Quilt tips

add leaves, lots of leaves, just basic ones, they have a start/stop @ each end, dont forget some veins thru the middle. loving leaves in the south pacific, j.

"Taria" wote .. I am just doing some real basic loop d loop meandering on a quilt this afternoon. I was thinking about the tip (I think from Marcella) to go around curves like driving, slow down. I bet there are a lot of tips like that folks here can share. I could use some on stops and starts. They are always my downfall. TIA, Taria

A trick for pausing - if I must leave basic loop d loop to: let the dog out, let the dog in and assorted other duties - I find I'm not very smooth in returning on a 'mid loop'. You know what the middle petal of a fleur-de-lis looks like? It's sort of pointed. I can 'begin again' just fine at a point instead of attempting a smooth continuing of a loop - so I just do the old fleur-de-lis trick when Yogi's gotta go. The books recommend setting your stitch length down some and then to nearly nothing but we don't have time for that sort of production when nature calls. Polly

For starts and stops, Taria, I usually take one (no more) stitch in place, just to make sure I'm not going to be taking a stitch that veers wildly off course.

If I'm in a rush, I just pull up the bottom thread to the top and take

3 stitches in place to start, finish the same way (pull the bottom thread up in a loop, cut off both threads even with the surface.)

But the really best start and st>I am just doing some real basic loop d loop meandering on a quilt

Oops! I think I misunderstood what you meant by "stops and starts", Taria! I was thinking more along the lines of "pauses while I think about where to go next". For *real* stops and starts, I leave long thread tails and knot and bury them by hand.

And it's easy, too (says this beginner for whom very little is easy :-) It's an easy way to get a very good result. I wait until I have several tails dangling (and getting in my way) before I take a break to needle them into the batting and trim them.

But this is just for machine quilting, right? I read that this way of ending a line isn't secure enough for hand quilting, a knot with a short tail should be buried at the start, and the tail should be knotted and buried. That's been easy enough so far, but I imagine it will be tricky when I start hand quilting in the middle of a large quilt. I find it tricky to pull the knot through a layer or fabric to let it rest in the batting. On the edges, it's easy to needle into the batting from the edge.

ep

Pat on her Hill gave me a good tip for burying machine quilting ends.

"Here is a terrifically good method for burying thread tails on quilts which will save you hours.

Cut a length of strong thread (I always use polyester - helps use up the last ends of reels!) about 30" long. Double this. Then thread both the cut ends into a larger than usual needle - I use a darning needle. You will see that you have a nice long loop.

When you have brought all your tails through to the back, tie each pair in a small and neat knot. Place the pair of knotted tails within the long loop (often helps to hold them gently).Insert the needle from the exact end of the stitching of this pair, into the batting and through it for about an inch.Pull the needle up and through the backing.Snip off.

If you put a little tension on the tails as you pick them up to cut them off, when they are cut they will pop back inside the backing on their own. It is the most worthwhile time-saving trick I think I have ever learned, as you only have to thread a needle once!"

Now this is the only method I use - it is brilliant and the tails and knot disappear completely, as if by magic.

Thank you Pat! If I finish the quilting I am doing tonight before

1.00am, I will be using this method tomorrow! If I don't finish by 1.00 I will be too tired to do anything tomorrow.

Sally at the Seaside~~~~~~~~~~~~~uk

Edna Pearl wrote:

Gloriosky, that sounds great once you figure it out from the explanation. It would be simple and obvious in a video tutorial.

ep

I usually put th needle where the knotted ends come out at the back, and then out 1" away. Before I pull the thread through completely I pop the tails thro. the loop and then pull the lot through. A little extra tug at the end and - hey presto!

Sally at the Seaside~~~~~~~~~~~~~uk

Edna Pearl wrote:

It is simple even from the written word, as long as you have the needle and thread and some fabric in your hands while reading it. Honestly!

I have found over the years that an awful lot of people look at quilt instructions and read through them, completely in the abstract. Then they feel they 'cannot learn from a book'. Some of the most difficult instructions - at a read through - are those for fabric manipulation. I have read them for yours and *still can't always get it until I have a piece of fabric in my hands. At one stage I actually got my DH to read them out loud while I did what the instructions said. Then the light bulb comes on! . In message , Edna Pearl writes

Since hand quilting uses only 1 thread, you don't really want the end of that thread right where the stitching begins. Burying a knot and a tail in the batting allows it some flexibility so the stitches won't pull loose at the first strain.

For a neat small knot:

> But the really best start and stop is to leave a length of thread,

The knot I have always used for mending and embroidery seemed to work fine on my first quilting project. I just wind the thread around my right forefinger twice, roll it off my finger with my right thumb, and run my finger down the thread to tighten it. The only difference is that with quilting, I leave a longer tail than I would with sewing or embroidery -- about a half inch.

It seems to take fewer movements than wrapping the needle and makes what appears to be an indentically neat little knot. It pulls through fabric like muslin just fine -- the trick is not pulling it too hard, as it is with the traditional quilter's knot. I find it very easy because I've done it approximately fifty six gazillion times for forty-odd years (rough estimate :-) , but I've seen people struggle to learn it.

Is there something wrong with doing it this way? (Even if there is, it will doubtless be a while before I stop -- old habits and all that :-)

ep

For the machine thingy. I have a needle buried into a nice turned handle that is a joy to use in this way. They can often be bought at a bobbin lace maker stall. Then they have a posh name, but at this moment it's gone...

For hand quilting. Popping that ending knot (especially if it's a bit big, as they can get sometimes) can be a bit hard, and pulling too hard can break the thread or pull up all your beutifully tensioned stitches.

Solution. Unthread your thread and put the needle in the fabric (like a little stitch) just in front of the line of stitching, where the thread is coming out, at right angles. Just go through the top fabric. Now your knot will pop much easier.

Nel (Gadget Queen) (Still search> Since hand quilting uses only 1 thread, you don't really want the end

Thanks to all that responded with tips. I appreciate all of you. I can probably use all the tips!. Taria