Della Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 I had a quilt given to me tonight, brought it home, laid it out on the floor and found it to be way out of square. Measures 89 through the middle and 90 on one side and 92 on the other...did not measure the other end but there is a huge wave in two sides...the right side and bottom. The other two sides are laying pretty flat. So my question is this...should I call the customer and have her come out to see the problem or just go ahead and quilt it the best that I can? The center of the qult is nice and flat so I know it is the way she added the borders....two of them and each one is at least six inches wide. The first border she put on square, the second one is mitered which I think has contributed to the problem. I don't want her to feel bad but I know she does not know that this could be corrected in future quilts. What to do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 Call and inform your customer of your concerns. If she can't come and see personally, send her an email with a photo. Let her know what options you are offering, explaining that if you quilt it as-is there will be tucks, pleats, puckers and uneven border edges. Sounds bad, but some customers don't want to mess with it and just want it done. Other options are for her to pick up the quilt and remove and re-sew the borders. I will warn you that many times in this circumstance a customer will pick up the quilt and you will never hear from them again. They are either discouraged or embarrassed and put the top away--never finished. Another option is for you to fix the border for them--offering to do it for $XX per hour. Or if you want to take the time, you can instruct her on the best way to fix it and ultimately, the best way to apply the borders on the next project. Being up-front and open about it and stressing that you want to help her have a beautiful finish for her quilt--that is how to approach her. Best of luck and you both will learn a lot with this quilt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shar Schmutz Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 Della, it is difficult to call a customer and tell her the quilt is out whack, but of you just quilt it it may come back on you, she may decide it is because of the way you quilted it. If it were me, I would call her describe the problems and ask her if she would like to come back and go over it with you or if she does want you to go ahead and quilt it. I believe it is good practice to give the client the choice on how to proceed. You may praise the parts of the quilt which are good or the whole quilt. It is always good to temper the bad news with praise, you might suggest she has put so much effort in it it is a shame to leave it whacky as well, you may be able to offer suggestions on how to correct the problem areas. Good luck, it is a tough thing to do but my experience has been grateful clients which have brought return business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitomi Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 I think I would call too. And let her know that you can quilt it the best you can, but if the quilt is not square, nothing you do will make it square. Most people just tell me to do the best I can (they don't want to fix it). As long as you tell them it will not be square because the quit is not square. And it's amazing what the quilt looks like after it is quilted. It's always better after the quilting and the customers are happy. I don't think I had an unhappy customer yet, knock on wood, LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 Della, I have had several of those, I have also found that if you phrase it like: I have run into an issue with some fullness on your borders and am concerned that I may not be able to get them to lay as flat as I'd like while quilting your beautiful quilt....(then when she asks why there is fullness?) you gently tell her how it does not seem to measure up squarely and possibly it is how the borders were attached...ask her how they were attached and then launch into her options....if she conceives that your biggest concern is that her lovely work of art is the best it can be when you are finished she should not be offended...unless of course she just doesn't care and want to put anymore work into it...I think Linda hit the nail on the head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 I call and let them know and so far my customers have wanted to fix it and have brought the quilts back to me. Also the tops I've had from them after a problem one have all been great. If put tactfully, the customer embraces the free lesson on how to improve their quilting. In fact in once case they trained their whole group and sang my praises while doing it. Be gentle and you may be able to to be the hero of the piece. Besides, miters do have a nasty habit of wandering if you don't pay attention. She isn't the first to have this problem and she sure as heck won't be the last. On the other hand, I think they are also the easiest to fix. Ferret Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcclannan Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 What Vicki said. It's a teachable moment for your customer and from that time on their borders will be less friendly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neher-in-law5 Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 I know that this is your income job, but as well as calling with the problem, is it possible to arrange a time that she can come to you, both of you spend the time ripping, measuring and putting the correct borders back on. Yes, there would be a charge, but less than you doing it alone and she would have the time to learn how to do them for the next time without the mental overload of doing it on her own. This way you could also keep her as a customer instead of a walk away. Just an idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anette D. Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 I agree. Call the customer and explain the problem. The customer's response will give you an idea of how "careful" you have to be with the quilt top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 I agree with Linda and Vicki. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.