KarenLummus Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 I received a Hawaiian quilt from my guild and they gave me a white back. They want me to use a blue/green variegated thread in the colored sections and white thread in the white spaces. They want the same color on the back, maybe a light green. I tried bottom line, but no matter what a do, there are dots on the back with the varigated thread. I think it is ok to have the back with 2 different threads. I'd like to use a Bottom Line thread that goes with the variegate and blends in better than the light green and white for the white areas. Hvae any of you ever had experience with this? do you think it's ok to do it the way i'd like to? If I had someone with experience say it's ok, maybe the guild will give me the ok. Superior threads suggested silver Bottom Line but the dots are there no matter how I adjust the tension. Thank you for any advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 I can't completely get rid of pokies either. Matching threads of busy backs. It's the easiest solution. Ferret Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagecl Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 Using a poly batt with a little loft will help hide the pokies sometimes. But, then you have to decide if this is the look you want for the quilt more loft. Cheryl Mathre Stone Creek Quilting Sandy Hook, VA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsurich Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 Think about this- when Grandma quilted with a white thread with a medium or dark back her light thread showed on the back of the quilt. I figure if it was okay for Grandma it's okay for me. Personally I would use white thread for the entire back and set tension so that it is the tiniest bit shifted to the back. Yes little dots of the variegated thread will show on the back, the slower you quilt the less they show. Also know that once you take the quilt off the frame everything relaxes a little and the "pokies" are a little less noticeable. A story: Quited a large quilt with light back and dark top and dark thread on the top and matching light thread on bottom. As I quilted, I worried about the dots on the back being worse than I would like. After obsessing about it, I finished and decided if they were disappointed with the dots I would discount the price. When I showed the customer, back first, she went on and on about how wonderful and the back as nice as front. So I said nothing about the dots. I also send a questionaire home so they can tell me how they feel when we aren't face to face. Still all was compliments. As quilters we look at every stitch that goes into the quilt, the owners look at the overall effect of the quilt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramona-quilter Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 Hi Karen, Our LQS had this Sunbonnet Sue quilt come in with busy turquoise sashing and border. The backing was pieced; it was the same turquoise on the sides and a wide strip of pink flannel with multicolor dots up the middle. The owner of the LQS (a hand-quilter) thought that I should use an orangish-yellow thread on the quilt. But I wanted white/natural on the Sue blocks. I have a nice inventory of thread so I normally 'audition' several threads to get the right color. Radical differences in the quilt top or between the top and the back always pose a challenge to me. I wanted to use Superior King Tut DeNile thread, a turquoise variegated thread on the turquoise parts (sashing & border) of the front. But I felt like I had to use light thread for the echo quilting in the Sue-blocks. The pieced back would not look good with the light thread but looked good (on both the turquoise and the pink sections) with an aqua blue. Pokies in the blue section were not an issue. But the light thread in the Sue's on the front and the aqua thread on the back was going to be hard. I definitely did not want aqua blue bobbin thread to pull through with the light thread in the Sue-blocks. I fiddled with my tension top and bottom and just could not get it quite right. The two threads were so different, I just needed some extra room to ensure that the stitch was made inside the batting. That was when I thought about using two battings. The customer wanted poly. I loaded the backing on the machine, put down a layer of thin cotton batting, then added the poly batt and then the quilt top. You can see the aqua/turquoise thread on the back and in the white border on the front: <img src="http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n93/legcard/Customer%20Quilts%202007/sue-detail-back.jpg"> And this is what the front Sue-blocks looked like: You cannot see the aqua thread from the back in the Sue-blocks. And the customer did not notice the 2 batts, I had to point it out to her. <img src="http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n93/legcard/Customer%20Quilts%202007/sue-detail.jpg"> That is one solution. I'm sure there are others. I have seen many Hawaiian quilts and pillows. Most of them hand-quilted and use thread that matches the fabric. So if the quilt had red flowers on a white background, red thread on the red and white thread on the white. I don't recall ever seeing a contrasting thread used. I have to admit that I never looked on the back of the quilt though. Please post a photo of the front and the back when you are finished quilting this quilt. I would love to see what you decide to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CucumberQuilting Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 A "Perfect" machine stitch will have a "dot" of bottom thread between the stitches on top, and the reverse on the back, a "dot" of top thread between the stitches from the bobbin thread. That's the way it is and is supposed to be. You can manipulate that away by tinkering with the