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Posted by Edna Pearl on October 18, 2009, 9:20 pm
I quilted a bunch of straight lines with a walking foot for the first time
today, and found it quite . . . erm . . . challenging. I am pretty sure
that the solution to most of my problems is practice, practice, practice,
but I thought I'd make a few notes here and see if anybody has any words of
wisdom.
1. Setting the machine's stitch length was a joke. The stitch length was
determined more by how much the quilt package was dragging for one reason or
another -- snagging on the bicycle clips as they traveled on, under, around
the machine, snagging on an accordian-fold in the package in my lap, etc.
This is related to . . .
2. I hate bicycle clips. They scrape across the finish of my SM cabinet
(admittedly a beat-up finish already, but still), they snag, they fall off
on the floor, etc. I'm getting better with this. Would it help to wrap the
clips with cheesecloth?
3. No. 1 is also probably related to the fact that my SM and/or walking
foot continually demanded changes in the upper thread tension. I was using
different color threads on top and bottom, and occasionally the machine
would apparently just change its mind about whether it would tighten bobbin
threads up to the top or top threads to the bottom. I truly could not make
heads or tails of what the thread tension would do next. The SM was well
cleaned and lubricated. It seemed as if the machine just got tired and
started tightening up one way or the other.
4. Puckers on the back. I think this was due purely to the fact that I did
a lousy job of spray-basting. The walking foot was feeding fine and doing
what it was supposed to do; I just had glued some puckers into the back. I
know what I'll do differently the next time I spray-baste.
That said, I got some good practice and the quilt looks pretty decent on
top, so far. After the thread yesterday when I asked about how far apart my
straight-line quilting should be, I decided that the narrow lines I wanted
would make the quilt narrower than I wanted. So I decided to go back to a
triple-figure eight, Amish quilting pattern that had attracted me earlier.
I'll quilt that tomorrow with my new, see-through darning foot. Based on
past experience with a mini-quilt, I think I may be better at quilting such
a pattern than I am at quilting a straight line! Meanders and stippling
never attracted me very much before, but I find I'm having good luck with it
on a practice scrap, so that may be in my future, too.
ep
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Posted by Carole-Retired and Loving It on October 18, 2009, 9:29 pm
I find that I can do king-sized quilts if I have tables on the side
and back of my sewing table, and if I fluff up most of the rest of the
quilt in my lap. Keep the quilt loose and piled up on the tables and
your lap, and always quilt with the smaller section of your quilt to
the right of the needle. I HATE clips, or anything that might catch
and cause the quilt to drag. If you try to wrap it, you just waste
time stopping to unwrap it. You have the most freedom to move the
quilt where you need it to go if it's just loose.
On Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:20:45 -0500, "Edna Pearl"
show/hide quoted text
>2. I hate bicycle clips. They scrape across the finish of my SM cabinet
>(admittedly a beat-up finish already, but still), they snag, they fall off
>on the floor, etc. I'm getting better with this. Would it help to wrap the
>clips with cheesecloth?
Carole D. - Retired and loving it in the foothills of NW Georgia
My quilts, crafts, QIs, and more - http://home.windstream.net/caroledoyle
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Posted by dealer83 on October 18, 2009, 9:47 pm
On Oct 18, 8:29=A0pm, Carole-Retired and Loving It
show/hide quoted text
> I find that I can do king-sized quilts if I have tables on the side
> and back of my sewing table, and if I fluff up most of the rest of the
> quilt in my lap. =A0Keep the quilt loose and piled up on the tables and
> your lap, and always quilt with the smaller section of your quilt to
> the right of the needle. =A0I HATE clips, or anything that might catch
> and cause the quilt to drag. =A0If you try to wrap it, you just waste
> time stopping to unwrap it. You have the most freedom to move the
> quilt where you need it to go if it's just loose.
