I have this wall hanging I am making for my mom and it had some embroidery on it. I don't do embroidery so I found a shop near me that did monogramming and such. Took my top to them and the lady said no problem, they could do the embroidery on it. She suggested the font and the size. I liked both so said that was fine. I picked it up today and was very disappointed in the work done on it. It's not like me to complain so before anyone asks, no I didn't say anything to the people there at the shop.

I took the top to my quilt shop to ask the ladies there what my options were. (I had brought the top to them but they only knew one person who did embroidery for people but she had recently had surgery so wasn't working) They said either rip all the lettering out and have someone else redo it, or try and quilt tightly in the banner area to even out the puckers. It makes sense that those are my only options, but does anyone possibly have any other ideas? This is a gift so I want it done right. I know an embroidery shop that I won't be doing business with again. :(

How dissapointing ;-(

I would take it back to the shop that did it and ask them what can be done to fix it and let them rip it. Also they should give you a refund.

Very disappointing. I don't think there is any way to fix that either. It is still a very nice piece.

I dont know enough about embroidery, but I would be worried that taking all those stitches out would weaken the fabric for the second go round.
I am sure someone else with experience will have a good solution.
I think the close quilting could be a viable option.

That is horrible. But, you don't have too many options. If you pick it out, you will see where it was stitched. I guess I would try what the ladies at the lqs suggested. I feel really bad for you. It's such a cute design.

Wow, I am not sure what to say other than I wouldn't be happy with it either. I guess I would have to take it back and get my money back!They need to know they got to do better, you don't want someone else to have to go thru this! It seems like a lot to rip out though! We will see what others have to say!

Wow, it looks like they didn't use any stabilizer under the embroidery! That should have prevented the puckering if they did. At this point, I think I would do some small stippling quilting around the lettering to make it lay flat. So sorry this happened to you!

It was not stabilized correctly. The stitches can be safely removed from the back. I wonder if the shop normally does embroidery on cotton? I am so sorry you got such poor work.

I'd be afraid that the fabric would be ruined to take all the stitching out -- all those needle holes so close together.

Is there anyway you can carefully cut the banner out and applique a slightly larger one on there? There may be someone here who could do the embroidery on the new one for you.

Yeah, like mini snowflakes?

do whatever you are most comfortable with. i would go back and ask if there was a way to make it right. if you're not comfortable doing that then try stippling around it. i hope whatever you choose works out for you.

As another longarm quilter, I agree with Eddie. Small stippling behind the lettering in a matching thread to the green. Good luck.

I WOULD take it back to the place that did it. At least let them know that you aren't happy. I'm not sure if they could fix it at this point, but they should at least refund your money that you spent on something that is obviously not done right.

Good luck, sorry this happened to you. Its so disappointing, I know.

That's such a shame. Is this just the top? Has it been sandwiched yet? If not, is it at all possible to replace that green banner? Don't know how difficult it would be, but just a thought

You would think an embroidery shop would have done better. They shouldn't have charged at all. I do a lot of embroidery and I would be ashamed if anything I did looked like that. It can be removed, but would be time consuming as those stitches will have underlay stitches under them.

Since you just had the top done, can you count the layers of stablilizer used underneath? There should be some!! I would have used at least 3 layers.

If it were me, I'd do a tight stipple all around it. The puckers are bad, but not the worst I've seen and "You can quilt that out" springs to mind. I don't think it will be noticeable with the tight meandering.

Rachel what did the people at the embroidery shop say when you picked it up. Did they acknowledge the problems or did they act like it was fine? If anyone has to rip it out I feel it should be them. If it damages your fabric they owe you the cost of your fabric, notions and labor. You did lovely work. They should at least restore it to the point it was before they started their work on it. If we take our car to a mechanic and the problem isn't resolved we feel we should not have to pay until the problem is resolved. Why do we cut ourselves short on our quilting?
I am unhappy for you. I understand your not saying anything right away. I am like that too. I want to think it through so I can say something sensible. You owe yourself more. Good luck on your decision.

If definitely wasn't stablized correctly. Take it back and ask for your money back but don't let them redo it. I'd be afraid that when they took the stitches out they would tear the fabric. The stitching is intense and then the underlay, would leave holes. Try the small stipple and never go back to that shop.

There is just one layer of stabilizer. The ladies at my quilt store said more should have been used, and said the tension was too tight. Also said something about digitizing the font, or something like that? I don't do embroidery so don't know the "talk". :)

I'm really trying to decide between hoping it quilts out, or just cutting this piece out of the top and putting another banner on. If I go with doing a new banner, I don't know where to take it to get embroidered. I'm worried this will just happen again.

But like a few others mentioned, I told my husband I was amazed these people could send this top back to a customer, surely knowing what a terrible job they did.

Do not have it redone by ripping out the stitches, it will ruin your quilt top. Try using a good strong spray starch and iron it. Stretch it as you are ironing, that should remove many of your puckers. They use a ultra fine point sharpie marker to fill in the design so it is solid black.

I'm sorry you're not closer or I'd do it for you:< One layer of stabilizer wasn't enough at all. Sometimes if the font isn't digitized properly you can get puckers, but to my eye this one is fine, the culprit is definitely lack of stabilizer.

I've had to pick out a lot of past embroidery work and usually cotton is forgiving. But, it would be a risk because we have no idea what kind of needle they used or if the fabric would be damaged.