tension, pulling it either to the top or the bottom but then you are going away from the ideal machine stitch. I've heard many experienced quilters argue it is best to "educate" their customers on using matching thread top and bottom for best results. But if you want to appreciate the back, and many customers are just as thrilled to see the back as the front, then I think you have to give way to using a bottom thread that best enhances the back of the quilt. Remember, this is not your grandmother's quilt. Machine quilting can simulate traditional handquilting in many ways, but I bet Grandma would have loved to have had a chance to do some of the amazing things we can do today with our incredible machines and fabulous threads. Think more closely about the hand quilted stitch. It also has a "dot" between the stitches. It's the dot of fabric between the stitch as the thread runs to the back. Hmmm. Anyway, more to think on. Have a happy day! ~~ Eva H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay M. Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 Hi, I always let my customers know how the back will look if I feel there will be a lot of dots or even starts and stops. Most of the time they either do not care or they ask for my opinion. Personally, I prefer to do whatever would look best from the front and not worry about the back. I always tell them if they are concerned, they need to purchase busy backs the next time. Some quilts look as good from the back as the front which is great, but I'll opt for the front if faced with a choice. Kay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bekah Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 Linda, I love your Sunbonnet Sue. YOu did a fantastic job of outlining her and your sashes are wonderful. I would love to see the whole quilt if you have a picture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandraC Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 What a day I'm having!!! I'm doing a batik quilt, it is lovely. I'm doing an intricate panto on it "Oma's Garden". The backing is white on white. The customer picked sage Bottom Line which looks great on top and she didn't mind that it would not match the back. The problem is the breaking thread...I'm starting to be sure it must be the batik fabric. I've had this problem before and I'll have to start taking notes on whether it happens mostly on batiks. Aaaanyway....I'm afraid the back is going to look terrible with all the stops and starts. I called the customer (a real sweetheart) and told her about it and that I was going to discount the price. I've tried to check the timing as a last resort but it's so hard for me to see if everything is just so. I'll get my DH to help me out when he gets home. Oh well, back to it I guess...only about 4 more rows to go..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CucumberQuilting Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 Hi Sandra, what are you using on top? Most of the time I add a drop of liquid silicone to the bobbin right in the case. Loosen the tension screw quite a bit, enough so that the bobbin case drops easily. Then adjust the top thread tension to work with that. Another possibility is having the quilt sandwiched too tight either pulled too tight to the sides with your clamps or rolled too tight, or both. You may need to relax it just a bit. Or, you may need to relax just a bit! :mad: Good Luck. I'm sure you'll get it working. ~~ Eva H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandraC Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 Thanks, Eva...I was using bottom line on the top. Finally got it done tonight...just in time to go to my son's hockey game! I still think it has something to do with batiks, who knows. I should make a note of it and see what happens next time... Hopefully tomorrows work goes a lot easier... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 Hi Sandra-- You might have double trouble with that batik top--I find that some white-on-white fabric is stiff from the "paint" that is used and washing doesn't help to make it softer. Combined with a high-thread-count batik the white on white may have caused your thread breakage. Just my experience..... Glad to hear you got it finished! Linda Rech Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsurich Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 A little more on the pokies on the back issue. Page 8-9 of Fall 2006 issue of On Track magazine. In an interview with Judy Woodworth who won six ribbons at MQS 2006. . . . I used blue in the bobbin. It puts a small dot or space to give a hand quilter look to stitches. She is talking about a quilt that got a first place ribbon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CucumberQuilting Posted January 26, 2007 Report Share Posted January 26, 2007 Yeah, Sue, that's what I was talking about! I did this on a quilt where they wanted me to quilt in the outline of an eagle flying. It just wasn't going to show up so I (sneakily) used a darker thread for the bottom and just that little bit is what helped to make it show at a distance. What's the point of doing all that neat stuff in a quilt if can't be seen? Give it some thread help. Another trick handquilters have used in the past is to use a cream colored or tan thread on a whitework quilt. Sounds strange but it helps the eye see the design more easily. Otherwise you're only going to appreciate it in just the right lighting situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsurich Posted January 26, 2007 Report Share Posted January 26, 2007 Eva and All, I never use white thread, on a white quilt I use eggshell. It not only shows the tiniest bit but is simply easier on my eyes. When quilted it really seems that it is a nice clean white. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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