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Posted by Michelle C. on August 4, 2009, 6:16 pm
I'm going to have to check out the "Topstitch" needle. I changed to the
largest needle I had, considerably larger than the one I had in the
machine, and was able to go about twice as far before the thread shredded.
Thanks!
Michelle in Nevada, USA
Sally Swindells wrote:
show/hide quoted text
> You beat me to it, Pat! Also the groove in a Topstitch needle is
> deeper/longer so the thread sits in it and is protected as it goes
> through the fabrics.
>
> Sally at the Seaside~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~uk
> http://community.webshots.com/user/sallyswin
>
>
>
> Patti wrote:
>> The best tip I have had about this is to use a top stitch needle.
>> (Thanks again Sally!). My needles were too small. The larger eye
>> really helps reduce the friction. When your machine is going fast,
>> and the stitches are small, you can imagine the number of times the
>> same piece of thread is going up and down and through. Also, some
>> threads are less prone to shedding than others - even good quality
>> ones. The best 'luck' I've had are with King Tut, and also (oddly
>> enough) Sulky rayons.
>> .
>>> Okay all you FMQs, I've taken your advice and worked on my speed.
>>> Counter-intuitively to me, I've got to move my quilt slower, but keep
>>> the speed up on my machine. So far, so good (although my stitches
>>> are kind of small). The tension is right, and the "eyelashes" on the
>>> back are gone.
>>> Next problem--breaking thread. I had this problem when my tension
>>> was off, and I assumed the two were related. Nope. The thread is
>>> actually shredding. And strangely enough, when I first gave this a
>>> go on my sample block a few weeks back, I don't recall breaking
>>> thread being an issue.
>>> Ideas?
>>> TIA!
>>> Michelle in Nevada, USA
>>> P.S. I looked at some videos of FMQ online. My goodness, these
>>> people make it look easy.
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Posted by Michelle C. on August 4, 2009, 2:42 pm
Definite trend here. Patti you are the 3rd person to mention needle
size. :-)
I'll keep in mind the thread issue too.
Thanks!
Michelle in Nevada, USA
Patti wrote:
show/hide quoted text
> The best tip I have had about this is to use a top stitch needle.
> (Thanks again Sally!). My needles were too small. The larger eye
> really helps reduce the friction. When your machine is going fast, and
> the stitches are small, you can imagine the number of times the same
> piece of thread is going up and down and through. Also, some threads
> are less prone to shedding than others - even good quality ones. The
> best 'luck' I've had are with King Tut, and also (oddly enough) Sulky
> rayons.
> .
>> Okay all you FMQs, I've taken your advice and worked on my speed.
>> Counter-intuitively to me, I've got to move my quilt slower, but keep
>> the speed up on my machine. So far, so good (although my stitches are
>> kind of small). The tension is right, and the "eyelashes" on the back
>> are gone.
>> Next problem--breaking thread. I had this problem when my tension was
>> off, and I assumed the two were related. Nope. The thread is
>> actually shredding. And strangely enough, when I first gave this a go
>> on my sample block a few weeks back, I don't recall breaking thread
>> being an issue.
>> Ideas?
>> TIA!
>> Michelle in Nevada, USA
>> P.S. I looked at some videos of FMQ online. My goodness, these
>> people make it look easy.
>
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Posted by Witchystitcher on August 4, 2009, 10:30 am
You might need a larger needle. When I free motion, I usually use a 14
or 16. Occasionally, I will even use an 18. A cotton batting is denser
than most polyester battings and may need the larger needle. A poly
batting with a scrim may also need a larger needle.
Linda
PATCHogue, NY
Queen of Boxtops
On Tue, 04 Aug 2009 07:11:32 -0700, "Michelle C."
show/hide quoted text
>Okay all you FMQs, I've taken your advice and worked on my speed.
>Counter-intuitively to me, I've got to move my quilt slower, but keep
>the speed up on my machine. So far, so good (although my stitches are
>kind of small). The tension is right, and the "eyelashes" on the back
>are gone.
>Next problem--breaking thread. I had this problem when my tension was
>off, and I assumed the two were related. Nope. The thread is actually
>shredding. And strangely enough, when I first gave this a go on my
>sample block a few weeks back, I don't recall breaking thread being an
>issue.
>Ideas?
>TIA!
