Jump to content

permacore ?

nora123

Recommended Posts

nora123 Advanced Member

nora123

Posted
Posted

Hi ladies,

I just ordered two cones of permacore thread, white and marine blue. Superior was out of 451 pure white and I have a customer quilt next week that needs it. My question is do you use it and if you do how do you like running it in your millennium?. All advice is most welcome. OH!!! three weeks til I leave for germany and will get to meet Claudia. I amk very excited. I will also visit some local quilt shops. Any shops you all recomend?.

Nora\\

Millennium

Washougal WA

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Bonnie Advanced Member

Bonnie

Posted
Posted

Yes, I use it....love it. I have very little breakage with it and it lays on the quilt in a fashion I like. Its also made bt the same company that makes maxi-lock. Because of the size cones I normally buy I only buy the blacks,navy,white,ivory and grey, but they literally have 300 colors.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 6 years later...
jimerickson Advanced Member

jimerickson

Posted
Posted

Scraphappy:  Don't take this wrong, but you need to master your machine, and that starts with tension.  If you're flat lining on the back you need more top tension, or less bobbin tension.  If you're flat lining on the top you need more bobbin tension, or less top tension.  I found it most helpful when I bought a TOWA bobbin tension gauge.  It makes measuring bobbin tension easy. The TOWA also helps me ID other thread/hardware issues.  I suggest you invest in one.

 

I don't know exactly what thread combos you've used, but that can be a real issue, especially for a new longarmer.  Early on I discovered YLI Longarm Professional (not to be confused with YLI Machine Quilting), and Superior Bottom Line, and they have come to be my go to threads.  In fact I hardly ever use anything else.  When I began longarning I used PermaCore, but found it to leave a lot more lint than I liked (I've found that lint from the hook can cause isolated stitch problems on the back, and it clogs up the top tension) and have since stopped using it.  It was cheap, and that was attractive, but the lint was a deal breaker.  I discovered YLI Longarm Professional, and have been using it ever since.  YLI Longarm Professional is a very strong poly thread.  It's 40 wt, almost lint free, and comes in about 50 -70 colors (I probably use 30).  Bottom Line is a 60 wt (Tex 23) poly thread.  Being Tex 23, Bottom Line gives you a lot of bobbin thread (maybe 110 yds for L bobbins, and 220 yds for M's).  IMHO this combination of threads is probably the easiest of all to use.  Many people like Glide, but I've had a lot more trouble using it than Longarm Professional.  It's a two strand embroidery thread wound counter clockwise, while Longarm Pro is a three strand thread.  I can easily unwind Glide, but cannot get Longarm Pro to unwind.  The fact that Glide will unwind has given me an occasional problem.  I offer this not to condemn Glide, but simply explain why threads perform differently.  My suggestion to you is that you begin using the YLI/Bottom Line combo.  Since these both perform so well, you can eliminate many thread issues while you learn to use your new machine.  Once you feel like you're in complete control, you can begin experimenting with other thread combos. 

 

A lot is made of thread texture, color and the like.  While there is some truth to how they look in a quilt, and how they enhance the quilt's appearance, I personally think that's way overdone.  I regularly quilt for several people, and I almost always decide what thread color to use.  I sometimes ask the owner what color thread I used, and more often than not, she can't identify it.  So much for the how important careful thread color match is.  A good technical outcome is a lot more important to me than how a thread "enhances the pattern" or looks so "wonderful".  Being confident in an outcome, and not having to alter the speed that I normally stitch, or tear out bad stitches, makes my work a lot more pleasant.  I strongly recommend that you begin using that approach.  Keep things as simple as possible.  I think the control and lack of frustration will keep you quilting a lot longer.   Good luck in your journey.  Jim

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jimerickson Advanced Member

jimerickson

Posted
Posted

Scraphappy:  I think the TOWA will accommodate pigtail bobbin cases.  My case doesn't have a pigtail, but I think TOWA makes these mostly for embroidery machines, and a lot of embroidery machines use a bobbin case that does have a tail of one sort or another.  I don't have have first hand knowledge however, so ask before you buy.  Jim

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jimerickson Advanced Member

jimerickson

Posted
Posted

Kim:  I wind all my own bobbins.  That said, I think a lot of folks use superbobs and like them a lot.  I've got a good winder, and keep a pretty wide selection of Bottom Line on hand, so I just never started using pre-wound bobbins.  We do use pre-wounds on our embroidery machine, just balck and white, and like them a lot.  Using a pre-wound does eliminate bad bobbin winds from the list of potential problems, so it's probably a good idea.

 

I think Sew Fine would probably work pretty well.  I do however, like the large amount of Bottom Line you can put on a bobbin.  I also like the looks of the Tex 40 YLI on the top better than the thinner Tex 30 Sew Fine.  The idea behind my suggestions is to reduce the number of possible issues you might encounter, and using a reliable thread combo most all the time, promotes that idea.  Stick with it.  You'll sort it all out.  Jim

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Scraphappyquilting Advanced Member

Scraphappyquilting

Posted
Posted

Okay so I've been playing with the tension, and the top seems to be okay now but there's a little flatlining in the back mostly in curves or going from right to left. Jim I'm going to take your suggestion and order a cone of the YLI and some bottom line bobbins. I'm beyond frustrated. I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere. I'll keep trying but if I fix the top it messes up the bottom and vice versa.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jimerickson Advanced Member

jimerickson

Posted
Posted

Kim:  Tighten the top thread about a half turn and see if you can't cut down on the back flatlining.  Relax, you're probably being too critical of your stitch quality at this point.  If a little "tweaking" of the top tension doesn't improve your results, loosen the bobbin tension a little and the top tension, and start adjusting again.  BTW, what are you sewing on.  Fabric and batting can affect stitch quality too.  If you're using a very low loft batting you won't get as nice looking stitches as you will with a higher loft batting.  Similarly, batik fabrics can give you some stitch issues.  What size needle are you using.  You might try a larger one.  That would help with needle deflection.

 

I say you might be too critical.  Sometimes I obsess on small issues, only to realize later that the issue wasn't that big a problem.  Stick with it.  Replace your frustration with determination.  Even though you feel you're not getting anywhere, I'm sure you are.  Jim

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Scraphappyquilting Advanced Member

Scraphappyquilting

Posted
Posted

I'm just sewing on a regular cotton top and backing. My batting is 80/20. Using a 4.0 needle. And yes I totally agree I may be getting too critical and need to relax. I don't quilt for shows or magazines. Just want nice stitches! I have a cone of the YLI you suggested and a SuperBOB on the way. I guess I'm just too used to the nice stitches my Gammill makes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...