frogging tool

[eula]

What do you use to frog? Evidently, I don't have right tool!

[mrsbishwit]

I use the old fashion seam ripper...frogging is a PITA and there is no easy way of doing it. Sorry but it's part of the job...the not so pleasant part that is,

[eula]

Do you frog while it's on the machine or take the quilt off to frog?

[Bonnie]

I skin mine with my rotary blade.....

http://www.apqs.com/quiltboard/viewthread.php?tid=11336&page=1#pid107884

[eula]

While it's still on the machine?

[mrsbishwit]

It depends, how much of the quilt needs to be frogged, if it is just a row or so than no but if it is more than say 1/2 the quilt than yes. The trick is to get good enough that you don't have to frog

If it is due to tension problems then you need to stay on top of it by checking the backing stitches more often to avoid too much frogging. Same goes for tucks that are created on the back...easy stuff that can be avoided if you just check under the table before you quilt each row.

[quiltmonkey]

Dental hook/dental pick. It is the king of froggers. If I must frog then the hook is my BFF. It's great for when you run out of bobbin and need to pulling thread to a point or seam so you can tie, bury and start again.

[eula]

It's just a small area. My top thread keeps breaking & fraying. I tried adjusting the tension and then some stitches were long and some not. So I'm ripping out that part. How do you adjust tension while you have a quilt loaded? Seems like I'll be ripping until I figure it out.

[RitaR]

Amy or Christy can easily help with that Eula.. it may also be a burr, or timing,, they can help you find the problem and solve it.. call the 800 number..

[eula]

Thanks for the help.

[Nadia Wilson]

My all time favorite "frogging tool" is the 3 in 1 scissors from Superior threads. It has a curved hooky thing on the blade that glides very easily under stitches. I try not to use it much , however when the time comes to frog, it is my tool of choice.

When I do have to frog I work from the back of the quilt, I roll the quilt up onto the pick up roller and work from the back side of my machine, with the handy tool I usually can pull out a good size length of bobbin thread at a time, it goes very quickly. I work on it while it is still on my frame.

I test stitch on the extra fabric on the sides of a loaded quilt to adjust the tension when I am working on a quilt, I check my tension with each bobbin change and/or thread change. When my tension is good on the edges, I then stitch on the body of the quilt and I check that after I've done a few inches of stitching to see if it is still good. I always figure out my tension before stitching on a quilt top.

What thread are you using that is breaking and fraying so much?

[eula]

I'm using Bottom Line on top & in bobbin. I'll check out those scissors at Superior Threads. I like the idea of working from the back. Although I only had a small area to frog, it's tough on the ol' back:P

[Bonnie]

And yes I frog (quilt skin) while its one the frame....you don't have to wrestle the fabric that way.

[VictoriaG]

Eula,

I frog while it is on the machine. I use a regular seam ripper to first cut through one stitch of the top thread. I then start picking out about two or three more stitches of the top threads When I have a top thread tail,of about 1/2 an inch, I use a 5" hemostat clamp to grab the top thread tail. (A hemostat clamp is available thru online hobby sites.) Giving a small amount of pull to the hemostat will bring up the bobbin thread where I use the seam ripper to cut the bobbin.

If I were braver I would try the rotary cutter on the bobbin thread. But I am too afraid of cutting the fabric.

So if I am explaining this well, you can see that when I am done I have one long top thread held by the hemostat. And the bottom bobbin thread has been cut as I "frogged".

vg