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Quilting

Tips and Tricks for Fixing Quilting Mistakes

March 24, 2016 5 Comments

Hi Everyone!

A while back I was working on a mini quilt, and the backing tucked under as I was quilting it, and I stitched right over backing. Not once, but twice. Ugh! I know we've all made mistakes like this, but can be so frustrating and feel almost impossible to to fix without undoing your hard work. While I was fixing my little "boo-boo", I took some pictures so I could share a few of my tips and tricks for fixing quilting mistakes like this. 

Here is my first mistake in all of it's glory. If you look closely at the left hand side, you'll see that the backing folded and tucked under twice. I did a really good job with this one, haha.


I had already done quite a bit of quilting, so I really didn't want to "unquilt" my quilt and have to quilt it again. I always make my backing 4"-6" bigger than my quilt top, which gave me some forgiveness and allowed me to cut the fabric away rather than pull out my stitches.

First, I cut the backing very close to the stitches. Be very careful not to cut your stitches. Using scissors with a short blade and a blunt tip like these from Famore Cutlery help quite a lot. 

Cut the fabric away from each line of quilting. Cut closely to the stitching, without cutting through it.

Use your fingers to pull the fibers of the fabric away from the quilting. 

Snip your fabric as needed to release it from the stitches. Cutting the fabric close to the quilting will allow it to pull away quite easily.

In this picture, you can really see what a fantastic job I did making this mistake ;). Keep snipping the fabric away while being careful not to cut your stitches.

Almost there!! I kind of like pulling the fabric away from the quilting. It's satisfying, like pulling weeds. I hate to get out there and pull the weeds, but when I pull one out, root and all, it feels so good!

Just a snip or two left!

YES!!!! 

Next, clean it up and pull away any fibers of the backing from the stitches.

It's all finished and looks so much better. The best part is that I didn't have to remove a single stitch of my quilting. 

I hope this helps you if you ever find yourself needing to fix a quilting mistake. 

If you do need a seam ripper to do some "unquilting", Seam Fix is my favorite brand and I carry some in the store.

Happy Quilting,
~Cristy

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Hunter's Design Studio Back to School Blog Hop

September 01, 2015


Hello! I'm so happy that you stopped by!

My wonderful friend, Sam Hunter, is hosting a fabulous Back to School Blog Hop, which is kicking off today. As all of our kiddos, and grand-kiddos, are heading back to school, Sam thought it would be great fun for us to head back too and brush up on some of our quilting skills as well as learn some new tips and tricks. Sam has put together a pretty fabulous...

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Grandma's Lawn Chair: Blog Hop and Giveaway!

September 26, 2013


Welcome! Pull up a seat! I'm happy you're here, for the last stop on the Grandma's Lawn Chair BlogHop.

Last month I found this great paper-pieced "C", which was designed by the talented Diane, at From Blank Pages. It was the perfect little touch for my Tinker Tote, especially with purple flowery fabric. From the download to the finshed "C" block, I had only spent about an hour. I posted a pic on...

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Know Thy Machine

November 21, 2012


Hi Everyone! I'm the 23rd stop on the "Know Thy Machine" bog hop. This is such a fun hop to be a part of, and I hope you enjoy you stop here in my little world. Before I get started, I have to apologize. I missed my scheduled day for Monday Nov. 19th. I'm so sorry. I had my dates completely wrong, and didn't realize that I was a no-show. 

I'm going to be answering Shruti'squestions about my handy...

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