On Pins and Needles Posted March 12, 2010 Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 Hi Ladies: Well, I had my first needle break on a quilt I was doing for a friend and it made a good sized hole in the quilt. It was on a piece that was 1" square so we decided she would applique another piece over the top and on the back would put her label over the hole. My question is, will I make a hole in the quilt every time I have a needle break...this is a very frightening thought! This needle broke going over a seam that wasn't even that thick and I did the rest of the quilt by carefully avoiding that particular seam any time I came upon it. How would I deal with it if though I had been doing a pantograph? Now I'm scared. I'm new at this but I know I will encounter seams bulkier than this one and I can't keep putting holes in quilts! Thanks again...I know I'm always here with a problem and you are always all so helpful....I appreciate it. Cindy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hollyrw Posted March 12, 2010 Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 I can't remember the last time I broke a needle. And I don't recall ever tearing a hole in a quilt. (Knock on wood) So I would say your chances of doing it again are pretty slim. Unless of course, there is something off that caused the needle to break in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagecl Posted March 12, 2010 Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 I have quilted 2 quilts this year with thick seams, very thick seams and I did break needles (4 on one quilt and 2 on this current quilt). Usually what I do, when the brain is thinking, is to do a single stitch with the needle up and down button. If it still struggles getting in to the seam I help by turning the wheel at the same time. Or I just stop and hand turn the wheel through that section because it is usually only one to three stitches. I have been LA'ing for over 5 years and it still can happen. Just don't get too worried, stuff happens, we are only human and we fix the holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted March 12, 2010 Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 Originally posted by ladygravyboat Hi Ladies: Well, I had my first needle break on a quilt I was doing for a friend and it made a good sized hole in the quilt. It was on a piece that was 1" square so we decided she would applique another piece over the top and on the back would put her label over the hole. My question is, will I make a hole in the quilt every time I have a needle break...this is a very frightening thought! This needle broke going over a seam that wasn't even that thick and I did the rest of the quilt by carefully avoiding that particular seam any time I came upon it. How would I deal with it if though I had been doing a pantograph? Now I'm scared. I'm new at this but I know I will encounter seams bulkier than this one and I can't keep putting holes in quilts! Thanks again...I know I'm always here with a problem and you are always all so helpful....I appreciate it. Cindy Yes...breaking a needle is scary...and yes it does happen from time to time. Your question was will it happen again and will you possiblly tear another hole into some else's quilt. I hate to be the barrer of bad news, but yes....not all the time will it result in a hole/tear, but yes. It all depends on how you are pulling or pushing the machine...how fast are you moving when the tear happens, and how far up or down the needle is when it breaks. I have had many many of these over the years, and yes, I have cried my share of alligator tears worring about how to fix them. The way you handled this one is the most logical one, but not always do you get this lucky. SO I in the past have/had a supply of Pellon iron on Interfacing and Bo-Nash 007 Bonding agent on hand and with these two items there were spots that if I hadn't told you where they were, you would NEVER have seen them. The pellon goes inside the hole with the iron on stuff facing up so that when you iron it down that it sticks to the underside of the quilt top...then I would take a tooth pick dampen it with a bit of water, dip it into the 007 powder and lightly place the crystals on the hole edges....then take the teflon sheet that comes with the stuff and gently melt the powders down into the fibers. ALSO if you have some scraps that match...(say edge of quilt you can snip and place those over the hole as well it hides even better) the Pellon interfacing and the 007 Bonding agent are both washable and drier safe. Good luck and here's to you not having a broken needle to soon in your life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nora123 Posted March 12, 2010 Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 Hi Cindi, I broke a needle doing some dense embroidery style quilting and I was going really really fast and I did not get a whole. I know it is scary when it happens but we have all been there. My fear is leaving my needle down and advancing the quilt knock on wood (Nora knocking on her head) so far I have not done that. Nora Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted March 12, 2010 Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 Originally posted by nora123 My fear is leaving my needle down and advancing the quilt knock on wood (Nora knocking on her head) so far I have not done that. Nora I have TWICE in one quilt..... and then again several times over the years....that's when I learned you can't advance an older machine with the needle down. It was on my old ULT II... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted March 12, 2010 Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 Good advice above. When I have a quilt that has bulky seams, I make sure I have a new fresh needle installed. It is rare to break a needle but it does happen, and sometimes but not often, you can "drill" a hole into the quilt if you don't stop immediately. I'll bet that is what happened. The machine kept stitching with the broken needle drilling into the quilt and caused the hole? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
On Pins and Needles Posted March 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 Thanks to all of you for your responses...I guess every new experience is a learning one! I will get some supplies and practice Bonnie's patchng method so when it happens again I'll at least be prepared. And Shana, my incident was exactly as you described...I was so surprised when it happened it took me a second or two to stop..the hole was actually 1/4" or so from the thick seam so there was a fair amount of banging around on the quilt with broken needle...and then some...I had a pretty big hole when I was done. And I have to admit my needle was well used. I'm still doing a lot of practicing and haven't wanted to waste good needles on that so I have been guilty of needle abuse...I will make it a point to make sure I have a new one in now before every quilt. One more question if I may. When I changed my needle yesterday I found my new ones are the Groz Beckert titanium. I know there is some controversy surrounding them. One thing I heard (I think at Innovations) was that a regular needle will often break into several pieces leaving most times a short piece still attached, the titanium, because they are so strong will usually just break once, leaving a longer needle shaft there to go up and down and be more likely to make a hole. Sheesh, what a sentence! Anyway, any thoughts on that? Thanks again...Cindy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoseCity Quilter Posted March 13, 2010 Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 Bonnie- where were you when I put a whole in a customer quilt a few months ago? What a great idea, how do you come up with these awesome solutions??? I own a quilt shop and still had the fabric so replaced the piece on the front and patched to back and was too scared to tell her what really happened, just said I had a little accident on the back. Cindy- my opps was also a titanium needle! will never use them again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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