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fusable thread in trapunto


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I am using a regular brother quilter machine and am trying to get the thread tention right with the fusable or wash away thread. It is expensive thread and don't want to waste it on guess work. I have my top cover ready and my batting ready to apply. my bobbin thread is coming out of the bottom and this cannot happen as it will show when the wash away thread is gone. I don't know what else to do next other than apply another piece of backing, with the batting to help me get the tention right. usually it is the top thread coming through the bottom.

I want this project to turn out well as it is for my living room wall.

Please help if you can.

Some day if i can learn to quilt well, I hope to get a long arm machine, but that is about 4 years away.

Hope someone knows about fusable thread.

Thank you,

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I have not tried trapunto yet, although I hope to make a wall hanging using that method.

I have been reading about the different ways to do it and one way (unfortunately, I can't remember who suggested this) is to sew the trapunto batting piece to the quilt top by hand - yes, needle and thread, using the fusable thread. That way you wouldn't need to worry about tension on your machine, or the bobbin thread showing through later. Perhaps someone on this list has tried it this way and will reply.

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Hi! I teach trapunto by machine, using Hari Walner's books as a resource tool. Caren has the right idea to use the water-soluble in the bobbin. When washed, the threads from the basting will just float away. When doing trapunto by machine, you usually baste just inside the design lines about 1/8" with the water-soluble thread. Then clip the batting away (on the back) to within about 1/4" of the stitched lines. When you stitch the actual design, you do it on your marked line, which also secures the batting. If you have a biggish area that you are using the trapunto method, bigger than 3", I'd suggest you do at least a little bit of quilting inside of it to further secure & stop bunching, especially with cotton battings. Hope this helps!

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Guest Linda S

Whoa, whoa, whoa!! How can you use the water soluble in the bobbin? You are going to sew around your design with your water soluble thread and then you will have to cut around it and then put the top with the trimmed design on a regular batting and backing and quilt it. Chances are, you are going to catch some of that first top thread in your quilting. If you use regular thread, you are going to end up having to pick it out of your quilting stitches. The water soluble should go on the top. If the bobbin thread matches your quilt top or your batting, you will never see it (even if it has poor tension), as it will be in the middle of your quilt sandwich. If you use Hari Walner's method -- in my opinion, anyway -- you have much more opportunity for seepage around your trapuntoed elements, which is something you DO NOT want. I would highly recommend that you buy Karen McTavish's "Secrets of Elemental Quilting." It has instructions in the book as well as a DVD that shows you how to do this step by step.

Linda

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The water soluble thread's purpose is to hold your design in place until you have trimmed all the excess batting. After that you sandwich your quilt with batting and backing. Using a heavier thread you quilt your design again and THEN you spritz with water to remove your water soluble thread.

That's how I remember it. But that's from the top of my head and it doesn't retain much!

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Okay, I've taken Karen's class and she had us use our regular thread in the bobbin (because that gets buried inside the quilt once you are done) and the fusible thread in the top. Worked fine for all of us in the class.

Best of luck! Just don't lick your fingers when you try to thread the needle. It tastes icky...

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the thread tention works right when in the bobbin. I only did 2 patterns, so I will only have to rip them out. The tention works on free hand also to my surprise. on a regular machine, a brother, can't remember the numbers, I love my machine, but until I get the extra batting, i won't have anything but a scrappy-do to talk my long arm friend into letting me take his machine for a test drive. He has a Gammil I think. I am hoping to be a longarmer by proxy. He is getting more business than he can handle and seems to be patient to learn from. So far he likes my quilting works.

Even if I have to pick the top thread out, what ever works. Thanks for your input and I will be watching this thread..

Thank you,

Paula

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Another thing, if I sew far enough inside the design, it shouldn't get caught up in the quilting and I think the design is small enough to hold it's self in place without more quilting on it. I did a large design with the top thread showing because i didn't have any water soluable. I didn't tell anyone and they thought it was pretty.

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