profannie

I really need some help here!
I sent a quilt to a customer a few weeks ago and she contacted me because there was a small issue with the binding (one of the connecting seam had opened). Because shipping back the quilt was too expensive, I suggested her to rather go to a local quilt shop to have it repair at my expense. She was told by the quilt shop that her quilt was defective, that there are "several major issues that must be addressed in order to keep the quilt from falling apart". Here some of the picture they sent. I see a lot of small imperfections there, of course, and a quilt made by a person who certainly not follow all the quilting rules. But I don't see anything that would lead the quilt to "falling apart". Am I missing something? This quilt was made from the customer clothing so she is now quite upset. If I really did do something that would compromise the longevity of the quilt, I will correct it, but I would need to know what is the problem exactly. Thank you in advance for your honest opinion!

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nativetexan

the pics are very close so i cannot tell what your stitch length was. they look too long to me. and strings or threads everywhere. why?? If you are going to charge someone for a quilt, you must do better.

bearisgray

Did the customer do the piecing?

Did you do the quilting?

I think it would be helpful to know who did what before I start commenting.

profannie

I don't have stitch regulation on my longarm, so maybe there is some inconsistency. But is the problem aesthetic or functional?

And I'm sorry to say, but I don't agree with you last comment. You don't know how much I charged this customer for the hours I spent on this quilt. Believe me, my hourly rate end up being very low. This was a big queen size. I removed quite a lot of loose threads before sending it, but it seem I missed a few.

profannie

I did both.

profannie

I must also say it is a memory quilt, made from a mixed lot of knit and woven.

feline fanatic

From what I can tell from the pics, your tension looks good so that shouldn't be the issue. I do agree with nativetexan that some of the stitches look a bit large but it is hard to say for sure because your pics are so close up. A few loose threads (unburied tails or not locked in place and cut) are all depending what your customer wanted. I have heard of some who want the tails left so they can knot and bury them. I won't bury threads for a client, (heck I rarely even bury my own!) if they want the threads buried I will leave the long tails for the customer to knot and bury. If they don't want to do that (which I have never had that request) I lock my threads with several tiny stitches in the most inconspicous place possible, like in a ditch or an area where many cross overs have thread build up anyway so my tiny locking stitches aren't obvious. I then bring both threads to the top, test them with a little tug and snip them. Loose threads left from piecing I do snip off as I go but sometimes a few are missed. But loose tails from the quilting do not cause issues with the quilts integrity as long as they are locked and won't take out several stitches of quilting if you cut them. If they aren't locked in place that may be what the shop is referring to. If that is the problem, your client has two choices. She can knot and bury them (best) or put a dot of fray check, let it dry and then snip but I am loath to recommend that method as the fray check is a permanent glue and does leave a hard spot. I, personally would never resort to fray check to lock threads.
I think the quilt shop has needlessly caused your customer angst but now the seed is sewn and you have a very unhappy client. Even if the quilt is structurally sound, she no longer thinks it is and the shop has successfully convinced her that the quilt is "ruined". Far from it from what I can tell but you need to make things right. I would ask for the contact info at the quilt shop and contact them to ask specifically what "major issues" there are. I think you would have noticed if seams were popping open when you quilted it so if that isn't the case you need to make your customer happy. You can offer to pay for shipping back and forth and fix the issue, you can refund your customer or give her a substantial discount but I don't think that will make her happy because now she thinks the quilt has "major issues" that will cause it to fall apart. You are really stuck between a rock and a hard place. It is a hard lesson when a LAQ has a dissatisfied customer and sometimes no matter what you do they will probably never give you another chance.

Peckish

The loose threads and popped stitches concern me also. What kind of thread did you use?

feline fanatic

OK I was writing my comment while more details came forward. So you made the quilt start to finish from clothes and it sounds like your client doesn't know anything at all about quilting or even sewing for that matter so she is definitely upset over the shops comments because she doesn't know any better. Oh brother, what a predicament. Like I said above, the shop has sewn seeds of unhappiness in the customer and now she probably doesn't know who to believe. As expensive as the shipping is, I really think you need to offer to pay round trip shipping for the quilt to get back to you so you can fix things and carefully inspect all the seams. I realize you are operating at a loss by doing this but if you want a happy client who will not spread bad reviews about your services you need to make this right. Another option is to find a shop, quilter or guild in her area so she can get a second opinion. The shop certainly made things sound worse than they appear in the pics you posted. And I understood your post to mean that these pics came from the shop where they said the quilt was lacking in structural integrity. I just don't see it lacking structural integrity from those shots. Yes, the stitches are unregulated and look a bit large and yes there are some untrimmed threads, but unless those quilting stitches are 1/4" or bigger (what so many refer to as "toe catchers")and untrimmed threads are removing several stitches of quilting with a little tug, I think the issue is aesthetic not functional. To truly know if there are structural issues, have her pop the quilt into the washer and dryer. If it comes through the wash still intact, she has her answer and if it doesn't you will have your answer.

profannie

Thank you so much, feline fantastic, for taking the time to write your comments. This is very helpful.