Replacing parts of a block...any tips?
 

Ugggghhhhhh, whilst undoing some of my seams yet again, sigh, I have noticed that I have inadvertently used 2 very different shades of white in my chevron quilt and it looks blinking awful. I have no choice but to rip out my rows and unpick about 25% of them and replace them. My question is...can I carefully undo the white sections of my chevron and replace with the "right" white, or do I have to completely disassemble the chevrons and re-make with the "right" white, or am I better off just chucking the "wrong" ones and start afresh? It seems a pity to discard the colour pieces in the chevrons let alone have to factor the purchasing of more fabric. What do you think I should do? Apart from sob quietly into my red wine and go and watch more cricket on the tellie? I really can't leave them as is.....the "wrong" white chevrons stand out like a boil and make the other chevrons white colour look dirty.:(:mad:

"I can't help other than to "cry" with you and "have a glass of red too"! I am a total "newbie". Have a small stash (via online shopping) but yet to start a quilting project. I am sure one or more of the wonderful and generous (with their expertise and know how) members of this forum will be able to help you. I look forward to any responses you receive as this is how I "learn".
Cheers Jan
PS. I'm a "Cab/Sav girl" :)

PPS. If you decide to start again how about using the "mistakes" on the back.

If you have enough fabric, I would make more and use the wrong ones in another project, less stressful and it takes 3 times as long to unpick as it does to sew a block.

Yep, Cab/Sav it is for me too!!!!! Oooo Jan you may have just become my new best friend....I could indeed use the "bad" chevrons in my backing as a bit of a feature and then use the surplus backing to make my new chevrons!! Oh happy happy dancing happening here across the sea!!

You're right notmorecraft; I had a bit of a fiddle trying to partly undo one of the chevrons and came to the same conclusion!

Thankyou both for the quick replies..I'm off to the sewing room!

Bummer. You have to be so careful with taking them apart. If it is bias, I wouldn't do it either as Tartan mentioned.

If you have more fabric - then I would also redo the entire blocks.

But if you need to conserve fabric, any of the ways you mentioned would work. Not saying that any of them would be "easy" - just doable.

You have a delightful way of writing - - - I am smiling - even knowing that what you are facing is a challenge to deal with.

Love the idea of placing the different whites on the back, they will all play happily there.

What is Cab/Sav?

Cabernet Sauvignon wine. It is a red and if you like reds cab/sav is wonderful.

Regarding the OP with the different shades of white, it could be a dye lot variation and new white may be just as obvious. The good news is it may not be so obvious after quilting.

Groan.....oh dear, the Chevrons are HSTs Tartan and my foray into trying to coax one of them apart and then back together was about as much fun as a trip to the dentist!
feline fanatic, my two whites were 2 totally different lots/brands, (insert quiet weeping and hand wringing here please!). I just happened to have some leftover squares from a previous quilt cut and got them mixed up with this lot. Ha.....and I wondered the other day why I had so many white squares left over after I had made all my chevrons...was sure I hadn't "over purchased" my quantity. Derrrrr....the penny drops now!!!!!
Meanwhile, it is a new day here across the sea and I am up at a ridiculous early hour making DH breakfast after only a couple of hours sleep. But, I now have my new chevrons cut out and half of them sewn together so once DH is off to work I can sit down and start re-sewing my rows...again! Thanks to everyone for the advice.

Post a pic when your done! Also dimensions, fabric range, pattern used and any other details. This helps "newbies" like me enormously. Glad you are a "happy chappy" again! ;)

Another reason I like to keep all my fabric and patterns together in the same project box. just a courtesy tip.

And yes would love to see the finished photo.

Just a thought here...could you possibly "applique" the correct white over the wrong ones, then cut away the back of the wrong ones as close to the seam as possible? You will have a bulkier seam, but when the top is quilted the bulk should work in. As I said, just a thought here.

I am a beer gal myself, but enjoy your "red".

I agree, just remake those blocks and take out enough seams to get the wrong ones out and the correct ones in. It really doesn't take as much time as you think it will. Does it sound like I have experience???? Unfortunately, I've gotten to practice the art of taking out incorrect blocks and replacing more than once. You will absolutely feel so much better about the project when it looks right to you.

How about a picture??? A before and then an after would be neat.

If it's not quilted it's relatively easy to remove a piece and hand stitch another in it's place. I've had to do this several times LOL

Looks like you've got it sorted, but easy on the red and keep it away from the quilt....you've had enough dramas with this quilt:). Show us when you are finished, sounds lovely.

Have you taken a picture of the project? Sometimes what we see as "horrible" isn't really bad once we get a little distance. A picture can help make the determination.

I like the idea of making more chevrons with the "wrong" fabric and the "correct" fabric. Then you can call it a design choice and nobody will be the wiser.

Feline Fanatic is right: the color difference may not be noticeable at all when quilted. A quicker fix would be to streak a bit of paint across all the whites and that would solve your problem quickly and efficiently.

Something to try: tea-dye the whole thing. I've seen some really pretty quilts that were tea-dyed. It brings all the colors closer together, and makes them look like they came out of the same line.

You can use coffee, too.

Take a few of the fabric scraps left from the blocks you made and try it. See how you like it.

maviskw...thanks that's a great tip, I never would've thought of that!

So many wonderful ideas! Need to save them for use "as needed"!