GERRY Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 I have my first paying quilt pinned & ready to go, the borders were just terrible, not one the same size as the first, & so wavey I couldn't figure how to get it pinned & flat. So I picked them out and re-applyed them, was that the right thing to do? My thinking was that, I can sew & piece anything in no time, but my LA experience is very limited, so I could either spend countless hours trying to get it to lie flat (I didn't think is was possible), or I could spend a couple of hrs. picking & re-sewing, & get it almost flat. One side was almost 5 inches longer than the rest. Did I do the right thing, what have you done when this has happened to you? One thing I think I should have done was call the client & Tell her what I was planning to do. & I know that in the future I will charge for my time. but for right now I'm O.K. with just getting it done right, & haveing it turn out really good. your input PLEASE & thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debberdo Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 Gerry, I had an old top once that was 14" different from one side to the other! I took off her borders (with her permission, of course) and did the 'measure through the middle' of the quilt and cut the sides to match...then the top and bottom. Even though I had to 'set in' the quilt top to fit the borders, it worked out perfectly...I have to tell you I was surprised how well it went. You couldn't tell when I was done that there had been an issue. When I got to a point where I thought I might quilt in a pleat, I just pressed down lightly on the quilt and the fabric opened up enough to keep from pinching in the pleat...it was good. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debberdo Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 PS...I charge by the hour...so she DID pay for my work. I would have given the quilt back otherwise. Good luck, dear! Remember to BREATHE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandraC Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 I had one once that was wavy enough that I did the following....I called the customer and tactfully explained the problem. Then I gave her the choice of just going ahead and most certainly having puckers, letting me re-do the borders at a charge or taking the quilt back herself and doing it. She chose for me to fix it. By giving her the choice, I felt I did the right thing and I will definitely do that again. This week I had a customer who had never been to a longarm before and her problem was that she had cut the back exactly to match the front. I had to explain the process and hope she understood that there was no way I could do it and be sure that I wouldn't run out of backing. I had to tell her that she could take it back and make a bigger back or she could have me trim the very wide border down a bit. She chose the second option since the quilt is a baby-sized quilt that doesn't have to be a specific size. Saying all this, Gerry, I can see where you just want to do the quilt justice with your kind heart!!! Sandra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltaholi_518 Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 I agree with Sanda. That was the right thing to do, but it would have been even "righter" for you to call her, tell her what the problem was, and ask her if she wanted to do it herself ( I give them an instruction sheet on how to apply borders) or wantd you to do it for a fee. If it's only one border and sm-med size I charge $20 or big $30. I know the picking and resetting had to take at least an hour depending on the size. I know you are new and want to do the right thing and aren't busy, but what happens whne you are busy and she brings you one that's worse. Then when you have to charge her, she will be confused. At the very least I would explain what you had to do, and tell her that there is usually a charge, but since this was her first time as a client of yours, you waved the fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thequiltqueen Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 I have also had this problem of customers bringing me quilts with wavy borders and backs that are exactly the same size as the tops. I understand Gerry's desire to have a good outcome even to the extent that she took on extra work for herself. In the beginning, I stressed out about what to do in these situations. Now, I just inform the customer (as tactfully as possible) and let them decide whether they want to pick up their quilt and fix the borders, or if they want me to take pleats as necessary. I don't offer to fix their borders for a fee because I have other quilts waiting and I would rather be quilting than unstitching and reattaching borders. Just my personal preference. As for the tops and backs being the same size, I have a couple customers who do this repeatedly. Not always the exact same size, but sometimes 1.5 inches extra on each side for the back. I have told them REPEATEDLY that I cannot accept quilts unless they have AT LEAST 4 inches extra on ALL SIDES for the backing. They haven't listened. One of the customers is a former longarmer who should know better!!! (She had a Gammill, is it any different with that machine???) Anyway, after the last go-round fighting to keep the side clamps from hanging up on my machine head, I decided that I just won't accept quilts with short backings. After all that is my stated policy. I have to ENFORCE it. At first I considered adding an extra fee to cover my time and trouble, but then came to my senses and realized that I would never be able to put a figure in advance to the extra time it would take to fight with these quilts. It is best to just not take them and move on to the next in line. One more thing....once you start fixing things for free, or taking extra time to overcome whatever issues the piecer has