Really, really I think you should try stippling around the first letter or so and see what you think.

I agree with this if possible to reapply with a piece predone, then hand stitch the new one over the old spot, I'd take it back to who did the work, let them do the replacement work, or at least get your $$ back, Piece is cute!!!! :)

My guess is they didn't use a stablizer. Can you check the back and see any evidence of a stablizer? I would go back and ask them why it puckered like it did. I would tell them I expected a refund. I am not even sure it will quilt out without puckers. I think I would rip it out and replace that piece. Machine embroidery is very hard to take out. Good Luck. I know how disappointed you are.

Okay, I'll try the tight stipple. Would you suggest trying to iron out as much as I can first or just let it be and go from here?

If the thread is a poly thread, I wouldn't iron it as it could melt. Or starch and iron at a low setting. Ironing emb. thread can also be a risk if you don't know what it is...

I had some stitches removed when I took a guide class. They use a type of "electric shaver", and it took out the stitches, but it wasn't as much as the one they done for you. They also showed us to put stablizer on back and then on top where each letter will be stitched out. Hope it works out for you!

I don't understand.

You PAID the shop to do the embroiderey and they screwed it up and you are not going to let them know?

Now you are going to try and do some more stitching around it to flatten it?

What if when you do that you are still not happy with it?

Please, go back to the shop, show them the problem, tell them it is not acceptable, ask what can be done to make it right.

By not doing anything and trying to correct it yourself, you are not helping the next person who goes in and gets some embroidery done. The shop needs to know so they can correct it and if they cannot correct it, they need to refund your money.

That is so sad. What a cute quilt but they didn't stabilize when the embroidered. Quilting around it may help.

I'm pretty sure they know they did a poor job. They obviously don't care or they would have corrected it before they returned it to me. Honestly it isn't worth it for me to go back into an uncomfortable situation just to get a refund.

Naturally the first step would be to settle with the embroidery shop. I think people are offering solutions to the next step. You can't always count on a business to fix your art to your satisfaction. Alternate solutions are always a good idea.

I have an embroidery machine and have had one for a number of years and have embroidered things for people also. The best way to press an embroidery design is to put a terry towel on your ironing board and place the design face down and press from the back. Having said that I would NOT accept this quality or lack of quality work. MAYBE it would look better after pressing, MAYBE it will look better after stippling closely to the lettering and MAYBE you could applique over the lettering BUT you shouldn't have to do any of those things--take it back and say it is NOT acceptable. Explain that in a day of economic crises in this country you can not and will not accept that kind of work. Tell them exactly what you expect them to do. Do you want them to reimburse your materials, do you want them to take it out and do it right, exactly what is it you want. Do not act angry but act professional and tell them your expectations. Good luck. For a business to not know about how to use stabilizer and topping is just NOT ACCEPTABLE. Sue

It looks like they didn't use enough stabilizer behind the letters. If it were mine, I would do some close stippling in the area around the letters. Look at the back and see if there is still stabilizer on it. If there is, taking it all off would help some. Then try steaming and blocking the area before you quilt it. I think you will be able to get a good result with some work. Good luck! :-D

That really is inexcusable! I do embroidery and quilting, I would think that the suggestion to press out starch and closely stipple around it would be the best possible solution, and if your not happy you could still do a banner and applique it. You have worked so hard and I'm not sure I would let the embroidery shop touch it again, but I would definitely let them know that the work was totally unacceptable and you should be given your money back (which they should have never taken in the first place!!) Just think not only will you never go there again, probably no one you know, after seeing what they've done to yours will ever go there either. I know I wouldn't!!! Good Luck and let us know how it all turns out! I bet you rescue it.... it is a very nice piece.

I picture this shop as not being a home-embroidery-sewing-machine type shop, right? They do big job stuff there? Personally I feel it was inappropriate for the embroidery shop to even take on this job, a type of work I'd bet they rarely - if ever - do.
As the quilt was "unfinished" when you took it to them, they obviously knew, by feel and by sight, that there was no stabilizing in it like their embroidery usually has...surely they usually do things like ball caps, canvas bags, etc. They could tell the texture/strength of the fabric. In my opinion they should have either warned you of possible results or refused the job altogether. I'd suggest printing out these responses from the board and taking the whole thing back to the store manager with your quilt.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease. It does not hurt to complain, you know, because they'll respond either positively or negatively; and one of those will be a relief to you!

Good luck,
Jan in VA

DITTO!!!!!!

First of all they didn't hoop it tight enough. Second, I agree with the lady that said they used the wrong stabilizer. I hate to say this but there is no way these stitches can be removed. Voice of experience... I have been there and done that.

That's terrible work! They are supposed to be professionals, and that is NOT professional work! It's puckered!! Couldn't they see that??!! Did they think you wouldn't notice it??!! :shock: They need to know that what they did is unacceptable. It would, however, have been better if you had told them right away that it wasn't right. I'm sure you were so surprised by what you saw that you couldn't think clearly. That being said, I still think you should take it back to them, point out the shoddy work they did, and let them know that you expect a complete refund. You've put so much work into your beautiful quilt, and it is such a shame what they have done. Please keep us posted as to the outcome.

I think that small stippling would ease out those puckers. I am sorry this happened, I would be very disappointed too :(