Go Back  Quiltingboard Forums > Main
Machine quilting - start and stop >

Machine quilting - start and stop

Machine quilting - start and stop

Old 04-15-2008, 01:51 PM
  #1  
Junior Member
Thread Starter
 
GMarie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Southern Minnesota
Posts: 119
Default

Are there any good tips out there for starting and stopping machine quilting? I have found some tips that say to stitch in place or a few tiny stitches... but I worry that just cutting the thread without knotting will leave room for it to unravel. Any suggestions?

Thanks!
GMarie is offline  
Old 04-16-2008, 03:43 AM
  #2  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: NW Ohio
Posts: 616
Default

i just took a free motion class, and we were taught to take the few stitches and then cut close. the other option is to leave a tail of thread and, with a needle, bring it back through between the layers.

the option i liked the best is to plan to have very few stops and starts. i'm trying to figure out how that can be on a double irish chain that i am planning (with focus panels in the design).

anxious to see what other more experienced members say!
fabricluvr is offline  
Old 04-16-2008, 04:43 AM
  #3  
Super Member
 
vicki reno's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 2,423
Default

I watched John Flynn at the quilt show in Hampton, Va in February. He would start and end out on the edge of the quilt that would most likely be in the seam allowance for the binding, not part of the actual quilt. He would seew several real small stitches in that area and then continue on with the quilting.
vicki reno is offline  
Old 04-16-2008, 07:02 AM
  #4  
Super Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Gulf Coast, FL
Posts: 1,420
Default

That's a great tip! I'll have to remember that one!
Elizabeth A. is offline  
Old 04-16-2008, 07:52 AM
  #5  
Junior Member
Thread Starter
 
GMarie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Southern Minnesota
Posts: 119
Default

Originally Posted by vicki reno
I watched John Flynn at the quilt show in Hampton, Va in February. He would start and end out on the edge of the quilt that would most likely be in the seam allowance for the binding, not part of the actual quilt. He would seew several real small stitches in that area and then continue on with the quilting.
I think this would work if you were doing a random pattern such as free motion stippling. I have trouble though with stencels that may not be continuous. I guess I'll keep doing what I'm doing - sew 5-6 tiny stitches, leave the tail thread and bury it in the batting.

Any suggestions on if I should knot the thread tail before burying it?
GMarie is offline  
Old 04-16-2008, 08:13 AM
  #6  
Super Member
 
DA Mayer's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Stacyville Iowa
Posts: 1,608
Default

My machine guide says to take 5-6 stitches at the beginning and just cut the thread tail close to the quilt.
DA Mayer is offline  
Old 04-16-2008, 09:09 AM
  #7  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: NW Ohio
Posts: 616
Default

Originally Posted by GMarie
Any suggestions on if I should knot the thread tail before burying it?
you know, i think she mentioned that the other night, but i just 'poo poo'd' it because i don't know why you'd pull a knot through and leave a hole (even though very tiny, i'm sure). that, plus the fact that i hate tying knots!
fabricluvr is offline  
Old 04-16-2008, 04:32 PM
  #8  
Junior Member
Thread Starter
 
GMarie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Southern Minnesota
Posts: 119
Default

And you don't have any trouble with the threads coming loose?
GMarie is offline  
Old 04-17-2008, 03:11 PM
  #9  
Super Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Greenville, SC
Posts: 1,768
Default

I usually just sew a few realy tight stitches then cut the thread. All my books basically say to do that. How ever I have not quilted a lot and also mostly go off the edge so it realy would not matter. But I have a runner I made that I use on my kitchen table and it gets used a lot. So I wash it a lot and no quilting has come out, undone or whatever. I just did the tiny stiches in the beginning and end and it is fine. :D
DonnaRae is offline  
Old 04-18-2008, 12:20 AM
  #10  
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 221
Default

Hello Gina. Sylvia here. If you have quite a modern machine you could have a way of sewing a few stitches in the same place, and then moving on to ordinary sewing. If you havn't got a modern machine then a few stitches oversewed at the beginning of your work will ensure that the thread is held and of course at the end of your sewing the back stitch will hold it very well. I have done this numerous times and have just snipped the ends and have never had to tie them. Hope this of help.
k9colliedog is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Carol in WI
Main
14
02-19-2017 12:53 PM
nanna-up-north
For Vintage & Antique Machine Enthusiasts
13
10-28-2013 12:53 PM
dahlshouse
Main
24
05-29-2013 08:17 AM
lisalisa
General Chit-Chat (non-quilting talk)
54
02-19-2011 11:01 AM
Quiltgranny
Main
17
04-25-2010 06:30 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


FREE Quilting Newsletter