Needle Holes
 

I just unquilted a portion of a quilt that I want to enter into a show. The tension was terrible and really showed on the front. After taking out a ton of quilting, I have little holes all over the front. Any suggestions on how to get rid of them? The batting also seems to be crushed down from the previous quilting. Is there any way to restore it? I can't take the quilt apart and don't really want to soak it since it's red and white. I would appreciate any suggestions available.

First I would ask what size needle you used? Did you pre-wash your reds at least? The batting should come up on its own. The holes may be a different problem. Normally I would suggest that you wash the quilt before the show. Reds are tricky especially if they have not been pre-washed. I have mine dry cleaned. Hopefully others here can throw out a few ideas.

If you are going to launder the quilt, the needle holes will disappear and the batting will repuff. If you're afraid that the red will bleed, and will never launder it, try wetting only the portion with the holes and see if they go away with ironing or just rubbing to smooth them out.

I've had some luck with spritzing the fabric very lightly with water and brushing with an extra soft toothbrush. Try just a toothbrush on the dry fabric first. I also use a toothbrush to get rid of my quilting lines.

Try steam.

Steam may shrink the fabric up and could result in a look you don’t want for a show. I suggest using a very soft toothbrush or baby hair brush and gently brush over the holes with it.

I've done this before and I used a spritz of water and my finger nail to get rid of needle holes.

This was my thought. A light steaming won't distort the fabric at all and will probably get rid of the holes without bleeding.