Unsewing
If this were a happily-ever-after blog, I would only show you the good stuff. But that was never my intent. My intent was to write a creative-process blog. So this is a picture of the creative process gone wrong and frustration.
The frustration is not the traffic jam of cars, but the gnarly mess below the cars, something that’s called unsewing. 
I had done many samples with different threads for this area, but then halfway into the real thing, I realized my final choice was wrong. It wasn’t the effect I had hoped for, and ripping out machine stitching is a terrible slow thing that I try my best to avoid.
In the end, trying all these threads was like poking my finger into the bottom of every chocolate in the box, frustrated that I couldn’t find the right one. But then I realized, it’s because I wasn’t hungry for chocolate, what I wanted was a lemon sour.
Usually complimentary colors of thread work well, but this time, I found it was more interesting to use a color pulled from somewhere else in the quilt for a subtle contrast of colors for the maze-like pattern I was trying to create.
Emboldened by this new idea, I happily charged ahead to finish off the final part, the background. Now I have a new problem. ggrrrr
While this effect is interesting, it’s not in the best interests of the overall piece. Now the background stinks. So today I have new choices:
1. Rip it out
2. Live with it
3. Burn it
4. Paint it
5. Start the whole thing over from scratch (probably would take less time than ripping out the stitches)
6. Or something I thought of in my sleep and now am anxious to get to the studio to try
I’m a new longarm owner. I’m trying my first quilt. Guess what? I need to unsew. The back is a mess. I read that the tension is not right. So, do I unsew with it still on the frame? It took me hours to get it loaded on the frame. Ugh. Is there a trick to frogging?
Hi Kathy, I don’t really know what’s best on a lot of unsewing. I’ve only done small sections. I guess it’s however you feel best. Sometimes working at the frame is good for me, but I have a frame that I sit at, and I think most long-arms require you to stand up. But my back can still hurt if the chairs not adjusted right.
Whenever I start a project, I try to check pretty often that the back is okay before I get very much quilting done, so hopefully I won’t have to unsew much. Sometimes I climb under there with a flash light, but someone also told me the trick to rake my fingernails along to the bottom to check the tension, there a little sound you should hear if the threads are tight enough.
And once I forgot to put the foot down, so the back was all wild and loopy and impossible. But luckily that was a practice sample. Good luck!
I have done this as well. I was happy with the results in the end, but miserable during the unsewing process. You can see the quilt at: http://www.artquiltmaker.com/sub_pages/seeingRed.htm
Oh, I get it now!
Frog stitch: “rippit rip-it” – get it?
Hi Kim,That’s another weird term I haven’t heard. I kind of like it though. Now I’m torn between “frogging” and “unpicking.”
In england they call it “unpicking” which I couldn’t understand. It seemed that picking out the stitches was what was going on
Can’t wait to see how you finish this wonderful piece!
Carla, that’s really weird. I never heard the term frogging, I wonder where it came from?
Pam, I’m confident you will do what’s right for you! In the longarm world, we call the unstitching process “frogging” a quilt. I absolutely dislike doing it, but a good tool (I use one that looks like a surgeon’s scalpel) makes the job easier.
I always like how a good night sleep can bring on a new perspective to a particular problem.
Liz, I love the idea of stitching over with another color. I often think about experimenting with this idea, must make time for it!
Could you stitch over the top of it in another colour to merge it into the background fabric more? Can’t you tell I hate ripping out too?!!
I always remember a quote from an embroiderer about if you make a mistake, just stitch over it. Something about not being mistakes but part of the whole effect….
I like the painting over the top of it idea too!!
oh no! I just went through this same thing. I knew I couldn’t live with it but I had covered about a square foot with irregular FM stitching.
My solution – I turned the quilt over and worked on the removal of the stitched from the backside.
Somehow, not seeing the ambivalence of the front let me attack the tedious chore more easily. I clipped every half inch or so on the backside and then used sticky tape and tweezers on the frontside. Mindless TV helps – just don’t stray from the “deconstruction” zone on the backside.
I was very happy when I got it right.
My idea mirrors Bev’s. Something to trace over the lines but not bleed. It’ll look like wallpaper designs then..maybe?
Or you could send it to me and I’ll unsew it. Basking in your glory? Oh yeah. Even in the unsewing catagory. *snerk*
No….change that. May the RIGHT choice win!
May the best choice win!
Ouch! How about a very fine tip marker over the threads?