Bird nests

[DebLou]

What causes the thread to bunch up (causing bird nests)when you first start off stitching? I'm doing a lot of start and stops on this particular quilt and I have several bird nests.

Help please, thanks.

[Melanie Rouse]

For me, it is when I don\'t hold onto both thread tails when I start off.

[TracyeQ]

That\'s what does it for me too, not holding the threads good.

[ramona-quilter]

Ditto. After you pull up the bobbin thread, grab both the top and bottom thread. Your hopping foot will be over the needle hole where the bobbin thread came up and the top thread will be thru and under the hopping foot.

Hang onto both thread tails and take 2 or 3 stitches to lock the thread, then you can let go of the thread. That should prevent any nests on the bottom.

[DawnCavanaugh]

Mary Lou,

I want to add two more cents to the starting and stopping issue:

Definitely hold on to the two tails when beginning your stitching. That helps prevent the bird nests on the underside of the quilt.

However, if you want to be sure that starting thread does not come out, in my opinion a couple of stitches are not enough to lock the threads.

If you wonder if you\'ve actually got the thread "secure", here\'s how to check--after you\'ve taken a couple of tiny stitches (don\'t stay in the same place to make those stitches; it creates a knot on the bottom), stop with the needle in the "up" position. Now separate the two thread tails, and pull on each thread separately. If either one "slips" and allows you to pull more thread, then they are not locked.

Continue taking teeny tiny stitches (I usually shoot for 8-10 in a 1/4 inch), checking your tails with the needle in the up position. When neither thread "lets go" then the thread is finally locked.

With some slippery threads like Rainbows, even So Fine, you might need to do what I call a "controlled back stitch". In other words, if after taking several tiny stitches my thread tails are still not "biting" and locking, I will take one stitch backward, and then one more forward. This helps the slippery thread grab, and then I can make sure the beginning thread is secure.

Repeat this procedure when you end--use teeny stitches for about 1/4 inch before clipping your thread tails. Just one or two stitches won\'t hold up over time.

Have fun quilting!

[DebLou]

Thanks for all your quick responses. I never feel that I have enough control guiding with one hand but I\'ll practice.

Dawn, when I stop my machine it usually doesn\'t want to just start in sewing again without doing the whole cutting the thread and pulling the bobbin thread up again. Is there a reason for this?

Thanks again everyone. I\'ll try again tonight.

[DawnCavanaugh]

Mary Lou,

Give me a little more info about what you mean by "it won\'t just start sewing again".

Are you referring to when you have intentionally ended a stitching line and want to move to a new location on the quilt?

Or do you mean that you\'ve hit a button to turn the motor "off" (perhaps to move your feet, for example) and want to begin stitching again in the same place without cutting your thread?

[njquiltergirl]

Hi Dawn.

I was wondering about tying off and locking those stitches securely.

On Myrna Ficken\'s new (and Great!!) DVD "Intro to Long Arm Quilting" she uses an interesting method...she sews a few stitches, and moves the tails to 9:00, 6:00 and 9:00 again...I think......Myrna are you out there?

I have not tried it yet...which would you say is the most secure and yet leaves the smallest visible knot, especially on the back?

We are lucky to have so many options!

Thanks,

Lisa

APQS Liberty

[DawnCavanaugh]

Hi Lisa,

I haven\'t had the opportunity to see Myrna\'s new DVD yet, but I\'m sure her thread tails are secure before she starts. Whatever works!

I just know that a couple of "tacking" stitches aren\'t enough to lock the thread.

Another way to test tourself is to do what you think is enough to "secure" the tails, and then clip the thread tails close to the quilt. Next, rub your fingernail across the starting point a few times. If the threads work loose, do more to secure them at the beginning.

Hope this helps!

[njquiltergirl]

Thanks Dawn, that sounda like a great way to check...I though I\'d find out the hard way - after they were washed and unraveling!!!

Lisa

APQS Liberty

[njquiltergirl]

Oops...that sounds (not sounda!) ...like a great way to check...VBG.

Sorry!

Lisa

[smd719]

Hi!

I use the 9-6-9 method...works GREAT!

[smorris]

Hi everyone

Taking those tiny stitches that Dawn suggests above, I do that but maybe not in the same way as most people. I would think most quilts would move the machine head back and forward slightly. I move the fabric.

Keep the machine still but get your fingernail on the fabric really close to the hopping foot and let the needle go down and up then drag the fabric slightly towards you and put the needle down into the fabric and then up - release your fingernail and the fabric will move back a thread or two - repeat 3- 4 times depending on the type of thread.

I find this makes an almost invisible secure start.

Sue in Australia

[ffq-lar]

Thank you Sue!

[DebLou]

Dawn~

When I want to stop to make sure the back looks okay before going too far, I can\'t just start sewing from that spot without having to start all over with pulling the bobbin thread up. It either starts bunching or breaking thread. Not all the time but most of the time. I think my biggest problems are with my bobbin winding. I\'ve had better luck winding bobbins with my domestic than the stand alone bobbin winder. Or do I have a different problem with the stop and starting?

Sue, are you just using the needle up/down button 2-3 times or are you running your machine to lock your stitches?

I\'m also having trouble with my stitches on the back looking nice. They tend to look knobby sometimes and I don\'t dare tighten the top tension anymore than I have. Wish I could put a stitch regulator on my Ultimate I.

Thanks for listening and any advice is more than welcome.

[Quilting Heidi]

I have found that with the thinner batts I\'m having the most problems. I can\'t get my stitches to look just right. Usually the bobbin thred is pulled flat on the back. That should mean I should tight the top tension but then I do that until I just see a pokie on the front and then back off a hair. I can\'t get it to go back a hair and still not have the bobbin thread pull flat. Does that mean that my bobbin is too loose or too tight? I get beautiful stitches on most of my batting and it is only a couple that I have this problem with. I don\'t dare try to use just flannel because I have no doubt I\'ll have the same problem.

[KathyA]

Mary Lou,

It took some time for me to get use to the free-standing bobbin winder but after making adjustments my bobbins wind consistently and I don\'t have issues with my stitches looking wobbly or knobby. It took me a few weeks - and I actually brought it in from my studio and worked on it in my kitchen til I got it just right. I find a good wind on the bobbin is crucial.

What has caused me birds nests in the past was when my bobbin spring was worn. The bobbin spins and gets tangled up. The maintenance video talks about this. (just watched that again to do the maintenance on my machine).

Hope you get things corrected soon.

[DebLou]

Thanks Kathy~

I held on to my tails when starting out sewing and that really worked. Maybe just 1 or 2 when I stopped. I sure hope the stitching on the back looks nice. It\'s hard to really tell until I advance it.

I\'ll keep practicing on the bobbin winder. Mine were backlashing so bad when I would stop and I always had to take it out and pull it tight before continuing. Made for a long night. Or it would cut off really short so that I would have to pull some out before beginning again.

My husband doesn\'t understand how I can have so much patience with it.