Advice needed for testing tension

[Calico Cat]

Does anybody have any advice on how to test the tension and stitch length before starting quilting when the quilt is loaded into the machine? Each piece seems to need some 'tweeking' but how do you do it without loading a practice piece, unloading and then putting in the quilt?

Am I just making this too difficult?

Just tried my first real top and it looks like I'll be 'unsewing" tonight. There must be an easier way

A little frustration here...maybe I'll feel better after a cup of "tea"

Thanks

Barb

[JudyL]

Barb: I wish there was some magic formula but a whole lot of it just comes with lots of practice. You will learn what the perfect tension feels like on top and in the bobbin. Here's what works for me:

1. For the bobbin, if you don't have that little TOWA tension checker (I don't), just do the drop test recommended by APQS and you'll eventually lear the exact drop that works for your machine. I test every single bobbin . . even if it's the same thread. All bobbins seem to be created differently and it's a whole lot easier to check the tension than to have to rip. I have a teenie little screw driver in my apron at all times.

2. After threading the machine, pull the thread through the needle with your hand and check the tension. You will learn what's right for your machine.

3. You should have three or four inches of backing and batting on the sides. Put a swatch of muslin or something over that and make some stitches. You can just fold over the edge and look underneath to see if it looks alright.

4. After stitching for a bit on the real quilt, use a hand mirror and flashlight and look underneath to check the stitches. I still do this with every quilt! I sometimes lay a book over the top of the quilt because the light shines through and it's kinda hard to see.

Once you get the feel of the bobbin tension right, I generally make my top tenson so tight that it almost looks too tight, and then I back off just a little.

Good luck and really . . it just takes practice! All these steps seem like they will take forever reading/writing them but they honestly all take less than a minute!

[White Rooster]

JudyL, I wish I had talked to you when I first started. It took awhile (and a couple of nights frogging) but I learned to do exactly what you said in your post. Now it takes me maybe 1-2 minutes extra to check that the tension is right on every bobbin. And no more frogging. It is well worth the extra time.

[JudyL]

White Rooster .. I think most of us started out by frogging the first couple of quilts we did! I learned the hard way too so I'm always happy to share my experiences in hopes of saving someone else some time and tears.

I've mentioned many times that my first machine was a clunker and it surely wasn't a good relationship at first. If I could have gotten rid of that thing without having to hear DH tell me "I told you so", I would have done it in a heartbeat and never looked at another longarm.

But I'm so glad I perservered and didn't give up. Even with the new fancy smancy machines, there is a learning curve and those first quilts can be pretty frustrating. But . . no pain . . no gain! It's so worth sticking it out in order to do what I do now.

So . . to all the newbies and wannabees out there . . never give up!!

[sammi]

I test the same way Judy does...and have a pretty good "feel" of what is right. However, if I'm using a different thread than my norm, I test on a muslin quilt sandwich which I've "loaded" next to the quilt. Throw it over the TUR, put a few pins in it at an angle, bring the other end over the backing roller and keep it taut by leaning against it with my belly. Clear as mud?

sammi:)

[Mary S]

There is one other thing you can do, especially if you want more room for testing or if there's not room on the sides of the quilt (the backing not that wide) or it's a customer quilt and you hesitate to do it there.

You can take an old practice piece or make a new one with layers of muslin, batting, and muslin -- cut it long enough to fit across and around the rollers -- but narrower than the space left at the end of the quilt you're working on (at least most don't fit all the way to both ends).

I use temporary clamps I bought at www.lovetoquilt.com, which I love, but they say you can also cut up the cardboard tube inside rolls of batting (when you use one up) into lengths, slit on one side, and use those as temporary clamps -- or if you're careful to get it placed so it's even with the quilt top, you might be able to pull it around the right rollers and pin it into place.

At any rate, once you have a practice piece on one end, you can try out thread tension until you get it right, but you can also practice motifs before doing them on a quilt top. I don't need to do this on every quilt, but when I want to, it's very handy to be able to use that space that way. You have to move it whenever you advance the quilt, but sometimes it is more than worth the trouble. That is easier than tearing out stitches at any rate.

Mary Smart

Vermillion SD

[pbniesen]

When testing bobbin tension my bobbin falls out of the case on the drop test...does that make any sense? I've tried seveal times and as it drops the inside falls out...any reason it might be doing that?

[nhintsa]

I do pretty much the same thing as Mary posted. I would add that I do my testing on a sandwhich of the same type of fabrics as the quilt top and backing and same type of batting I am using for the real quilt. If quilt top and backing are 100% cotton that is what I use, if it is a batik backing, I have Batik on the bottom of my practice piece. I have noticed some fabrics each can respond a little differently.

Nancy

[White Rooster]

Pbniesen, does this happen with every bobbin? The bobbins are not all exactly the same size and I've found some that are a little smaller than norm. I usually toss the ones that don't fit just right.

And Mary, the batting tubes work great! The minute I emptied the first one I made clamps like you described. I have also found that my clients don't mind if I use the extra backing & batting along the sides for testing the tension. I just tell them that I'd rather test in the margins than on their quilts. They also know to bring a scrap of material from their top so I can use that on the edges. That way I get the exact match in fabric and tautness.