If it's vellum, I've found that vellum gets sort of brittle after pressing and tears quite easily.

I don't know what kind it is, the person who recommended it to me gave me a roll of the paper.

Let's just say it doesn't even come off easily anywhere! I FMQs feathers / whorls and the paper won't come off easily there.

Thanks for all the tips, I will try them all out at some point.

Show the person the quilt and ask why the paper was recommended. I suspect that person never used it to quilt before. I'd let this person know how disappointed I was with the product to be used as she recommended.

When it's damp, does it come off easier? Do you think you can post a picture of what it looks like? I'm not sure if the paper is in bits yet, or if it's still in large-ish pieces?

Can you try a lint roller on it after you've dampened the paper? Usually paper comes off easier if it's wet, so let the water soak in a bit and then try it? So sorry this happened to you! You do beautiful work and it's frustrating when something new we've tried doesn't work out.

You might try spraying it with hair spray. I use Aqua Net to remove ball point ink.

I have tried everything everyone suggested, and even did a test piece in vinegar and baking soda LOL nothing works, except pulling it out with tweezers.

There are two quilts, they have both been washed 5 times - in hot water / cold water / warm water - quick cycles, long cycles ... I've tried it wet / dry / damp ... there's no easy way.

Pretty sure I'll just leave them on my fence with a note that says free quilts - just pick off the paper and they're yours!

This is what I am left with after all these washings

So sorry you've had a bad experience. I've always torn off the papers before washing.

When I first started quilting through paper I used tissue paper. I found out the hard way that not all tissue paper is created equally and some had a thin coating of plastic or something and it was not good to use for quilting. Couldn't necessarily tell by price either but I could by feel so preferred sheets I could touch.

Have you tried a hard tooth or nail brush? I know we get to a point where we are simply done with a project, but it might not be too bad to do half an hour (one situation comedy!) at a time while watching tv. But yeah, it's going to be grueling and create quite a bit of fluff.

It's ok to give the chore to someone else to reap the rewards of your quilting. Do you have any sort of guild or local community to see if someone might be willing to do it just to have something to do. You never know, I accepted a UFO from a board member that I'll be sending back to her because I'm having a hard time getting started on my own projects but seem to be able to react to finishing things just fine. One of my small group ladies was having a similar issue (and we weren't meeting) during the early days of lock down and put out a request for unfinished crib sized projects, so I gave her the preemie tops and a couple others I hadn't quilted yet. Donations done, hands busy, win/win for all :)

i have used an emery board and even sandpaper LOL ... other than tweezers nothing is working!

I'll see if there is a local charity around here that is willing to accept it ... otherwise, it's gone!

Too bad you're so far away. I'm a very patient person and that's the sort of mindless project I could do while watching tv. I'd sit and pull everything out with tweezers for you. So sorry, it's a horrible way to learn not to do that!

I posted my mess on my FB page, and one of my friends has volunteered to pull off all of the paper! She's picking them up tomorrow ... gotta love friends that have that kind of patience! Seriously, I was ready to toss it .. I have patience, but not for that!