> On Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:20:45 -0500, "Edna Pearl"
> >2. =A0I hate bicycle clips. =A0They scrape across the finish of my SM ca=
binet
show/hide quoted text
> >(admittedly a beat-up finish already, but still), they snag, they fall o=
ff
show/hide quoted text
> >on the floor, etc. =A0I'm getting better with this. =A0Would it help to =
wrap the
show/hide quoted text
> >clips with cheesecloth?
> Carole D. - Retired and loving it in the foothills of NW Georgia
> My quilts, crafts, QIs, and more -http://home.windstream.net/caroledoyle
Hi EP, I'm fairly new also but have found that practice practice
practice is the still the best advice. On the few quilts I've gotten
done, I used spray basting on them all. The first one had some
puckers on the back too. On the second one, I spray basted AND used
safety pins (those ones for quilts that have a bend in them) every few
inches and that really helped to keep the puckers from forming. I got
it all sandwiched, sprayed, and pinned and then flipped it over on my
dining room table and hand smoothed the back fabric. I was amazed how
much extra fabric that "moved", so I just redid the pins as I smoothed
the wrinkles out to the edges. That quilt sewed up perfect with no
wrinkles on the back!
I'm wondering if the weight of your quilt is pulling the tension off
kilter if it's hanging down the front with no support. Also let the
feed dogs of the machine move the fabric and try not to push it
through with your hands. Some of the other folks here will have some
helpful ideas on that, that I'll be interested to see too. It sounds
like you are doing fine otherwise and I wish you all the best in your
quilting! Donna
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Posted by Leslie& The Furbabies in MO. on October 18, 2009, 9:55 pm
1 & 2. Do whatever you need to do to prevent that drag. Most find it best
to just bunch up the quilt so that you have an area to quilt that's entirely
free from any drag or tension on the quilt sandwich. Those durn clips- or
rolling or folding the quilt in any manner- just cause more grief. A big
loose messy bunch is much better. And lots of table area to rest it on is
the very best solution... as is the cabinet/tables up against a wall so the
quilt can't drape off of the back side and cause pulling and tension.
3. Something is wrong if your tension needs vary like that. It may be the
drag of the quilt or something else, but once you get the stitches balanced
with the tension settings you shouldn't have to change them again unless you
change threads, etc. Be sure the pressure of the foot on the quilt isn't
tightened down too tight. It should feed thru smoothly. And be sure your
walking foot is installed properly.
4. Basting is one of the most important things to successfully machine
quilt well. I have never used spray basting, but you must start with the
layers perfectly smooth or you can't possibly have a wrinkle free back.
Maybe it's your preparation??? With my pin basting I always either clamp
the backing to my cutting table top or masking tape it to the floor. The
back must be perfectly flat and smooth before you add the other layers
whether pinning or spraying. Then smooth, smooth, smooth as you baste.
Good luck!
Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.
show/hide quoted text
>I quilted a bunch of straight lines with a walking foot for the first time
>today, and found it quite . . . erm . . . challenging. I am pretty sure
>that the solution to most of my problems is practice, practice, practice,
>but I thought I'd make a few notes here and see if anybody has any words of
>wisdom.
> 1. Setting the machine's stitch length was a joke. The stitch length was
> determined more by how much the quilt package was dragging for one reason
> or another -- snagging on the bicycle clips as they traveled on, under,
> around the machine, snagging on an accordian-fold in the package in my
> lap, etc. This is related to . . .
> 2. I hate bicycle clips. They scrape across the finish of my SM cabinet
> (admittedly a beat-up finish already, but still), they snag, they fall off
> on the floor, etc. I'm getting better with this. Would it help to wrap
> the clips with cheesecloth?
> 3. No. 1 is also probably related to the fact that my SM and/or walking
> foot continually demanded changes in the upper thread tension. I was
> using different color threads on top and bottom, and occasionally the
> machine would apparently just change its mind about whether it would
> tighten bobbin threads up to the top or top threads to the bottom. I
> truly could not make heads or tails of what the thread tension would do
> next. The SM was well cleaned and lubricated. It seemed as if the
> machine just got tired and started tightening up one way or the other.
