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Question for Dawn C. and Other Experts - Quilt Tension


yeoldeforest

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Hi Dawn and/others,

I can\'t find the post that addresses this issue so can you give me a refresher course?

How tight should the quilt sandwich be between the rollers when loading your quilt?

I may be loosening mine too much...I remember it shouldn\'t be as tight as a drum but more like a trampoline? If I stick my finger from the bottom of the quilt towards the top, after it\'s loaded, should I be able to grab my finger with my other hand that is on top of the quilt?

I know you may not use CQ...so you may not be able to answer this 2nd question but should the quilt tension be different with a free-hand or ruler quilt vs. CQ?

I remember reading a lot of past posts about this issue and I\'m wondering if I\'m not getting my quilts too loose now from all of the advice. My husband also quilts using a longarm and his quilt tension always seems tighter than mine...though not drum tight but not loose enough to grab a finger. I\'m reall nervous about having the quilt tension too tight and causing the quilt to wave...but it also seems easier to quilt when there is less quilt tension...less likely to get tucks...

Thanks, in advance, for advice!

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Hi Joanne

I think with the tension blocks on our rollers its difficult to set the quilt sandwich too tight so try not to worry. If you follow any of the rules that you mentioned it should work well. You could also look underneath at the backing fabric, I lik to see mine not stretched tight but with a slight sag in it.

For my CQ I use the same rules. The time when it is most important to have firm tension on your quilt is if the first and second rows of your CQ design need to touch each other ie. circles on top of circles touching, or clamshells touching.

Best wishes

sue in australia

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Joanne,

Here are a couple of guidelines to consider when you are trying to figure out what is "just right":

[*] First, imagine machine quilting with a domestic sewing machine. The quilt doesn\'t have any "tension" on it per se, just what the quilter\'s hands do to smooth it under the foot. Likewise, most hand quilters who "rock the needle" to get tiny stitches also do not have the sandwich tight in their hoops. I think just because we can make the quilt nice and tight in our longarm frames, we think we should.

If the quilt is too tight, the batting layer gets compressed and the tension suffers, since there\'s no "air space" for the thread to lock. In addition, a tighter quilt sandwich increases needle flex and can have an adverse effect on tension.

So if you tighten the quilt up to where you think it should be, and you can see the pick up roller bend or the piecing threads between stitching rows, there\'s too much pressure on the quilt sandwich. Another way to imagine it is to tighten the quilt to where you think it should be, then slowly raise the release lever on the roller brake. The quilt should relax a bit as the pressure is taken off the rollers, but it shouldn\'t recoil and go "sproing" like a woman wiggling out of her girdle at the end of the day :P!

[*] To decide if the quilt is too loose, run your hand lightly over the quilt\'s surface after you\'ve got it where you think it should be; you shouldn\'t be able to push the quilt fabric around ahead of your hand very much, creating a wave or ripple.

[*] Likewise, you can move the quilting foot over the fabric and observe the quilt top as well. The foot shouldn\'t push or pull the quilt top around, and the quilt sandwich shouldn\'t "cup" underneath the foot. Others on the forum have described the machine as looking like a mole crawling around underground as you move it around on the quilt\'s surface.

[*] Sue and many other Compuquilter owners will agree with getting the quilt top more snug when you are stitching a design that requires backtracking of some sort. I have heard them describe the set up as a huge embroidery machine, where you have to "hoop" the fabric so that the double stitching lines up. If the quilt is too loose in that situation, then the first line of stitching causes the quilt to draw up, and the repeating line won\'t be on top of the first.

On the flip side, the biggest problem with a quilt that is too loose will be tucks on the back, especially with ruler work where you might run a quilting line into an area where you\'ve already quilted. If the backing has "slop" in it, then the pressure from the ruler makes that backing fold over and create a pleat.

Your "grabbing the finger" scenario is a good place to start. If you can grab the whole finger, it\'s too loose :)--but if you\'re just grabbing up to the first knuckle, you\'re pretty close.

Relax and have fun. From what I\'ve seen so far, you\'re doing great!

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Sue and Dawn - thanks so much for your responses!!! It really helps! I am copying the info and taping it my wall.

I know I will have to read it 100 times and it will finally sink in!! It\'s amazing how our insecurities can take over...but I\'m also so amazed with how nice the quilting makes the quilt tops look!!!

Thanks again!!

:D

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