Re: Breaking thread

I'm struggling along quilting on Janome 6500, but the thread keeps breaking. t isn't FM quilting, just ordinary walking foot doing wavy lines like Pat suggested a few months ago. Going nice and steady - not trying to break the sound barrier!

Its Madiera Rayon variagated in both top and bottom. The thread comes off an ordinary small bobbin, not one of the thin ones or a big spool. I'm using, or have used, quilting and two sizes of Jeans needle - the quilting one and the piecing one. Tension about 4. It really is driving me mad.

I have cleaned everything in sight, and out of sight, twice!

The backing is a pretty Polycotton and the front and batting cotton. Could it be the polycotton that is causing the problem? When I piece everything is fine, but wonder if it could be the density of the polycotton.

All advice appreciated! At the moment I am facing a large number of sewing in ends.

Reply to
Sally Swindells
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Let's do some brilliant detective work, Sally. Put together a practice sandwich. Swap your bobbin and top threads to something else. If all goes well with different thread out on the practice piece, we might decide that your Madeira is faulty. If that doesn't show to be the problem, we'll have lots more suggestions, that's just an easy place to start. Please don't go mad; we really like you. Polly

Reply to
Polly Esther

heck, just rethreading the top, from the beginning, might help. if'n it gets into the wrong side of the tension disc the darn things often throw a wobbly. just off the top of my addled brain, jeanne

Reply to
nzlstar*

Reply to
Nancy

I have been led to believe that Rayon thread is for embroidery and not for piecing or quilting as it just isn't strong enough. I was going to buy rayon to hem a Prom dress and the store owner told me not to use it.

Betty in WI

Reply to
Betty in Wi

Rayon thread will shred and break.........it even does it in embroidery use. You can probably get the same color in polyester, and it is much much stronger.

It's not you...........it's the thread.

Reply to
Pat in Arkansas

You need an embroidery needle to use the rayon thread. Debra in VA See my quilts at

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Reply to
Debra

Weird! I have used rayon thread with no problems when machine quilting with my Janome 5700. Of course, it's cheap rayon, LOL. Seriously, I haven't had any problems, beyond having to tinker quite a bit at first to get the right tension setting. I fear now that you have all informed me that rayon can't stand up to machine quilting I will no longer be able to use it. I really like using rayon for free hand machine embroidery. It's way easier to work with than the "shiney" metalic threads and still gives a nice sort of glowy look.

Sunny hoping I've not been jinxed

Reply to
Sunny

It depends on the quilt whether you can safely use rayon threads. I used it

*exclusively* in my horse-pital quilt- and LOTS of it. I used the quilt heavily while in the hospital, have used it at home since then and have washed it 4 or 5 times already. The thread is holding up very well and looks lovely.

Now, I knew a lady who made a gorgeous handquilted quilt for her son. The grandkids used it for a sofa quilt and loved to put their feet in the middle of the quilt and push! They liked to hear the sounds of the threads popping and breaking... the little devils! She switched to machine quilting after seeing what they had done to her hand quilting. I wonder if even that was safe from those little stinkers??? They would have received a stern talking to if they had been my granddarlings!

So...... the answer is..... it depends! (I know a lot of 'famous name' quilters tell you to use it, too. And it *is* lovely to use in the quilting and in FM embroidery, I absolutely agree with you there!)

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

Reply to
Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

Thanks for all the advice. In the end I did a heap of frog-stitches! They were very easy as the lengths of thread were short and the tension a bit loose!

I am about to try again with cotton. I hope this will work as I am sick of rethreading the machine. I was sure that it wasn't misthreaded as I'd redone it so many times!

I had visions of the little Norwegian girl its destined for inviting her friends around in a few years time and spending many a happy hour in front of the log fire pinging the rayon threads in the quiltingg, so thought out it must come. I will remember to try an embroidery needle newt time; in fact I'll write it on the bobbin.

Now I have to move Kiwi off the sewing chair and get on with it, surrounded by 5 pairs of eyes. Kiwi and Mia are enjoying the visit of their little brother and sister. Jemima and Gerry aren't too sure - a big adventure for them, but next time will be able to carry on where they left off. Very little spitting has taken place - none of it from mine. Hodge is a little worried that they might stay and he will have two more to wash! They leave in about 5 hours though.

Thanks again for the advice - noted and taken.

Reply to
Sally Swindells

This is a great link of Sharon Schamber free online quilting videos.

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Enjoy.

Hope

Reply to
Hope

Betty,in general that is true. But, there are exceptions. Personally, for the hem in a prom dress, which will probably only be worn once or twice, the rayon might be okay. But is usually more expensive than regular sewing thread, and the sheen might not be desirable for a less noticeable hem.

