grannyju Posted August 3, 2008 Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 I am a relative newbie and have a question about SID. I've only had my Milli for a few months and have only done quilts for myself and my small quilting group so far. Ok, hear's the question. I use a small 1/4" thick ruler that my DH made for me and try to SID. But since seams are not always perfectly straight or the pressing is not perfect my stitches always look wobbly (crossing back and forth across the seam line). Do y'all try to hit exactly on the seam line? Or is it better to aim for maybe a 1/16 or 1/8" off? Julie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peglu Posted August 3, 2008 Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 Julie do you have a SID ruler with the tabs on it. I am also a newbie (got Millie a month ago) and found this to work very well for me. The little tabs line up on the seam and guide the foot. I found that it did a pretty good job of managing not so straight seams. I ordered a small one yesterday and am hoping it will help even more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grannyju Posted August 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 Yes, the ruler is about 6" long and has tabs on the ends. Julie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandraC Posted August 3, 2008 Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 Are you also using some kind of base under the quilt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted August 3, 2008 Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 I have problems with SID also. One thing I know...if the seams are wonky on the back, you are not going to be able to SID and you will wobble and there is no place to go, well, not a seam anyway. Pressing the top is key for SID. And hopefully they are pressing as the piece and not just at the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grannyju Posted August 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 I do have an extended base. I just don't know if I'm supposed to be quilting exactly between the 2 fabrics or if any of you stitch just to one side of that seam. Julie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnCavanaugh Posted August 3, 2008 Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 Hi Julie, Technically if you are trying to SID with a longarm, you should be on the "low" side of the seam, opposite of where the seam allowances are pressed. This can mean jumping back and forth as the seams switch sides due to pressing. Try holding your ruler on the side where the seams are NOT. That prevents the ruler from compressing the seam allowances, which pushes the top fabric over a little bit. When you lift the ruler, the fabric relaxes and it looks as if you aren't close enough. The goal would be to not see your SID thread at all--not an easy task on a longarm since we can't easily pull the fabric slightly apart as we quilt, like you can on a domestic machine. If you are having difficulty, consider switching to invisible thread for SID--it's very forgiving! Wind your bobbin with it as well to make it totally disappear. Wind the bobbin only half full, and loosen the top and bobbin tension considerably. Also, be sure to put something "grippy" on the underside of your ruler, such as sticky sandpaper. You don't want the ruler sliding around while you're trying to SID. Good luck, and keep practicing. I promise, it gets easier! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grannyju Posted August 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 Thank you, Dawn and everyone else. I will keep practicing because I have a long way to go. A lot of you are soooo talented. I can only dream. I do love this site! It's the reason I got a Milli (I lurked for months). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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