Is there a tip for this problem I'm having?
#1
Is there a tip for this problem I'm having?
I've just started to quilt, Ive got about a four inch area done and I've realized that my variegated thread matches the fabric so well that I can't tell where I've quilted. I've tried increasing the light and it still doesn't help. What do you do in this situation?
#2
Power Poster
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Southern USA
Posts: 16,382
Nothing. When the quilt is quilted all over then this won't be a problem that it looks to be now. If you have to have the stitches stand out then I would suggest taking the quilting stitches out and use another thread.
#3
Depends. Do you want the quilting noticed? If not continue, if yes then take it out now. I find I quilt better when I can't see it as clear as possible (I'm very anal). Also since I'm new to LA'ing it hides my mistakes.
#4
Power Poster
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Michigan
Posts: 11,276
What I think you are saying is you can't figure out where you've quilted while your quilting. I have this same issue with white thread on white fabric. I kept increasing the light, but it didn't help. I finally decreased the light (I was quilting in a bright sunlit room and waited until the sun went down a bit) then situated the lamp so that light was shining across the quilt, not directly down on it. With the light going across the fabric, the texture of the quilting showed up, so I could figure out where I'd been & where I was going.
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Bushkill, Pa
Posts: 534
The only problem I can anticipate is having difficulty seeing where you ended and going back to start again after a break. I would suggest making some sort of marking when you finish for the day or stopping with some thread left in the needle. Other than that, keep quilting.
#7
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Nawth o' Boston
Posts: 1,879
I know what you mean because it happens to me. When I am doing a big meander sometimes the thread disappears. I have to stop and check, but then of course I can't maintain a curve so I get a little directional shift.
I have an Ott light and I turn it off because it is so shadow-free and I use a big halogen desk lamp on a long arm, like an architect's desk lamp. I pull it down close to the work and it casts a bit of shadow. I do that whenever I need to see something 'really good'.
I have an Ott light and I turn it off because it is so shadow-free and I use a big halogen desk lamp on a long arm, like an architect's desk lamp. I pull it down close to the work and it casts a bit of shadow. I do that whenever I need to see something 'really good'.
#9
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Florida
Posts: 5,962
I've had that happen. I too, put my light at an angle where it shone across the fabric not down on the fabric. I have also heard of quilting backwards with the un quilted part in the back of the machine and the quilted part in the front. But that was too different for me to try for long.
#10
Power Poster
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Southern USA
Posts: 16,382
Ha, I was wondering why increasing the light would make a difference in the quilting stitches showing up on the fabric after it was quilted. I read the post as she wanted the stitches to show off the quilting.
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