brought to you, the customer comes to expect that in the future as a free service. It is hard to suddenly charge for something you once did for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandraC Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 Lots of good advice...it'll make it a lot easier for all of us to deal with these problems in the future when we hear how everyone handles them. Sandra:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammi Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 Originally posted by thequiltqueen Anyway, after the last go-round fighting to keep the side clamps from hanging up on my machine head, I decided that I just won't accept quilts with short backings Deanna - when I'm "fighting" those side clamps in close quarters, I just turn them around. The clamp end goes to the side cross bar of the table, and the velcro end I pin to the backing/batting. FWIW sammi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GERRY Posted July 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2006 Thank you all for your input: I do plan on telling her what I did to fix the problem, I also plan on explaining what I will be charging to fix the problem in the future. She is a new guild member & very new to quilting, I plan On giving her some helpful advice at our next guild meeting, so she can get her borders on flat & straight, I know she will appreciate my help. I just wanted to know if it was the norm to fix a persons quilt top if there is a problem, or if I should just call & ask her what she wants me to do. I will call & ask in the furture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grammie Posted July 21, 2006 Report Share Posted July 21, 2006 Gerry you did a great thing and learned something to boot. Many of the longarmers have a Preparation list on their website telling the customers how to prepare their tops and backings. Get you one typed up and hand it out to your customers or potential customers when they ask if you can quilt something for them. Many don't realize what you have to do to get it quilted or that they have more to do to the quilt for it to be quilted. Let them know that a well prepared top and back will SAVE THEM MONEY. That usually gets their attention. lol Educate your Customers One at a Time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judi Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 All good advice here, and I ALWAYS do as sammi said. I NEVER use my clamps, I always pin the other end to the sides of the top. I do not like how the weight of the clamps pull down on the top. This is how I am able to do quilts that have a backing only 1" or 2" bigger all around. I have no problems with it. The only time I insist the backing is much bigger is if I need to do a bunch of thread changes, so that I can get my tension good before I go to the quilt. If I am using my standard thread, one color, overall type of quilting, No Problem! I know by feel where to set things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsbishwit Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 I agree with Deanna, it's not worth your time to fix the borders of a customers quilt when you have others waiting with a deadline attatch to them. On my order form (that all my customers are required to fill out and sign with each quilt drop off) I have a disclaimer that stats that if the quilt is not square do to wavy borders or extra fullness in the quilt that there is a good chance that there will be pleats or tucks quilted into the quilt and to avoid this they need to fix the problem before dropping it off to me to be quilted. In my experience most quilters are aware of their mistakes (unless they are brand new to quilting) and realise that a longarmer can not preform miracles. I had a customer that came this week for an estamate on her quilt (it had multiple pieced borders that were bias) after talking to me and me pointing out the fact that the borders were biased and wavy, they decided to add another small border to help rein in the wave. They dropped it off yesterday and the borders are still really bad. But there is not a whole lot I can do at this point...for me to "fix" the problem would require me to take off the 5 borders (2 of which are pieced bias triangle borders) and redo them completely. I was also asked to apply the binding on this quilt as well. So I will quilt it as best that I can (they chose a panto) and try to hide the extra fullness in areas where it won't be as noticable but there will definately be pleats/tucks in this quilt. Joann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarieBrewer Posted July 23, 2006 Report Share Posted July 23, 2006 To fix the side clamp problem, I have a "leader" made out of muslin ( about 6" by 15"long) that I pin to the quilt back and then I attach the clamps to that. In order to keep the sandwich at the right height, I slide a curtain rod that has the right angle bends at the ends under the elastic strap right up to the clamps. This curtain rod hooks over the leveler bar and the quilt top bar. I was using a ruler but it kept flying off when I unhooked the clamps. This seems to work well for me. I hope I have explained this well enough for any one who is interested.-Marie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judi Posted July 23, 2006 Report Share Posted July 23, 2006 Joann - Oh I feel for you! Good luck with that project - and you have to do the binding too? Yeicks - at least it isn't a wall hanging - that is where waves really show up! You are brave - I would tell the customer it had to be an overall meander so that I "ease in the fullness". That's just me - I do not like to do Pantos or struggle from the back on a tricky quilt. Marie - I use the curtain rods too! Wasn't it annoying when those rulers would keep falling off! Dawn C. gave me that idea at classes -works great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.