if I can die cut you an applique from some of your scraps, I will gladly do this for you. If you are interested, please contact me through PM.

No charge.....

Wow, I am so sorry that you had such a horrible thing happen to your quilt at your local LA. I haven't had that happen to me on any of my customers quilts, but after reading this I will definitely be extremely caution of long threads and needle positions. I am always watching for those but now I guess I am a little more paranoid that something like this could happen. Hopefully, your longarmer will do right by you and help correct the problem. But I do agree she should have been upfront with you and told you about the problem. The last thing I do before sending back a customers quilt is take pictures of both sides and check for anything that might need attention.

Good luck,

Sherryl
Candlequilter

Since you can't PROVE the quilter caused the damage, I'd think twice before I publicly badmouthed her work and her company. There might be a lawyer in her family!

So sorry it happened to you regardless of how. Just do a little applique fix (I've done that on one of mine before that had an accident)...it won't be noticable at all and the story will just add character to the quilt. And then...don't take anything back to this person.

I hope she responds and can do somthing to correct the problem..

I am sorry for you and agree with the suggested methods of repair and also would not use her again since she offered no compensation or replies.

This happens in the trade and it is always highly irritating. Once a king sized DWR came back to me with a large bug quilted in between the layers and strings all over the place. Another time a local shop put the backing on inside out on a quilt for a very high paying customer. Not long after that a shop I have trusted for years also put the backing on a queen sized quilt inside out. Then the next time I sent something to a different place it came back loaded with thread nests and tails all over the back. Every time I clipped a thread nest I had to repair the stitching to stablize it.

How can one not notice that a fabric is inside out when there is a very distinct difference? I could possibly see it happening when the front and back are similar but these were not.

None of these places offered any compensation or remorse. So far I have not publicly given out their names, but maybe I should?

Be careful. She could sue for libel.

I am so sorry this happened to you. I'm beginning to quilt for the public and have heard from other longarmers that this happens to all of us, sooner or later. I've been careful, no holes yet!
It is unfortunate that she didn't see the hole and offer to fix it. Most quiltermakers seem to be the nicest people and very understanding....
I quilted and bound a beautiful top, for a dear friend, who is also a customer. I found a hole as I was binding. Scared me to death, thinking I might have made it. I mended it, and told my friend about it. She said she had seen the hole too, and knew it was not my doing! Relief!
Maybe you could tell her how you feel and perhaps, find a new longarmer, depending on how the conversation goes. It would be a shame to ruin a reputation over this mistake, Hugs, Karen

Get the word out to fellow quilters. Even LQS. Sorry to hear, however.

I'm with you. You should post her long arm quilting business on line so others can see. But I'd let her know I was going to do this & if no response, then I would post a picture of the damage & the actual name of the long arm business.

Word of mouth can be your best advertising. It can also be your worse enemy if a business has messed up. If she won't offer to fix it, then you have a powerful tool.

I think the ideas that are being posted on the repair are great ones. One thing to think about, is the person that is doing your longarm quilting insured? I would ask her to at least refund part of my money. I am a longarmer and I would be mortified if I did that to someones quilt. Keep trying to reach her. She at least owes you an apology

Can a person sue for libel if the statements made are the true?

Change long armers. Unless there was a contract saying that she was responsible for any damage caused by quilting I don't think there's a whole lot you can do about it. Is it possible to take some of the same fabric, put fusing on it then work it inside of the hole an press the tear down to the fusable?

Something similar happened to me. The longarmer was recommended by a local quilt shop. I took my quilt into the shop and showed the owner what had happened. They took her business cards off the rack and wouldn't recommend her to anyone anymore. I received no apology or price reduction either.

This happened when my long armer was quilting one of my quilts. She called me immediately and she was really devestated. She asked if I could bring my fabric scaps to her so she could pick out the right one to make the repair. She pieced in and appliqued a repair. She did a fabulous job and it was VERY difficult to find the spot that was repaired. I was very grateful. And she gave me a $20 coupon to use on my next quilt. I continue to bring my quilts to her. This could have happened to anyone. The difference between my experience and yours is, my LA'er did the right thing. I hope you get some satisfaction.

This "hole in the quilt" happened to me as well. While all quilts are special, this one was very dear to my heart and the person I was giving it to as I was retiring and moving quite a distance away. It was dead center on the back side and about the size of a quarter. I took a small piece of fabric that I used in the quilt (contrasting to hole) and cut out a heart. I appliqued it over the hole and attached a note saying, "I have taken a little piece of this quilt out and replaced it with a piece of my heart for you to always be reminded how much I love you." It turned out to be more meaningful than I ever imagined.

I think I'd write a letter and send copies of it to local quilt shops, better business bureau in that area and send a copy to HER with a notation on the bottom that letters had been sent to such and such places. I'd also post something on her website if she has one. People who are looking for someone to quilt their quilts, need to know. Mistakes can happen but she should have been woman enough to tell you about it instead of trying to ignore it. And she should have offered to fix it if possible or given you a discount. Personally, if I messed up someone's quilt, I'd be too ashamed to charge them labor or quilting fees on it.

Not to be vindictive, but it seems to me that the more people that see her name, the more chance there would be that no one else will use her. All of us make mistakes but her attitude leaves a lot to be desired. Is it illegal to post her name and your complaint or is it just mean and not done on this site? I hope this wasn't a Christmas gift but I am sure you can easily cover the mistake with an applique, button or bling.

I've been longarming for 6 years . . . this just happened to me for the first time on a customer quilt. I was using a ruler template, my hopping foot hopped onto the template, broke the needle and tore a small hole in the quilt. Needless to say, I was sick. I fixed it and them put fraycheck on that spot so that it won't fray over time. I definately will tell the customer when she picks it up ... thankfully I have done lots and lots of quilts for her, so we have a good relationship.

Stuff happens, we're human. However, I agree that she needs to make it right with you and should have been honest with you about it.