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King Tut thread


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Starla,

Try So Fine or Bottom Line in the bobbin.

Loosen your top and probably bobbin tension.

Use at least a 4.0 needle, and go up to a 4.5 if you have trouble getting the stitches to balance.

Set the stitch length around 10-12 for best results.

Move at a smooth pace to reduce needle flex.

Try a piece of cotton in the first thread guide, and if you have trouble, thread the second three-hole thread guide by entering the first hole normally, then skip the second hole and "dive down" into the third hole instead of wrapping the thread around the guide.

Have fun!

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I follow Dawn's directions for using King Tut. I thread "over and under" instead of wrapping around the three hole guide. I also use thread lubricant on the thread. I use Bottom Line in the bobbin. I loosen the top tension until it is "sloppy loose" and tighten from there until the stitch balance is right. I haven't had any trouble at all using King Tut. No breaking or tension problems. I wrote down the changes I made for threading and using King Tut and posted it on the bulletin board in my sewing room so I wouldn't forget what I did.

I'm sure you'll get it figured out. I'm pretty new at this and was scared to try King Tut at first because I heard it was hard to work with but , knock on wood, no problems with it . King Tut and So Fine are my favorites!

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Hi Dawn.

I always appreciate your wise words! It was nice to read a target for the spi on KT. What would your target be for a finer thread like So Fine - for an a) open type flowing panto pattern, and for more B) detailed work like feathers/stencils or even c) SID?

BTW: I've had great luck with KT on top and SF in the bobbin. It was threaded as usual. Top tension was looser than normal, but the bobbin was normal.

Thanks!

Lisa

APQS Liberty

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Hi Lisa,

With So Fine, choose any stitch length you are comfortable with for appearance. I recommend the stitch length for King Tut because its heavy texture adds more drag on the needle and increases the flexing motion. If the machine takes smaller stitches, the needle doesn't linger in the fabric as long between each one, which can increase the flex.

As for length for SID, I recommend a smaller length, 12-13 or so, mainly because the regulated machines will take smaller fabric "bites" also between stitches, giving you more control when you need to adjust the ruler slightly or even change direction.

And for feathers and detail work, again consider how accurate you need to be (e.g. backtracking). Often a medium/small stitch length makes the machine feel smoother, increasing the accuracy. Or try my favorite method, no stitch regulator at all :) (that's just me joking, because my machine doesn't have a regulator:)).

I'm glad the King Tut is singing for you. Of all the threads on the market today, it's one of the most mysterious in terms of what works. One quilter can be just fine with no changes to thread path or tension at all, while another has all kinds of troubles. Must be an ancient Egyptian curse:)!

Happy Quilting!

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Hi Dawn.

Thanks for your comments. I liked the ancient Egyptian curse reference. Having studied them in college, it is the ones who open and disturb the resting places who are "cursed". Glad I do not work in the Superior stock room!! Gives new meaning to decrying..."curses" in a frustrated huff at the machine!

Maybe Santa will bring you a SR machine one day...though you seem to not need one, for sure!!

Thanks for the chuckle..........

Lisa

APQS Liberty

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I'm currently using KT on my donation quilt project and after a few popped threads getting tension worked out on a batt sandwish, the stitching on my quilt is devine. I'm using KT on top and bottom. I did switch up to the 4.0 needle and changed the thread path to lesson the drag and loosened the tension but it's really sewing well. Love this machine! ;)

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thanks once again for the advice Dawn.

I use KT a lot and it is one thread Alice enjoys. She is kind of a cranky ole lady sometimes so was glad to find something to her liking. I usually use Bottom Line in my bobbin for everything. don't like to play with my bobbin tension

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Dawn and all others.....I have KT loaded the way Dawn suggested.....my tension is all the way loose....( to the point that the tension assembly came apart... then put back together and tightened just barely ). So Fine in the bobbin... tension is very loose. My stitches have bobbin threaad coming to the top...looks like polka dots. I can't get top tension any looser. I have a 4.0 needle in place.

Any more suggestions.....

Starla

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Hi Starla, I just did a quilt using KT variegated and had absolutely no breaks or problems. You absolutely need to have some tension on top. This is what I do: I adjust bobbin tension screw so the bobbin thread slides smoothly and slowly but gradually under its own weight by holding the bobbin tail with your fingers. Do this over the quilt top and palm of your other hand to catch the bobbin if it falls -- you don't want to drop your bobbins and cases on the floor. After adjusting so it slides/falls like this, your bobbin tension is set perfectly. Now you adjust your top tension ONLY and leave the bobbin alone. When using thicker cotton threads like King Tut, try only looping the threads through the last two holes on the tension (prior to the tension disk). You absolutely need some tension on top in order for your thread to behave properly. After threading everything on top and through the needle, I gently pull on the thread and watch the tension spring so it's pulling down around 9:00 or 8:00 on the clock. That is pretty close, but you will need to run some test stitches on a scrap batting with fabric so you can make any necessary tweaks (usually you are adjusting it a wee bit tighter on top).

Give this a try and don't be afraid to turn your knob in 1/4 incriments tighter or looser to get the top stitch nice and even and pretty. Keep playing and adjusting the top until it feels "right" to the sight and touch.

PS: Almost 99% of the time I use Bottom Line in my bobbin. I use all sorts of different types of thread in the top.

You can do this. Really. :)

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I just used Kingtut on a customer quilt. 120 x 100!!!! I used an entire cone and 2 bobbins from another spool. The customer wanted it top and bobbin no matter how hard I tried to convince her otherwise. What a PITA to have to wind so many bobbins! The thread handled beautfully though and I only had a few breaks of the top thread.

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So Fine in the bobbin... tension is very loose. My stitches have bobbin threaad coming to the top...looks like polka dots. I can't get top tension any looser. I have a 4.0 needle in place.

Any more suggestions.....

Starla

It is not the top that is doing it, your bobbin is too loose. You need to tighten your bobbin thread just a bit. That will pull the KT down into the sandwich better and balance your stitches.

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Thanks to all

I did it....YEAH

It took awhilt to get it right.....I think for awhilr it was right and I was just seeing the bobbin through the hole... it only looked like it was on top....

Are the Rainbows and Lava threads this hard to get the tension right?

Thanks again everyone

Starla

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi,

I am trying to quilt a customer's quilt with King Tut in the top and Bottom Line in the bobbin, those Super Bob bobbins. The quilting started just fine, with an occasional loop on the back, a few loose looking stitches on the top, using the Milli with SR stitch 11-12. As I quilted, the stitches got looser on top, so I loosened the top tension, and it looped like crazy on the back. I then tightened the top tension and it still looped maybe even worse on the back.. What gives, I'm using a 4.0 needle. Most unhappy, and now must rip-rip-rip....:(:(:(:(:(

Karen Wheeler

Feathers & Loops

www.feathersandloops.com

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I really cleaned and oiled the bobbin area, took the cardboard sides off the bobbin, and loosened the top tension alot more than I thought was needed. I tested on a quilt sandwich of same fabrics/batting, and it really helped. There was a bit of lint in behind my spring in the bobbin, but I think the tension for the top was just too tight... and I found it was only about one or two turns of the quilt that are bac and rest is ok...

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