> 4. Puckers on the back. I think this was due purely to the fact that I
> did a lousy job of spray-basting. The walking foot was feeding fine and
> doing what it was supposed to do; I just had glued some puckers into the
> back. I know what I'll do differently the next time I spray-baste.
> That said, I got some good practice and the quilt looks pretty decent on
> top, so far. After the thread yesterday when I asked about how far apart
> my straight-line quilting should be, I decided that the narrow lines I
> wanted would make the quilt narrower than I wanted. So I decided to go
> back to a triple-figure eight, Amish quilting pattern that had attracted
> me earlier. I'll quilt that tomorrow with my new, see-through darning
> foot. Based on past experience with a mini-quilt, I think I may be better
> at quilting such a pattern than I am at quilting a straight line!
> Meanders and stippling never attracted me very much before, but I find I'm
> having good luck with it on a practice scrap, so that may be in my future,
> too.
> ep
>
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Posted by Julia in MN on October 18, 2009, 10:34 pm
I agree that the bicycle clips aren't necessary. I've used them, but
much prefer just bunching up the quilt -- no need to bother with taking
the time to roll it up. And make sure the quilt isn't dragging down in
any direction from the needle.
I generally don't have problems with puckers on the back with spray
basting, but I do check it pretty carefully. I haven't used basting
spray on any big, bed size quilts. Those I pin baste or use a basting
gun with plastic tacks.
I've found that cotton batting is easier to work with than polyester for
machine quilting. The cotton batting has a natural tendency to cling a
big to the cotton top and backing. Polyester batting is more slippery.
Julia in MN
Edna Pearl wrote:
show/hide quoted text
> I quilted a bunch of straight lines with a walking foot for the first time
> today, and found it quite . . . erm . . . challenging. I am pretty sure
> that the solution to most of my problems is practice, practice, practice,
> but I thought I'd make a few notes here and see if anybody has any words of
> wisdom.
>
> 1. Setting the machine's stitch length was a joke. The stitch length was
> determined more by how much the quilt package was dragging for one reason or
> another -- snagging on the bicycle clips as they traveled on, under, around
> the machine, snagging on an accordian-fold in the package in my lap, etc.
> This is related to . . .
>
> 2. I hate bicycle clips. They scrape across the finish of my SM cabinet
> (admittedly a beat-up finish already, but still), they snag, they fall off
> on the floor, etc. I'm getting better with this. Would it help to wrap the
> clips with cheesecloth?
>
> 3. No. 1 is also probably related to the fact that my SM and/or walking
> foot continually demanded changes in the upper thread tension. I was using
> different color threads on top and bottom, and occasionally the machine
> would apparently just change its mind about whether it would tighten bobbin
> threads up to the top or top threads to the bottom. I truly could not make
> heads or tails of what the thread tension would do next. The SM was well
> cleaned and lubricated. It seemed as if the machine just got tired and
> started tightening up one way or the other.
>
> 4. Puckers on the back. I think this was due purely to the fact that I did
> a lousy job of spray-basting. The walking foot was feeding fine and doing
> what it was supposed to do; I just had glued some puckers into the back. I
> know what I'll do differently the next time I spray-baste.
>
> That said, I got some good practice and the quilt looks pretty decent on
> top, so far. After the thread yesterday when I asked about how far apart my
> straight-line quilting should be, I decided that the narrow lines I wanted
> would make the quilt narrower than I wanted. So I decided to go back to a
> triple-figure eight, Amish quilting pattern that had attracted me earlier.
> I'll quilt that tomorrow with my new, see-through darning foot. Based on
> past experience with a mini-quilt, I think I may be better at quilting such
> a pattern than I am at quilting a straight line! Meanders and stippling
> never attracted me very much before, but I find I'm having good luck with it
> on a practice scrap, so that may be in my future, too.
>
> ep
>
>
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>(admittedly a beat-up finish already, but still), they snag, they fall off
>on the floor, etc. I'm getting better with this. Would it help to wrap the
>clips with cheesecloth?