Beginning and ending

[laststitchstudio]

I have probably what is an elementary question. But I spend so much time in burying all my stitches.....I feel there must an easier and quicker way.

When I start to stitch, I bring my bobbin thread up to the top, tie an knot in it and bury it with the self-threading needle. I also do this at the end of stitching

I have tried to take little stitches in the beginning, but I end up with a small bunchy look on the bottom and it ususally doesn't hold...........same with ending.

Can anyone help?

Thanks

[Bonnie]

Kate...not an elementary question, just one that pops up a bit. We all do it differently, but the way you do it is the only way I too do it, and have been for many many years.

I have had several judges tell me that by doing it this way they can't see the starts and stops and the quilt doesn't get point off where if they can see them the points drop. If you want to do it the other way...I would drop a tiny dot of FrayCheck on the start and stop this way it won't EVER come undone. You aren't doing anything wrong its just a bit more time consuming than we sometimes want to spend on a quilt.

[Myrna Ficken]

Hi Kate, Try this, hold top and bobbin threads at 9:00 needle up and down move threads to 6:00, needle up and down, pull threads back to 9:00. With the slight tug on the threads you are putting your needle down in a just a bit of a different spot of fabric and it will lock your threads with the smallest knot. Be sure to give the one last tug to make sure.

Myrna

[quiltmonkey]

OK thanks for the great idea, Myrna! I will give this a try.

I have a question, though... I have been watching Linda Taylor's videos and it looks like she locks her stitches by pulling up the bobbin, moving the needle over, grabbing that thread, making a loop with it, bringing the needle back to the original position, then needle down and up and then moving the needle over again and snipping the threads off. Is that another way to do it? It seems like a lot of steps (she does it really fast) but I know there is more than one way to skin a cat (apologies to all you cat lovers...) and I'm sure there is probably more than one way to lock a start/stop stitch on a longarm. What's the easiest/most foolproof method?

[Myrna Ficken]

You are right Shana. There are so many way to lock your stitches. And ALL of them get very fast after you have done the a bit. I do them like I posted above, tie and bury, backtack, take as few very tiny them start. Another way I lock the is to hold my thread and turn my machine on and off VERY FAST while giving a slight tug. Again It is practice and getting the feel for it. Even using the bobbing thread cutter the was I cut my top thread I don't have a tail to cut later, it just falls off.

Myrna

[sewingupastorm]

Kate I do mine just like you do. When I first got my longarm I did the small stitches and a few in place at the stop and start but did not like that I could see where I stopped and started. There was a discussion here and I saw the knot tyeing and burying so have been doing it ever since.

My quilts and some of my customer quilts do go to shows so that is one point they will not be albe to take off for seeing stops and starts. Now it is just part of my routine.

[lizziesgirl]

Ok now I may sound stupid but you all are talking about tying off. Bringing the threads to the top tying a knot in them and then burying them. My mind, I think I have one , pictures knotting and burying like you would for hand quilting, or are you actually tying the two threads together forming a little knot right there and then burying the tails?

Did I make sense of that?

[laststitchstudio]

Thanks for the suggestions. i will try your way, Myrna and see if I have success. Otherwise, it's back to burying each start and stop stitches.

Sheryl, I was talking about the method hand quilters use, You were correct and your mind is still in tact.

[Myrna Ficken]

It works well Kate.

Yes Sheryl. like hand quilting

[shadows4]

Myrna:

I know this sounds stupid, but are you talking like the clock numbers are laying on the quilt or somehow like on a wall clock. I'm not grasping the picture of it in my brain.

[quiltaholi_518]

Jeanne,

I do this technique also. Imagine the quilt is the clock face, and the needle is the center of the clock where the hands pivot. By pivoting the thread and doing needle up and down with the thread in different places, it helps make more of a knot. If I am working with shiney (highlights, etc) then I take tiny stitches away from where I am going, and then back the other way, sort of like backstitching on your DSM.......

[Myrna Ficken]

Yes, just like a clock on the wall.

Myrna

[shadows4]

Thank you so much Caron & Myrna.

I'm printing it off as I'm typing this. That way I can take it over to my machine and work on getting it down.

I can usually pick up things pretty quickly, but for some reason this has stumped my brain cells! Thanks again.

[Renae]

Thanks Myrna and Carin for the great advice.......I too have been having problems with my start and stop stitches showing. I don't like that but didn't know how to avoid them.......I will give this a try.

[dancingstitcher]

Myrna's clock knot does work well. I took her training so had a chance to practice it. The other method of back stitch type fastening did come undone and maybe my stitches weren't tight enough. When it came time to a competition quilt, I did do the over the fingers loop knot which Myrna also taught. Both threads travel in the same path, then are pulled against the needle down to the entry point, then buried using the slotted needle. When I did the Hartley Fence circles, I hand tied the start and stop top and bobbin on top, all four threads together like shoe laces in a square knot and buried. It's a bit of a hefty knot, but works well and was invisible.

Vicki