Rayon thread is a decorative thread, designed for that purpose. Rayon is a man made cellulosic fiber, originally made from cotton linters, the fibers stuck to the seed when cotton is ginned. (probably way more than you want to know. ) Now it is mostly made from stuff like farmed trees. One of the properties is that it is weaker wet than dry. (Cotton on the other hand is stronger when wet.) I would not sew anything that needs to be strong with rayon, but it can be beautiful in doing the quilting. But you need to be careful with it. If your thread is old, it may be brittle/too dry. It may need something like some "Sewer's Aid" or "Triflo" which are silicone type lubricants that help "revitalize" some threads. Always test these on a bundle of scrap thread to be sure it doesn't stain. If you have a machine that has a sensor in the tension (one that tells you if you don't have thread going through the tension disks) you can't use the lubricant directly on the thread though. It can muck up that sensor. In that case you can adhere a bit of felt just where the thread goes down to the needle, and put a bit of the lubricant on the felt so the thread picks it up there.

I have done a bit of quilting with rayon on top, but with cotton or poly in the bobbin. If you are doing a reversible you might want rayon in the bobbin too.

Sally, where exactly is the thread breaking?? At the needle? between the take up lever and the needle? That may help determine the problem. You might also loosen the tension a bit more, and skip the last thread guide. Also, check the hook for a burr. Also check both sides of your needle plate/throat plate for burrs. Rayon thread is so loosely twisted that a tiny burr can cause a lot of breakage. You could also try a topstitching needle to see if that helps any.

Pati, > I have been led to believe that Rayon thread is for embroidery and not for

Reply to
Pati Cook

I also like to use rayon for quilting. It is fine, just not as durable, especially during washing, as cotton.

Please c> Weird! I have used rayon thread with no problems when machine quilting

Reply to
Pati Cook

Have changed to cotton and almost completed the quilting without any breaks.

The rayon seemed to be breaking at the needle. When it went down it didn't sound right and about three stitches later there was no thread in the needle and the broken end a couple of inches above the needle. Very strange. The break wasn't clean - very fuzzy round it. I had tried loosening the tension some more, but the underneath thread was completely out of the fabric. I had also tried missing out the final guide.

I looked at the amount of loose ends to be sewn in and decided it was rediculous, and I did want the quilting to withstand possible hard use in the future.

When I use rayon again it will be for small projects with not a lot of surface to cover, and I will try either an embroidery or a topstitching needle and see what happens. Couldn't see any burrs, but I'll double check next time I clean.

Thanks everyone for your help. I'm much calmer and relaxed now!

Reply to
Sally Swindells

Sally, I would think that from what you have described the rayon thread was having a problem somewhere in the eye/bobbin area. It may have been the poly-cotton backing fabric, as you first suspected. Rayon thread is very sensitive to abrasion of any kind. I would check with your rayon thread and an all cotton sandwich just to see if that makes a difference. Sounds like the winning idea was a switch to cotton thread.

Glad you aren't as frustrated now.

Pati, in Phx

Sally Sw> Pati Cook wrote:

Reply to
Pati Cook

There are some polyester threads meant for machine embroidery that have similar "shine" to rayon, but are stronger. I have not tried them for machine quilting. Isacord, Sylko, Robison-Anton poly, Sulky Poly-Deco, Madiera Neon are a few of these.

Kay

Reply to
Kay Lancaster

I think maybe trilobar threads would be in this group as well. Kathy A. mentioned using them, I believe???

Leslie & The Furbabies >> I also like to use rayon for quilting. It is fine, just not as durable,

Reply to
Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

Yep - all happy now!!

Also happy that we escaped the torrential rain other parts of UK got yesterday - yet more floods. Living in the driest area was a good thing yesterday. We got some rain, but of the normal variety, and by late afternoon it was sunny - as it is now. Commisserations to anyone who wasn't as lucky, and to Annie who must have had an unpleasant walk yesterday.

We had promises of another scorching summer in April, since when it has been the wettest May and June on record, and July looks as though it will follow suit. I don't seem to have even taken my coffee outside to drink this year - unbelievable. The big sun umbrella is still in its winter storage wrapper.

Still, good quilting weather, though one day I will fulfull my promise to sit on my garden seat and sew. At the moment this is impossible because - (i) weather (ii) all the plants have grown and spread unchecked for 2.1/2 months so the seat is now covered in climbing plants and is unsitable on!

Reply to
Sally Swindells

I have got some of the Sulky, but in the wrong colour. I bought the Madiera Rayon because I had used it on my first quilt which had a cotton backing and using my old machine, and I liked the effect on a pale background. As it was a sampler quilt the quilting was in short runs, so if there was a problem I didn't find it.

I will have a little play with all the different speciality threads I have when I have time, and sort them in to types, too.

Reply to
Sally Swindells

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