thyme2quilt

I'm a new longarmer. I quilted my son's wedding quilt and when I took it off the frame, I realized the tension was all wrong. The top looks great. The back has stitches good in some places and thread laying on top in other places. Tension too loose.

I'm debating taking it apart and starting again. But I would have needle holes in the fabric. Or I could leave it as is. The perfectionist in me is having a hard time with that. It is a wedding quilt and it should be nice.

Thoughts?

Barb in Louisiana

Lots of times the needle holes will close up when the item is washed. If it was me, I would rip it apart and redo it.

intoquilting

If you hit the holes with a little steam from your iron they will close up.

cathyvv

Needle holes will disappear if the quilt is washed or run through the dryer with a wet towel.

Now to your question - how extensive is the 'bad' stitching? If it's a little bit here and there, you probably don't need to do anything about it. If it's very visible - even to a non-quilter - than do what you have to do.

DebraK

only you know what you have to do and feel okay about it ;-)

thyme2quilt

You all reinforced what I already knew. I need to rip and re-do. A wedding quilt needs to be done right. Thanks for the tips on the needle holes.

Tartan

​If the thread is just laying on the back rather than buried in the sandwich, when washed the quilt will puff a but and bury the threads. If you have actual eyelashes on the bottom, then I would fix those sections.

ckcowl

Can you show us pictures? If you have' nests' or areas that the stitches are not (stitches) on the back it might come apart when used/ laundered, should be fixed. It is Always a good idea to check the underside of the quilt when you stitch the first line of stitching ( I stop and look after going 3-4" when I first start) ensuring everything looks right, then get going; each time you change bobbins you should check again and if you stop for any length of time when you get going again. That way if there are any tension issues you catch them early, much easier to fix a little area then a whole quilt. I keep a 12" mirror tile on my longarm table. Every turn of the quilt, bobbin change or break/stop I take a look to see that the back looks as good as the top.

oldtnquiltinglady

Same for me on checking the back--only I have to wait until I roll--hope for the best until I do. But I do always do a sample stitching when I change bobbins, or for any reason have to quit in the middle of a row. I have not figured out yet how to look at the back with a mirror. Maybe my rolls aren't high enough off the bed of my table? The son who does most of my quilting has figured out that using the same thread on the front and back is the secret to our success, and is very resistant to changing that thought. So we do most of our quilting with a light beige or off white for the light colored quilts, and black for the dark ones, with no using one color on top and another on the bottom.

Geri B

If you wind your own bobbins why not use colors? If prewounds..they come in many colors.....I love them all!

I can run my fingertips under where I have just quilted and can "feel" the stitches.......that comes with practice, but it saves lots of frog stitching...there is also a round little mirror on a long flexible handle that one can use to check...can't remember where I got mine...maybe hardware..or auto supply type