I am just about to starat quilting my very first customer quilt and the thread she chose was a very colorful varigated thread that looks beautiful with the fabrics in the quilt. the backing material is white and we are using a white bobbin thread. The back looks like a dot to dot......is that acceptable in the world of Long Arm Quilting? I think it looks cool, you don't see stitches on the back, just colorful dots.

best to ask her, I would not like it on my quilt, I wold rather have same thread top/bottom

Did she choose the white bobbin thread? I agree with kathy, I'm a fan of the same thread on top and bottom. Check with her. That way if she ends up hating it, it'll be her fault not yours :D :D We don't want to see a post about how a woman sent her quilt to a LA and the LA didn't tell her about the colored dots appearing on the back :D

IMHO the bottom thread used should have been variegated too. I wouldn't want that on the back of my quilt. I match the top and bottom threads to avoid tension issues like this.

if dot's are showing through it is a sign the tension was just a bit 'off' and customer may be very unhappy; better contact her right away and show her to see if it is acceptable or not. i have had people happy with colors showing on their back and others who would rather change threads.

I would first try tightening up the top tension (or loosening the bottom tension) a tick at a time until those pokies disappear.

I assumed it was because the bobbin thread is so thin a 50 wt. That is what I was told I was suppose to use in the bobbin. The Top thread is a 40 weight. The top stitches look beautiful. I'll play with the tension a bit. I have not started quilting on the quilt yet.

you will have the best luck if your top and bottom thread are the same weight.

I called customer and let her know that I think we should use the same thread top and bottom and she agreed. I have the border done and its looking good so far. The stitches are beautiful in that varigated thread.

Is this something that's particular to a long arm machine?

I've been wanting a longarm for a while now, but I always find something I don't like about them.

If long arm machines are this persnickety about thread, maybe I'd better stay with my old Singer.

It's hard work to haul a king size quilt through a domestic machine, but if I want to use perle cotton in the bobbin and size 100 silk in the top, I can do it. :) All my machines know that they'd dern well better sew what I give them to sew or they're out the door. :lol: