BobbieJones Posted August 14, 2011 Report Share Posted August 14, 2011 I know this subject has been addressed before but felt inclined to re-visit it. In working on a quilt today, batik top, Moda "Crackle" in chocolate brown for backing and pre-washed batting I had a terrible time with pokies coming out of the chocolate brown back. I actually flipped the batting both ways and put the side up which I found to create fewer problems. I was using Superior "Lava" on top and Superior "So Fine" in my bobbin. I don't know what brand the batting was as it had been washed and didn't have any packaging with it. My tension was good both top and bottom (I use the gauges) and I was using a 4.5 needle to start with as that size is recommended by Superior. I switched to a 4.0 needle and that helped some but not entirely. The customer I was doing the work for is extremely picky and I'm afraid she is going to be unhappy. She doesn't let me trim her quilts so I can't put it in the dryer with a damp towel to see it that will help because I'm afraid I will have a bigger mess. As a last result I gently sprayed the back with water and lightly rubbed a soft washcloth over it after taking it off my machine. That process did help some but didn't fix the problem entirely. I also put Sewer's Aid on my thread about every ten inches. Any other suggestions for the future? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srichardson Posted August 14, 2011 Report Share Posted August 14, 2011 I haven't tried this myself as I haven't yet quilted a batik quilt. I have seen suggestions in previous posts that as batiks are so closely woven it is best to use a 3.5 size needle as they are smaller and supposedly have a sharper point. Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judi Posted August 14, 2011 Report Share Posted August 14, 2011 Bobbie - Not sure what else you could try. Personally - I have done many Batik quilts with many different battings - none of which have ever been prewashed - with almost no problems. Had one batik backing once that was a major pain, it just didn't feel right. I know that lady never pre-washes anything, but that fabric was stiffer than others in some way. I tried everything I could think of, would get it "o.k." and it just went wacky again after quilting a bit. I finished it eventually and nobody was happy. Live and learn!!! Next time I will follow my head and call them to say "I will not use this backing". I have not ever used Lava thread though, but have heard good things about it, and wanted to try some. I was using A & E Permacore - 40 WT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anniquilter Posted August 15, 2011 Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 Bobbie Have you tried releasing the tension on the quilt sandwich. I don't know if it would work but is definitely something I would try. Otherwise, if it was my customer I think I would call her and tell her I'm having problems with her top, batting, backing combination and see what she would like to do. Let us know how you get on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbieJones Posted August 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 Forgot to add that I did also loosen my quilt sandwich but it didn't help either. I was afraid to go smaller than a 4.0 needle since Superior recommends a 4.5 - 5.0 needle when using Lava. I didn't want to have thread breaking and causing me more problems with holes in the batik top. In thinking about it some more I think it was a combination of the backing fabric and the batting - not sure if pre-washing the batting contributed or not. I don't know of any one else that pre-washes their batting! Live and learn! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted August 15, 2011 Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 I hear that the pokies sometimes disappear with the quilt relaxes after it comes off of the frame... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnCavanaugh Posted August 15, 2011 Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 Bobbie, It doesn't help much, but just so you know, Moda is notorious for that, including suffering from "runs" when the needle attempts to perforate it. It is more tightly woven than other cottons. Take a look at the wrong side of the backing again. If it appears quite a bit lighter, what is actually happening is that the needle is "rolling" the single strands of warp or weft thread to the right side of the fabric. In essence, you are seeing the wrong side of the fabric exposed by the needle. Not necessarily the batting. It is the nature of that beast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted August 15, 2011 Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 Polyester quilting thread on Batiks used to give me problems. I quilt a lot of batiks with success using Filtec threads and their Magna glide bobbins now. My Millenium is very happy with 4.0 needle. I talk my clients out of using Batik backing, if they insist, they have to wash it at least once to remove stuff. I also try to match the colors of top and bobbin threads as much as possible. Corey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjtinkle Posted August 15, 2011 Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 I just had this exact problem on a customer quilt. The back was pieced in 1/4 sections, one of which was a Moda brown with red polka dots, and the wrong side of the fabric was basically white. It looks like pokies, but isn't actually, and you can tell that because the other 3 sections look fine. Originally posted by DawnCavanaugh Bobbie, It doesn't help much, but just so you know, Moda is notorious for that, including suffering from "runs" when the needle attempts to perforate it. It is more tightly woven than other cottons. Take a look at the wrong side of the backing again. If it appears quite a bit lighter, what is actually happening is that the needle is "rolling" the single strands of warp or weft thread to the right side of the fabric. In essence, you are seeing the wrong side of the fabric exposed by the needle. Not necessarily the batting. It is the nature of that beast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeri Posted August 15, 2011 Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 If they are pokies they will normally go away if the quilt is washed. Not sure about the twisted threads. Seems like they would. If I have one with pokies I suggest this to the customer. Let them know that for some reason it just happens with some backings and there isn't anything I can do to change that. They have let me know that a washing took care of the pokies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamu Posted August 15, 2011 Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 I have had this happen to me recently. I quilted several quilts (all my own, thank goodness) with varied backings and kept getting pokies...and it definitely is batting coming through. I used several different threads and tensions trying to get it resolved. It was very frustrating. At first I thought it was the backing fabric...but it kept up on cotton, batik, flannel...arggg:mad: I used varied threads, King Tut, Fil tec, Omni, Embroidery poly with magna bobbins....the pokies continued with all of them. I was afraid to change my needle size because I didn't want the top thread to be breaking all the time....but... I finally decided it had to be my needle size..I was using 4.0 so I changed to 3.5 and guess what....IT STOPPED.. no more pokies the only thing I can say is to try the smaller needle and see how it goes. Also, after washing a couple of these quilts with the pokies, the holes and batting did seem to go way some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobbieJones Posted August 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 Thank you all for the great input. For some reason it's comforting to know that I'm not the only one and that I did my due diligence to correct the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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