Circle Square Posted May 29, 2007 Report Share Posted May 29, 2007 I am doing a quilt for a customer who brought me Dream Cotton (Request weight), and a batik backing. I'm getting pokies of the batting coming out the back side. There is no problem with the tension. I'm using Superior SewFine on top and Bottom Line prewound bobbins. These are the threads I always use and love. I'm using a panto. Can anyone suggest how to get rid of the pokies? Ann, in beautiful northeast Georgia, where it's 85 degrees, partly cloudy, and the humidity isn't too high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countrylanequilting Posted May 29, 2007 Report Share Posted May 29, 2007 Pokies sometimes just happen. I would suggest you might choose a smaller needle (MR3.5) unless that is what you are already using. Sounds like it isn't tension; just the needle poking the batting through the fabric. Since you are using a fine thread to star with my suggestion is change needles. Sometimes on Batik fabrics I can use 3 or 4 new needles on the same quilt! Batiks are tough finished and dull needles quickly! Generally, once you take the quilt off the machine and try fluffing it up in the dryer or washing it (that is normally not your option ) the pokies will go away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BethDurand Posted May 29, 2007 Report Share Posted May 29, 2007 Hi Janet thanks for the good idea on putting in new needles more frequently while doing batiks. I just did my first batik on top and back, and I think I was lucky about how well it came out. Pokies-wise that is. Beth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandraC Posted May 30, 2007 Report Share Posted May 30, 2007 People are so fond of batiks, but I cringe when a batik quilt comes in...I never know if I'm going to have problems or not. With one batik a couple of weeks ago I couldn't get the tension nice, no matter what...then a couple of days later one quilted up perfectly. I think some of the softer brands seem to cause less problems. As for pokies...I'm recommending to my quilters a lot lately to use dark batting if I think there might be a problem and they seem to like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countrylanequilting Posted May 30, 2007 Report Share Posted May 30, 2007 We always recommend a black batting anytime the quilt top and backing are both very dark! Saves a lot of worry about whether or not there might be pokies. We just be careful there is never any light colored areas in the fabrics that might want to show up as gray due to the darker batting. Also, never have the fabric tensions so tight on the batiks (or any other fabric for that matter) that the needle has difficulty pushing the needle and thread through the fabrics. The needle should be able to slide between the thread weave and not have to "punch" its way through! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oregoncarol Posted May 30, 2007 Report Share Posted May 30, 2007 i am a newbie sort of . i have heard somewhere that there is a right side and a wrong side to batting of course right now i can't remember what they said maybe some one else will know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circle Square Posted May 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2007 Thank you all for your suggestions and comments. I was using a 3.5 needle to start with, so I changed to a 3.0 and that seems to have fixed the problem. As long as I don't hit a thick seam intersection and break the needle, I will be okay. Hobbs and Warm & Natural cotton battings have a scrim side and a fluffy side. You should put the scrim side down. However, the Dream Cotton does not have scrim, so both sides are fluffy. Dark batting would be very good in this quilt. The lightest pieces are light green, the rest is dark green, purple and black. However, I don't have dark batting. The customer brought me the Natural Quilters Dream Cotton. It is very soft and nice to work with. Changing needles frequently is a good suggestion, and I did not know fluffing the quilt in a dryer will usually pull the pokies back inside. Wish I had knows that a year ago when I had an upset customer because of pokies. I know batiks can cause a problem because they are boiled several times in hot water which draws up the fabric and makes a very tight weave. Ann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CQS Posted May 30, 2007 Report Share Posted May 30, 2007 Indeed, there is a "right" and "wrong" side of batt. The smoother side should face down toward the backing with the "fluffier" side up toward the top. This helps with the pokies quite a bit. Not all batts are two sided, but alot of them are. Quilter's Dream usually does have a right and wrong side. It's been my experience that the denser batts work much better with batiks than the thinner. They don't necessarily have to be that much higher loft, just denser. Quilter's Dream Blend (Deluxe) works better with batiks than the Select or Request. Warm and Natural products are also good. I request that my customers not bring me Hobbs 80/20 and/or Request/Select or 100% cotton batts with batik quilts and if they bring it not knowing my preferences, I explain that they will be much happier with the result if we use a different batt. When a dark batt is appropriate, it's great, but most times there are too many lighter fabrics in the top for a dark batt to work. These nasty little pokies do wash out with time. They're a sight for us, but they don't really last very long. One or two launderings usually do the trick! I always tell my customers with batik quilts to use a color catching sheet when they launder their batik quilts. It will pick up any color and help keep their quilts bright. I've lately had several king size colorwash irish chain quilts come in from a class at the LQS. Most of them have been entirely or mostly batiks with batik backs. They're beautiful quilts, so fun to quilt but they're tricky to get everything right. Sometimes I think it's the way you hold your mouth or something....same thread type, same needle size, same batt and still something to adjust or mess with. Keeps us on our toes, right? Vicki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltaholi_518 Posted May 30, 2007 Report Share Posted May 30, 2007 Actually, Dream Cotton does have a scrim, it's not as easy to see. If you read the label it says there is a percentage of Poly (can't remember how much) and that Poly is the scrim............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CQS Posted May 30, 2007 Report Share Posted May 30, 2007 Quilter's Dream Blend is 70/30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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