Help!!

[dtreusch]

Ladies, I need your help and some advice.

I screwed up today and tore a customers quilt. It is a tear not quite an inch long and goes through all layers of the quilt. I was finishing my last border on a quilt and stopped to roll the quilt with the needle down. I looked away for a few seconds, not realizing that I still had my foot on the motorized feed, then heard the sound of tearing fabric. On top of that, my customer said the quilt is a Christmas gift for a friend and I've gone and put a rip in the quilt.

I'm just sick that it happened and very, very upset with myself for letting it happen. I've also been recovering from shingles for the last 2 weeks, so this is a stress that I really don't need right now!!

I know that I have to tell my customer, but I don't know what to do to fix the tear. The tear on the front is in a seam, so I think I can hand stitch the tear and it won't be seen. The back is a really busy black and white fabric. I'm wondering if I can use fraycheck or maybe patch over the tear with matching fabric, kind of like an applique? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

I'm off to bed now. It's probably going to be a pretty sleepless night!!

Thanks,

Debbi

[SherryRogers]

Dear Debbi

Try not to beat yourself up over this. I know it is devastating and I know how sick you are feeling but this kind of stuff happens to the best of us at some point. The very best thing you can do it assess the damage and come up with a few ways to remedy the situation. Call the client and tell her what happened. Ask her to come and see it (or show her digitized photos) and be prepared to show her what you can do to fix it. Very often you can do just what you said in your posting and nobody but you and her will be the wiser unless it is pointed out. I would be very careful to secure the area to prevent any raveling in the meantime because that would hamper the healing. You may also want to offer a discount or give her a discount in the future.

Whatever happens, know that I wish you a happy ending. Keep us informed and keep your chin up in the meantime. Handle it with integrety and it will never come back to haunt you.

[dtreusch]

Thanks Sherry.

All is well. I talked with the customer and she was completely understanding. We agreed to patch the tear on the back with a small needle turn applique piece. It took me 4 hours to repair the damage done in just a few seconds. Lesson learned!!

Debbi

You can hardly tell where the patch is at. See for yourself....

[Bonnie]

You did good....I couldnt' find it. I know how you felt...I did it twice to the same customer different quilts...ya just want to crawl into a hole and died, but we each have gotten though this...

Now you can breath, and put those nasty shingles to rest.

Have a better day today....and happy holidays

[chickenscratch]

Debbi, I'd say you did a great job fixing it. I couldn't find the repair. There is definitely something to say for using wild backing fabrics.

By the way, what did the front look like? From the quilting I can't tell.

[sewingupastorm]

Sounds like your disaster had a good ending. I cannot see where you did the applique from your photo.

I have only ripped one quilt and I was pulling the machine across the quilt and the needle went down...............I must have touched the button to do that stitch down. In any case mine was a tiny tear just on the front and it was on my own quilt. I decided not to let it ruin my day and took some fraycheck right away and dabbed it on...............bet if I tried to I would never be able to find it again. The quilt will be on the wall so likley will be washed very infrequently if at all.