Jennifer Muth Posted October 28, 2009 Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 I was hoping that someone could shed some light on an issue I have encountered usually with darker fabrics. When basting down the top and sides of the quilt, it seems the needle often pulls or is splitting the fabric fibers and is leaving a white line. I had thought at first that a dull needle was to blame but have always changed my needles regularly. For argument sake I changed the needle and it still occured, changed the needle again from a different package and it still happened. (I have attempted to post a picture so you could see what I am talking about, but as this is my first time actually posting a topic, I'm not so sure the pic will come through). If anyone has any ideas that would be much appreciated. Thank you. Jennifer Muth Olde Town Quiltery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted October 28, 2009 Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 Jennifer my guess is this is fabric that is printed and not woven, meaning the color is on the top only and the back side of the fabric is a lighter color. Is that the case? It is because you are pulling up the underside of the thread which hasn't been dyed. You can usually get rid of this by raking your fingernail across it. The other option is to try a smaller needle and see if that helps. If you tear the fabric you get the same kind of affect as you do when you run over it with the needle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFQuilts Posted October 28, 2009 Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 Jennifer, I've had a similar problem on a fabric that was, as Heidi suggested, printed rather than woven. A smaller needle helped but did not totally alleviate the problem. Once the quilt was done and I started looking at it from further away than I am when quilting, the quilt looked fine. Lynn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Muth Posted October 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 I finally figured out how to post the pics...sorry for the quality, my camera doesn't like such close ups! Thank you so much for the suggestions!! Ok, so the fabrics that are affected are printed and not woven and the small marks went away slightly with rubbing but not the large marks. I am using an MR4.0 needle so I'm going to switch to a 3.5 and see if that works. Thanks again for the tips. Jennifer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nadia Wilson Posted October 28, 2009 Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 I was reading about this issue a while ago on another forum I belong to and the consensus there too was that as the needle moves the fibres, more of the "white" is shown due to how the fabrics were printed. It appeared from this other list that this issue is becoming more and more common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted October 28, 2009 Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 Get yourself a pigma pen or a permanent pen and fill it in. Nobody will ever know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 The 3.5 needle won't take this away either, it might help...its a case as already stated...the printing on the fabrics. When the companies only print on one side and it doesn't go all the way through and the weave is a bit loose, the fibers shift because they hit just right and the threads pull them off to the side or sort like a run in your nylon it actually moves, and the only thing you can do it as Heidi said use a pen and cover them up. However if you do that...make sure its the correct pen, as some will actually bleed across the fabrics and make a worst mess than what you were having...and some permanent pens need to be heat set or they wash out in the first rinse so why go to all the trouble of hiding them to only see them when it dries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nadia Wilson Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 Yes! very true Bonnie...and .... not all black pen/marker ink matches black fabrics... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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