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Metallic thread in the bobbin?


Bekah

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I have a customer who is desiring a metallic thread on the bottom and Floriani on top. I am using wool batting and cannot seem to get a good balanced tension. Should I keep trying or should I tell her this is just not going to work? I really appreciate any feedback from you all. I am a month behind in my customer quilts due to a serious fall I took at the end of December that had me off of my feet until just recently. This quilt is 114x144 and the top thread will be red and I keep getting red pokies on the bottom and the metallic showing through on the top. Maybe I am just being too impatient.

Thank you so much in advance for your replies. One of the terrific parts of this family is the willingness to help.

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Bekah,

I'm afraid you're going to struggle a bit. It's really hard to get metallic to pull steadily from the bobbin case without causing problems. You mention getting the red pokies on the bottom and the metallic showing on the top. I sound like a broken record, but make sure you're actually feeling the thread on either side of the quilt. If you can't feel the pokies or bumps with your fingernail, then the thread is technically balanced in your quilt layer, and the needle hole is allowing the color to be more visible until the hole closes up when the quilt's off your frame.

Just curious as to why she is insisting on metallic in the bobbin...is the quilt going to receive any use or wear? I'm not confident it will hold up to washing if the quilting isn't close together to stabilize it. There are so many polyester threads that resemble metallic (Glide from Fil-Tec has several "metallic-looking" colors) that one may be a good substitute.

Good luck!

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Thank you for your reply Dawn. It is unbalanced tension, I forgot to mention the backing is batic and the top has three batic borders and the middle is mixed cotton and batic. It is a quilt for her husband so I am sure it is going to get used. I believe I will just switch out the bobbin thread. I have her permission to do that if necessary. I appreciate your prompt response. She just liked the look of the sparkly thread, which was a variegated gold metal

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Hi Bekah,

Then if you're truly seeing imbalanced tension, my guess is that the metallic thread is not pulling through the bobbin case smoothly. It can be difficult to even wind a bobbin with metallic thread, but as it unwinds, the thread will slip around and catch on itself, and also slip into the grooves of thread still on the bobbin. It may work better to flip the quilt over and put the metallic in the top and the red thread in the bobbin, provided your quilting isn't custom quilting. Good luck...it is certainly an unusual project!

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