>Michelle in Nevada, USA
>P.S. I looked at some videos of FMQ online. My goodness, these people
>make it look easy.
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Posted by Michelle C. on August 4, 2009, 2:41 pm
A bigger needle is starting to sound like a theme. :-) Thanks for
mentioning the sized you use Linda.
Best regards,
Michelle in Nevada, USA
Witchystitcher wrote:
show/hide quoted text
> You might need a larger needle. When I free motion, I usually use a 14
> or 16. Occasionally, I will even use an 18. A cotton batting is denser
> than most polyester battings and may need the larger needle. A poly
> batting with a scrim may also need a larger needle.
>
> Linda
> PATCHogue, NY
> Queen of Boxtops
>
> On Tue, 04 Aug 2009 07:11:32 -0700, "Michelle C."
>
>> Okay all you FMQs, I've taken your advice and worked on my speed.
>> Counter-intuitively to me, I've got to move my quilt slower, but keep
>> the speed up on my machine. So far, so good (although my stitches are
>> kind of small). The tension is right, and the "eyelashes" on the back
>> are gone.
>> Next problem--breaking thread. I had this problem when my tension was
>> off, and I assumed the two were related. Nope. The thread is actually
>> shredding. And strangely enough, when I first gave this a go on my
>> sample block a few weeks back, I don't recall breaking thread being an
>> issue.
>> Ideas?
>> TIA!
>> Michelle in Nevada, USA
>> P.S. I looked at some videos of FMQ online. My goodness, these people
>> make it look easy.
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Posted by Roberta on August 4, 2009, 10:39 am
Here's a dissertation on threads (thanks to whoever posted this link a
long time ago):
http://quiltbug.com/Articles/thread-theory.htm
After you've waded through all the theory, changed needles, etc., your
thread might still break. Have a good look at the sole plate where the
needle goes down. Sometimes there's a rough spot, which you can fix
with an emery board. Might also just be old thread. Or maybe, in the
case of wild specialty threads, you might be trying to force a
relationship that just wasn't meant to be. Not that that ever stopped
us!
Roberta in D
On Tue, 04 Aug 2009 07:11:32 -0700, "Michelle C."
show/hide quoted text
>Okay all you FMQs, I've taken your advice and worked on my speed.
>Counter-intuitively to me, I've got to move my quilt slower, but keep
>the speed up on my machine. So far, so good (although my stitches are
>kind of small). The tension is right, and the "eyelashes" on the back
>are gone.
>Next problem--breaking thread. I had this problem when my tension was
>off, and I assumed the two were related. Nope. The thread is actually
>shredding. And strangely enough, when I first gave this a go on my
>sample block a few weeks back, I don't recall breaking thread being an
>issue.
>Ideas?
>TIA!
>Michelle in Nevada, USA
>P.S. I looked at some videos of FMQ online. My goodness, these people
>make it look easy.
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> deeper/longer so the thread sits in it and is protected as it goes
> through the fabrics.
>
> Sally at the Seaside~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~uk
> http://community.webshots.com/user/sallyswin
>
>
>
> Patti wrote:
>> The best tip I have had about this is to use a top stitch needle.
>> (Thanks again Sally!). My needles were too small. The larger eye
>> really helps reduce the friction. When your machine is going fast,
>> and the stitches are small, you can imagine the number of times the
>> same piece of thread is going up and down and through. Also, some
>> threads are less prone to shedding than others - even good quality
>> ones. The best 'luck' I've had are with King Tut, and also (oddly
>> enough) Sulky rayons.
>> .
>>> Okay all you FMQs, I've taken your advice and worked on my speed.
>>> Counter-intuitively to me, I've got to move my quilt slower, but keep
>>> the speed up on my machine. So far, so good (although my stitches
>>> are kind of small). The tension is right, and the "eyelashes" on the
>>> back are gone.
>>> Next problem--breaking thread. I had this problem when my tension
>>> was off, and I assumed the two were related. Nope. The thread is
>>> actually shredding. And strangely enough, when I first gave this a
>>> go on my sample block a few weeks back, I don't recall breaking
>>> thread being an issue.
>>> Ideas?
>>> TIA!
>>> Michelle in Nevada, USA
>>> P.S. I looked at some videos of FMQ online. My goodness, these
>>> people make it look easy.