Tips On Machine Quilting

- August 26, 2017 - No Comments
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After many days of effort, you are now past sewing the quilt top and are now ready to start the process of quilting. It is essential that you do everything right as you do not want to undo all the effort of sewing the quilt top by messing up now. To ensure that all the time, money and effort that you have put into this project does not go waste, here are a few tips that can come handy when you are machine quilting.

Needle: The needle you use on your machine is very critical to the success of your project. So it is a great idea to start with a new needle, are you asking yourself why. The answer is that first of all an old needle will not last the entire workload of quilting, and it is also seen that as the needle gets old, it starts to miss stitched. So to prevent problems in the future, it is best to start out with a new needle. Also, ensure that the needle is down when you are facing the quilt through at the end of the line. When the needle’s position is down, you are ensuring that the stitch is straight and not crooked.

Walking foot is best: If possible use a walking foot instead of a usual one as that will help to pull the quilt in a straight line through the sewing machine. If you have a standard foot, worry not as you can reduce the dial pressure and that helps in smooth sliding of the quilt.

Use cotton threads: For quilting, it is best to use cotton quilting thread which is of high quality. The thread count should be between 45 to 50. For machine quilting, the weight of the thread does not matter when compared to when you are hand quilting, so you should use a 40 50 cotton thread to get smooth lines.

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Essential Machine Quilting Hacks

- December 11, 2016 - No Comments
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Quilting on a sewing machine is quite tricky for a beginner. If you have decided that you will use a device to sew your quilt, then you should ensure that you get your machine ready for the task at hand.

Start with a small quilt: If you have just started to sew and consider yourself a beginner, then it is beneficial to start with a little project. If you start big and mess up, then you will never have the confidence to do it again. Go with a maximum of 50 inches which is an optimal size for a beginner anything less will be too tiny for your liking. You should have enough fabric so that it rests well in your hand and you do not sew your fingers.

Use safety pins to pin down the fabric: When you are sewing the panels or even quilting, it is best to use safety pins. A flat, smooth surface is also needed, lay out the fabric and iron it so that it becomes stiff. All the puffiness that the fabric brings reduces once you iron it and your hands will feel more comfortable.

Reduce the feed dogs: The feed dogs are the parts below the plate where the fabric is fed to the needle. These should be fixed, if not you cannot expect to get straight lines. The feed dogs should be reduced to as less as possible so that they do not allow the fabric to move. To securely stitch the fabric, sew it more than once.

Opt for bold designs on fabric: Choose fabric which can cover up your mistakes. The back of the quilt should not be of a solid color as it does not hide all those curved thread lines in your first attempt. Look for fabric which does not show up the skipped stitch or any other mistake.