OK those of you who know me know I am making a quilt to enter at the Festival of Quilts this year, it is using very special hand dyed fabrics done especially for me by Maggi Birchenough, my friend, who sadly is no longer with us. To do her proud I am going all out on this quilt as you can imagine.
BUT
I have hit a problem, this fabric once quilted leaves wholes where the stitches have gone. How do I know this? I have managed to quilt four feathers UPSIDE DOWN, just don’t ask…
Anyway I have unpicked the offending little devils but this is where I found out about the holes left in the fabric, I don’t know how to get rid of them. I am loathe to wet this fabric in anyway as I don’t know if it will water mark, or indeed run….I have googled this problem but all I get is how to remove stitching holes from SINGLE layers of fabric, this has the wadding and backing of course as it is a quilt. I am not overly fussed about the holes on the back, I feel with use they will disappear, it is the ones on the front, that every time I look at them seem to grow bigger and bigger! They don’t of course but it is scary.
So if anyone can give me any hints on how to solve this problem I will be so grateful, the sooner the better too please, pretty please.
If you are reading this on Facebook please go to my blog to answer this as I am not on Facebook right now, I need to give it a rest and I know if I nip on there I will get bogged down……sorry to be a pain, bit like the holes in my quilt!
Thanks in advance ladies and gents.
Hubby says this quilt is doomed, and to set fire to it……….No comment!
![Jean [2]](https://i0.wp.com/jansmusingagain.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/m-jean.jpg?w=206&h=178&ssl=1 "M..Jean")
![Jean [1]](https://i0.wp.com/jansmusingagain.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/img_0011.jpg?w=275&h=351&ssl=1 "IMG_0011")
jansmusingagain 
Sorry to hear this Jan. The only thing I can suggest is a light spray of water from one of those little bottles with a nozzle and leave it to dry over night. It would be better than soaking it and running the risk of the beautiful hand dyed fabric being affected. Your quilt is not doomed! Good luck.
Hi Rhianon, I have emailed you in answer to your suggestion here, many thanks for taking the time out to give me advice, I do appreciate it, jan x
The method I have used is to lightly spritz with water, very gently massage the fabric to ease the threads back together and then to lightly press from the back. Good luck in sorting it. Carol x
Hi Carol, many thanks to you also, I have emailed you too, jan x
Jan, a good old session of scratching with your finger nail might help. Takes a while. Might not be so great with hand dyed though. Worth a try. X
Hi Dusie, many thanks I have emailed you. jan x
I hope you have been successful in getting rid of your holes by now. I have used a baby’s soft bristle brush on some quilt holes with some good results. I don’t like harder bristles though to damaging to the cloth and thread fibers..
Hi Tina, I have emailed you, many thanks, Jan
I am not an expert with this, but would most likely first work with the backside, assuming the holes are also evident on that side. Do a good steam iron help? Some say to moisten a hand towel with hot water and lightly dab, then softly use a clean tooth brush to rub the holes. Lastly, I’ve heard to spray lightly with water. I did post on my facebook page @ https://www.facebook.com/QuiltShopGal/ to hopefully get others to share their expert advice.
I’m also curious if you have a scrap of this fabric that you might be able to try getting wet to see if it bleeds. And, if so, if you want to try to wash with a product that helps to eliminate the bleeding? Might even work mixed with water in a spray bottle.
Good luck.
QuiltShopGal
http://www.quiltshopgal.com
Hi QuiltShopGal I have emailed you many thanks. Jan
Jan, use the dull side of a butter knife working in straight lines – up and down and back and forth sideways, then at angles from upper right to lower left and upper left to lower right. Resist the temptation to do circular motions. This is a riff on the fingernail that Dusie suggested but this works the warp and weft of the fabric back into position in a broader area that encourages the fabric weave to help the hole go away. Water in any form will encourage things to shrink but not move back into woven position. You want things back in alignment of the fabric weave in order for the holes to close up. The butter knife helps you cover more territory that the fingernail. If you don’t have a butter knife, use the side of a spoon bowl, not the edge but the side. The edge of the butter knife has a smooth dull edge on it. Sometimes a spoon edge is not as smoothed at the edges.
Hi Nene, I have emailed you, many thanks. Jan