How to properly tie off thread -

[aktbone]

Situation:

Quilting along.

Thread breaks.

Figure out the problem.

Correct the problem.

Tie off the broken threads.

Time to start again.

Now what -

Please tell me the correct way to properly tie off the top and bobbin threads after restarting in the middle of a line of stitching and then continue on the way.

I seem to keep getting a yuckie thing on the back of the quilt. Don't even know how to explain but it is not nice.

Thanks

[DawnCavanaugh]

Tonilyn,

The "cleanest" way to hide beginning and ending threads in the middle of a quilt is with a quilter's knot, buried inside the batting. It requires you to "unsew" enough of the previous line of stitching to get the top and bobbin thread on to a needle to tie the knot. If I must tie off, I try to pick out enough of the previous quilting so that I reach a place where I changed direction, or where the line intersects a seam allowance. This gives me a place to hide the starting and stopping threads.

To begin again, I bring up the bobbin thread where the previous threads have been tied and buried. I make sure there's enough thread tail length to once again get the thread onto a needle. I take off quilting, and then go back and bury the threads into the quilt layers one more time.

Here's a video link to give you some idea about how to bury the tails:

My normal "starts and stops" are simply teeny, tiny stitches very close together (about 15 of them in a 1/4-inch space.) But when you have a thread break, it's not really possible to do that with the previous thread (thus the need to bury the tails if you don't want it to show.) However, you can still begin the new stitching line with teeny stitches, eliminating tying off the thread in two instances.

Hope that helps!

[Guest Linda S]

Yep! What Dawn said! I generally try to go back to a seam intersection. It's so much easier to hide it that way. If you make sure you bring that bobbin thread up and bury the threads together, you won't have a mess on the back of the quilt.

[Primitive1]

I keep a pair of tweezers near my machine to use with tying off those little problem broken threads...

[Dustee]

I follow Dawn's instructions. Her video explains it very well. Good luck.