lhavelka

Hi everyone, I am new to quilting and I just sewed my first quilt together and then did stitch n ditch. I used invisible thread on the top and black thread on the bottom. I dont know if it is my machine or using invisible thread but it seems like the invisible thread wound up on the underside when I turned it over to cut the threads. There was both the black and the invisible threads to cut on the underside. Any suggestions?

Maride

Invisible thread is very tricky to use, even to the most experienced quilters. The tension has to be perfectly adjusted and even that doesn't assure you it will sew right. Is it too late to switch to regular thread? I avoid using it as much as I can.

lhavelka

Yep too late I have all the seams already sewed. I probably will never do that again. Do you have any suggestions as to what color thread you would use for the stitch in the ditch when you have used multiple colors in the quilt? Thanks so much for letting me know that.

Jim's Gem

I've used the "invisible" thread once, that's all it took. I really like to use variegated threads for my quilting. I pick something that has several of the colors from the quilt in it.

lhavelka

That sounds great. I will definitely try that on the next one. I am going to attempt to practice stippling. I have borders on the quilt. If the back of the quilt is black and white would I use black thread in the bobbin?

Jim's Gem

Depends on how much you want your quilting stitches to show. If the fabric is mostly black, black thread would blend in more, if mostly white, then white thread would blend in more. If you want your quilting stitches to show a little more, contrast the thread. If you want it to really show, stitch in another color entirely, such as red! It would really make a statement!
I have a black and white variegated thread that I have used a couple times in that instance.

lhavelka

Thanks for the wonderful advice!!! I am so afraid to ruin the quilt after all the hard work.

Jim's Gem

One thing that may help if you need to use the invisible thread again, sometimes it needs time to "relax" I have put it in a jar set off to the side of my sewing machine and then taped a safety pin on that side of the machine and thread the thread though the safety pin then thread normally. Sometimes the extra length gives it a little time to relax and sew a little better.

butterflywing

i used it on my FAL quilt because there were so many colors. it was on my quilting machine. i didn't get rat's nests, but i hated it. i used it top and bottom. i couldn't see what i was doing and i didn't like the feel after it was done. i'll never use it on that machine again. i haven't tried it on my janome or viking.

sunkistmi

I love using varigaited that picks up some of the colors in the quilt.