veg-girl Posted February 21, 2010 Report Share Posted February 21, 2010 I have just unpicked a border and restitched it . Why? The backing is chocolate brown and I had poor tension, some of the top thread showed through and I had terrible pokies on the back (80/20 hobbs wadding) so it was decided that I would skin the whole quilt and start again. I unpicked one border but found that despite a new needle there were marks left on the front. The needle snags show because the back of the fabric is a funny yellow colour (brown on the front) and as the needle goes through it twists the fibres around so that the yellow comes to the front. I use a 3.5 needle to minimize the hole size. If I unpicked the whole quilt every bit that has this brown would look bad and have light colourd snags so I requilted the border and I will just have to live with the poor tension. I will never be able to quilt exactly on the same path as before. This is not the first time I have had snagging problems, the last was with a dark red fabric and again the back of the fabric was not deeply dyed. Both these fabrics happen to be Moda which is usually a good quality.. Can't we have slimmer stronger needles ?titanium or sharper like microtex to get round this problem. The quilt is for a friend who is donating it to charity and the uninitiated will think its wonderful but the point is that I do not think it is good enough for a customer. There will always be times when you have to unpick but it becomes a real probl;em if it damages the top fabric. Starch,spray, iron will not fix the twisted fibre problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veg-girl Posted February 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2010 Brown on front, strange light colour on back and snags showing along the edge when basting. Fortunately the snags always go toward the outer edge in this location so they are hidden under the binding. New needle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewlinzi Posted February 21, 2010 Report Share Posted February 21, 2010 What thread is it? Are you dead certain you had the wadding the right way up? Is it linen? It looks like the open looking weave of the fabric is the likely culprit... very frustrating! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veg-girl Posted February 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2010 King Tut on top , bottom line under. Ordinary cotton Moda fabric. Can't really tell if wadding is upside down or not, still not sure which is the best way when trying to stop pokies.. Used exactly the same thread/wadding combination on previous quilt and all was OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted February 21, 2010 Report Share Posted February 21, 2010 I know this is a heart-breaker. I think the snags aren't really snags, but they are dis-placement of the woven threads on heavily printed/top dyed fabric. Thimbleberries fabrics are very prone to this. When the needle enters the fabric it pulls the adjacent thread just enough to nudge it out of place. The white you see on top is the part of the thread that was under the adjacent thread and did not get dyed. Those stripes of light coming down from your edge-stitching in the second photo show this perfectly. A smaller needle didn't look like it helped--nor did a new needle. With some fabrics you can use a Pigma pen to color in the offending areas. This can also happen when piecing--and think how much smaller a DSM needle is compared to the needle we use. All I can think to tell you is to warn your customer when you are faced with these fabrics. It won't happen every time. Sorry for your anguish--we want it all to be perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewlinzi Posted February 21, 2010 Report Share Posted February 21, 2010 Brilliant explanation from Linda! Wadding needs to be bumpiest side UP so that rough bits can't be poked down... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veg-girl Posted February 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2010 Thank you Linda, I always thought the fibres twisted but can now see that they just pull a little. At least I know what is happening even if I can't fix it! the wadding is lumps up but still pokied to the backing along with snags on the backing and top thread. I think Iwill write this one off to experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted February 21, 2010 Report Share Posted February 21, 2010 I wonder if the organ needles would solve this problem since they are straight and don't have the bump. Hopefully a pigma pen will work. Somce times washing will help too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veg-girl Posted February 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2010 Can't buy brown Pigma pens any more over here. I will go looking at the local stationers this week to see if I can get any permanent brown pen. Perhaps the sort for overhead projectors? I don't think washing will help with the pulled threads, they just don't have the dye in them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veg-girl Posted February 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2010 The back is awful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veg-girl Posted February 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2010 But the front Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veg-girl Posted February 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2010 looks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veg-girl Posted February 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2010 pretty good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veg-girl Posted February 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2010 GRRRR! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewlinzi Posted February 21, 2010 Report Share Posted February 21, 2010 The front looks great! Felt pen works wonders - I have used Berol fabric pens to hide pokies on a show quilt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinneaMarie Posted February 21, 2010 Report Share Posted February 21, 2010 Quilter's Dream people told me dimples up, pokies down. ?? That's how I do it and never had a problem, unless the fabric was crappy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witha'K'quilting Posted February 21, 2010 Report Share Posted February 21, 2010 You said this quilt is being donated to charity right? After being washed...it will all shrink up a bit and the fortunate recipient will just love it. They are not going to scrutinize the quilt as we ourselves do. Relax and get it donated. The top looks great and the back will be what it is. It will look much better once it is off the frame and washed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted February 21, 2010 Report Share Posted February 21, 2010 I've had this exact problem with 80/20 and it is infuriating! This is my main reason for it not being one of my favs. I love the light weight and the quilt definition you get but those darn pokies are horrible. Sorry you had that experience. Your quilting looks wonderful though and really suites the quilt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veg-girl Posted February 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2010 I should point out that the quilting is done by IQ not guided by me but all the problems are nothing to do with IQ just materials and my bad adjusting of the tension. This quilt is going to the armed forces accommodation for families visiting injured soldiers so I wanted a pattern that swirled and had an organic look without being too flowery! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathG Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 Yvette.......your quilt is beautiful and going to a very deserved cause. I am sure once it is of the frame and washed like Kristina says the pokies will not show, and if they do the recipients of the quilt will never notice. They will be admiring how lovely it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butterfly Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 I often have pokeys with Hobbs 80/20. I can also tell when someone uses Moda fabric. I ALWAYS get those little lines. Jessica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chocoholic Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 >the wadding is lumps up but still pokied to the backing along with snags on the backing and top thread. I think Iwill write this one off to experience.< I have always been told, lumps down, indentations up. The indentations/lumps signify the direction that the needle went into the wadding when the machine needle punched it. Our needles should go in the same way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veg-girl Posted February 22, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 Now I know why I am confused about which way up to put the wadding. Two opposite pieces of advice have been given and both have a logical reason as to why they are correct! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltingnanny Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 I always put 80/20 on front side down. Don't know if this makes sense or not. When I take it off the roll I unfold it and open the fold to the backing. The inside fold will be on top. I've not had any pokie problems like that. Glenda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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