I spent the past week finishing off a VERY important baby quilt for a friend of mine. It includes several prized family textile keepsakes that were incorporated into the quilt. A bit of a mishap with a leaky can of spray baste meant I had to redo some of the blocks as I assembled the quilt as this was not one that was probably going to be laundered before presenting it to my friend. Well, you can guess what’s coming, can’t you?
I missed a spot. There it was in all of its glory just mocking me. I discovered it as I did my final thread check. I was so upset! I tried to blot the quarter-size stain, gently wash it, soak it…ended up scrubbing with a nail brush and Dr. Bonner’s. That got rid of the stain, but caused the fabric to pill and fade. The local quilt shop suggested I use a sweater shaver to get rid of the pilling, dampen with water and allow it to dry.
If the area was more hidden in the quilt that would be a viable solution – but this quilt is too special. Fortunately, I was able to buy some additional background fabric. I figured out the best way to unpick and replace the block. Shouldn’t take more than an hour or two…but still.
Lesson learned. Be more careful when working with spray baste on any quilt that you do not plan to launder before presenting it to the customer.
Update: It actually took closer to six hours to do everything because I had to unpick about twice as much as originally planned and one intersection of the block didn’t want to cooperate. However, you’d never be able to tell where the repair was made unless I told you!
See the faded rub spot below? That’s why I redid everything!
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