What size stiches
 

I am work on my youngest grand son lap quilt and put it togeather wrong I am now ripping all of it out what size stich do you use I am using a brother regular sewin machine .

1.5..... if taking piecs apart (not quilted)... go to the dollar store and find a package (there will be 3 or 4 to a pkg) of Noxema eyebrow wands... they are fine, small, protected edge razor blades... you open the seam vertically and when you can see the threads, you lightly touch the wand (it has a handle and is about 3 inches long)... to the threads and they will melt in front of the wand... mine came from Family Dollar but Dollar General had them too... masking tape will pick up the thread shreds with a minimum of fuss ...

Thanks!!!
What a neat idea! You should send this in to Fons & Porter for their tips. I am going to check out Dollar General in the morning.

i have no idea where, but i saw it somewhere.... could have been F&P..... I don't quilt the way they do, but I love their tips... my fave of theirs is the fat pipe cleaners to hold buttons... you just sort the buttons, stick a fat pipecleaner thru one hole in each button... push them together and done! it works so well... I can cut them if i want short lengths and you can get one button in the middle of the pipecleaner without taking anything off... this has been saving me time and hassle for 3 or 4 years now..

This is a great tip, I also use the inexpensive emery boards (finger-nail-file) to pull loose threads.

I usually sew with my machine set at 1.8 - 2. If I'm doing paper piecing I go smaller; if I'm sewing multiple layers I go higher. For just plain cotton quilting seams I'm set for 1.8.

Hope this helps!

Lynda

why are you taking it all apart? and what size stitch did you use?
is there a problem with the stitching?
just wondering- maybe we could save you some work...

I use 1.8 to 2, unless paper piecing then I uswe 1.5

Wal-Mart also has them at a low cost also.

Thank you for all the usefull ideas The reason I am taking all if all apart is there are three circles and a square that I was going around .When I had finished my outline of them and took it off my machine I notice my back had moved and I had a very big fold had to take all stiches out any help would be apperciated

So your quilt is already sandwiched?? Maybe you should REALLY take it apart and resandwich. Lay the backing on a hard flat surface, smooth and tape the corners. Then take a tape mearsure and measure the diagonal lenghts. They should be the same. If they are not, stretch and re-tape the backing. Then put on the batting and then put on the top and measure the diagonals again and adjust. THEN PIN PIN PIN!! I try to pin every 4 inches. If you do that, as long as you are not using a super loft batting, you should not get any folds.

I am almost done taking out the stiches and after I sandwich it again I will try to put my (saftey pins) closer I use saftey pins because my sewing area is a corner in front of our bedroom so if I would drop a pin hubby would not step on it I like yuor idea of putting them every 4 inches

I generally use a 2.0 or 1.9. I have a new Bernina and the default straight stitch length is 2.4!!!!!!! Does anyone use such a big stitch for piecing???? And it's a 350PE (Patchwork Edition).

I use 2.7 for piecing (Bernina). The idea that you have to have a finer stitch is based on clothing construction (which is normally 12 stitches to the inch). Unless you are paper piecing, there is no need for such a tight stitch and it is WAY easier to remove the stitches when you make a mistake. My great-grandmother's quilt was handpieced and most of those stitches are maybe 4 to an inch. It held up for 60 years and it was the fabric that gave way. The stitches never did. So, go ahead and continue to have 2.0 or 1.9 settings, but realize that it is a preference. It certainly isn't necessary for the longevity of the quilt and it is certainly an effort to remove those stitches when you make a mistake.

In answer to the original poster, standard clothing setting is 12 stitches to the inch, so I'd go a bit looser than that, personally. Look in your manual and find out what the 'standard' setting is for straight stitch.

Do your seams start to unravel at the edges when you work with them?

No my seams are not unravel I finished taling out all the stiches tonight

My machine normal stitch is 2.5 and I use 2.0. I find it doesn't come apart on the ends as much and is not that much harder to rip. I use even smaller for paper piecing.