sewlinzi Posted October 13, 2007 Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 I'm the biggest fan of the wonderful Ms Mc Tavish in Scotland... (OK she's not that famous here as we are years behind the times but I think she's fab!) I want to have a go at freehand feathers and trapunto. I have a washaway thread and some skinny thread like Bottom Line but it is from Germany. Do I need to use a thinner needle than the size 4.0? ( please say I don't as it will be a trial finding anyone who sells them) I normally use Isacord 40 poly and it's great but when I did an antique silk shawl I thought the holes and thread chould have been a bit more subtle! I'm going to experiment with another thin thread called Rasant - all are designed as underthreads. I also can't get hold of the trapunto wadding Airtex 16 oz so can I double or quadruple up my Hobbs Polydown? The project I want to tackle is a lone star so I don't know whether to put yet more trapunto feathers in the star or leave them flatter as there won't be much space left as background. By the way - here in old fashioned Scotland people say to me "It won't need to be quilted too much, will it?" but they are just going to have to get used to my style which is LOTS of quilting and no spaces cos it's so much fun. Thanks in advance for any handy tips as I'm the only for hundreds of miles... LINZI x:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted October 13, 2007 Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 Linzi, I use a No. 4 with my bottom line and have no problem. You might want to try using felt for the trapunto. I have used that and it works well. I think that fleece would work well too but haven't tried it yet. Heidi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtreusch Posted October 13, 2007 Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 Linzi, I recently did some trapunto where I didn't want to use 16 oz Airtex, so I used 2 layers of Hobbs Polydown. It worked great!! Debbi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smorris Posted October 13, 2007 Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 Hi Linzi Where are you from? I lived my teenage years in Dundee. You could use a finer needle with the finer Bottomline thread but I prefer to stick with MR4s for everything and don't have any trouble. I used to use Rasant when I first started quilting but the 120 weight is still heavier than bottomline so I'd stick with that for micro stippling, McTavishing and stitch in the ditch. Best wishes Sue in Australia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagecl Posted October 14, 2007 Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 Just a thought on Bottom line thread...be sure to tie off and bury. At least for me, bottom line is slippery and I am afraid of the knots coming out. I prefer So Fine thread to Bottom Line because it is not as slippery. It may not be as fine and it doesn't have a sheen to it like BL but it has always worked great for me. Cheryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenscratch Posted October 14, 2007 Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 I have used a 3.5 needle with bottom line and it has worked just fine, but mostly I use the 4.0 needles all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TishMarshall Posted October 14, 2007 Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 If you didn't get the answer from anyone here you can always go to www.superiorthread.com for that information. Usually it tells you what needle is best for each thread on the bottom or underside of the thread. Tish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewlinzi Posted October 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 Thanks for all the advice about Bottom Line and needles - I'll stick with the 4.0 and my Polydown! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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