cblevins Posted January 31, 2010 Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 Oh No!! I finished piecing a huge sampler quilt and hubby put it on the Millie. He use Hobbs 80/20 and some kind of poly batting (he used 2 layers total). He used SID around each block and around the borders. He was then going to go back and use the quiltazoid in the alternating plain blocks and do some stencil work. He has burgandy so fine on top and white bottom line on bottom. He is using a 4.0 needle and says he is pretty sure bobbin tension id good. He made the huge mistake of not checking the back of the quilt occasionally to see how it looked. Every once in a while he said his top thread shredded. The white backing has LOTS of burgandy globs! The whole thing has to be picked out and started over. What does he need to check for before he starts again? HELP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted January 31, 2010 Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 Cheri, Stitching with two different color threads is tricky but have a light background makes it even worse! You have to make sure your tension is spot on. My guess is his top tension is too loose. Tell him to tighten it up and then do a test sandwich to make sure he gets good tension in all directions. At least he is using 2 battings which will help. I hope the frog dance goes quickly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted January 31, 2010 Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 I would say if he has room to the side of his quilt he needs to stitch there with a piece of scrap fabric to make sure his tension is right. Like Heidi said, using 2 colors of thread can be tricky. I also agree that he needs to tighten his top tension. I know this is frustrating, hang in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyLake Posted January 31, 2010 Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 With such a thick quilt sandwich, he needs to quilt more slowly and evenly to give the needle a chance to recover from needle flex. I would also suggest using So Fine in the bobbin as well as the top. I know Bottom Line is great, but I think with using the same thread top and bottom, the 'tug of war' tension is more even. The main thing, though, would be to spend time getting the tension right before starting, as Heidi and Mary Beth said, and then double-checking periodically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted January 31, 2010 Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 Do you ladies think that since he is using so much thickness in the way of batting that he should raise his hoppin foot a bit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witha'K'quilting Posted January 31, 2010 Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 I also think that you should use So Fine in the bobbin. Bottomline can shred with poly batting...at least I have found it to do so. With 2 layers of batting...the hopping may need to be raised as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cblevins Posted January 31, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 Thanks everyone. We didnt rip it out today...too frustrated. We will get it taken out, put so fine in the bobbin and tighten the tension. We will also see about raising the hopping foot a tad. I don't think we have to take it all out. It looks like it was making beautiful stitches in the first 9 or 10 blocks then all of a sudden BURGANDY BIRDS NESTS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witha'K'quilting Posted January 31, 2010 Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 If you have the same color so Fine as what you used in the bobbin before...than you shouldn't have to take all the stitching out. Just the parts that were problematic. Besides..it is yours...and there are no quilt police. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anniemueller Posted February 3, 2010 Report Share Posted February 3, 2010 I crawl under my machine frequently with a flashlight to see how it looks. I've done what your husband did enough to be really suspicious of the tension:mad::mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted February 3, 2010 Report Share Posted February 3, 2010 I crawl under often too, guess it keeps me limber as well as knowing the tension is good... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annaquilts Posted February 5, 2010 Report Share Posted February 5, 2010 I usually put a scrap piece of fabric on the side and make sure the tension is ok before I quilt on the actual top. I, too, spend lots of time under my quilting frame checking the tension. I agree with Vicki, it keeps me limber ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyA Posted February 6, 2010 Report Share Posted February 6, 2010 when using different threads top and bottom you have to check under often. just a lesson i've learned. 2 batts are the way to go in this case, makes it much easier to avoid those thread pokies. If it were one batt I'd be increasing top tension just so I can see the bottom thread on top a tiny bit, then back off 1/2 turn. Might want to try that even though you have 2 batts. I often use a neutral thread on the back of a custom job and have not had any issues provided that top tension is just a tad tighter than I normally run it. And, with two colors I always slow down as noted above - to account for needle flex.... Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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