1st Quilt: Thread color advice
 

Hello all!

For some reason, I watched a few videos, read a few blogs, and decided I could make a quilt. ;) I blame all of you for making it look so easy. haha

So here I am weeks later, after cutting and re-cutting, sewing and re-sewing, finally ready to make the sandwich and start the quilting process and I just can't decide on a thread color. I've tried a few different colors (black, red, gray, white) on some scrap, but they all seem to take away from the print.

I am open to any and all suggestions. This quilt will be for my stepson who is a Walking Dead fanatic, so I was thinking that a geometric quilting design would be more masculine, but I'm open to changing that plan if someone has a better idea. I'm attaching a photo of one of the rows and the backing fabric I plan to use.

I look forward to hearing what you all suggest!

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I suggest a gray that blends with your background. With the blocks with the figures outline squares and some other bits depending on the size. Do you geometric lines in the background gray and black. I am sure your stepson will love it whatever you decide

I would use a fine grey thread. It would blend in with everything.

Gray would blend in more. Maybe try a thinner poly thread for quilting. The thinner the thread the less noticeable it is.

Thank you! I have a lot of machine embroidery thread that is a 50 weight. I'll give that a shot! I didn't even think to try a finer thread.

I would try the grey thread but I would suggest to try to outline around the figures and the letters.

Exactly what I was going to suggest. Will the quilt be hanging on the wall or actually used? None of mine are on the bed except in the quest room as a decorative addition to the room. Best wishes. He's going to love it!

Oh! I like that idea! I like that a lot!

I'm not sure, actually. I know it won't hang on the wall because all the wall space is taken up by Walking Dead posters :eek:, but at the same time I know it won't be getting a lot of wear and tear since he's not here full time. He's been here while I've been working on it, but hasn't seen it pieced together. I just hope he enjoys having it as much as I've enjoyed working on it. :)

Thank you! *Running off to learn how to stitch in the ditch*

Are you going to machine quilt it or hand quilt it?

Machine quilt...a row at a time. I think if I tried to hand quilt, it would take me years to finish. Wait...does anyone hand and machine quilt? Like on the same quilt? With some parts machine quilted and other parts hand quilted? Is that a thing?

When you quilt, start in the middle and work your way out. Otherwise you'll get unwanted puckering. How did you baste it--with pins? spray baste? thread basting? If with pins, be sure to place each one about a hand width apart, and remove them carefully, don't hit them. (Very bad for machines--more than a broken needle, a little piece can get down in the machine and damage delicate part. Worst of all, a pin could break and fly into your eye. Or close to it. Ask me how I know. Glad I was wearing glasses!)

Have you quilted anything before? If not,I'd suggest making a practice sandwich with maybe a big four-patch on top so you can practice SITD. For my first quilt, I did a big X through each block and a wavy line through the sashing .Have fun!

Welcome to the board from Oklahoma! Wonderful job so far....I vote for the gray color thread also.

Thank you for all the great advice! This is my very first time quilting anything after years of admiring quilts from afar. I spray basted my first row, but thinking I might use pins on the others. The spray made things pretty difficult to line up, and the fabric kept flopping over and sticking to itself, so I'll probably pin the next row and see if that's easier. Good tip on pin removal. I definitely don't want to lose an eye, especially while quilting. Don't want to get blood on my fabric. :p

Making a practice sandwich is a really good idea. I have a tendency to jump in way to fast, so it's probably a good idea to do a few practice runs.

If you go with a 50wt cotton thread, it will be less shiny & will blend right in with the background fabric. Embroidery threads are typically rayon or polyester & those have a sheen to them that draws more attention to itself. Gutermann is a nice inexpensive 100% cotton thread. If you really want a top-notch thread, Aurifil is sold online & in select quilt shops (though usually only in a few dozen colors, not the 260+ colors they sell through online retailers). I'd go with their 50wt. It's a 2-ply and if you get it to match the grey, it really will barely be noticeable even from a foot away.

Be prepared for it to look very different after quilting. Not bad....but different. I remember my first quilt. But he will LOVE it if he has posters all over the walls. Keep going.....you are almost done.

Funny you mention cotton. I went through my stash of embroidery thread and the grays I have are too dark. So I ordered some 50wt cotton. I found a pack of 4, all different shades of light to medium gray. And I was hoping that cotton would be okay.

One more thing...
Part of me is reluctant to suggest this, but as a beginning quilter, I think this might be a good time to break my general rule of quilting every 2". This isn't a quilt that is going to be washed every week, neither is it likely to become a family heirloom. It is a wonderful, loving gift to your nephew from you. So here's what I'd suggest for the quilting (make sure you either have a Dual Feed machine or else you'll need to install a Walking Foot to do the quilting). I'm not sure what kind of batting you used. Some battings need to be quilted every 2" or else they bunch up inside the quilt when washed. Other ones, like Warm & Natural can be quilted 10" apart or more without issue. Assuming you have a batting that can be quilted farther apart, here's what I'd recommend:

Note: The orange lines are so they show up in my illustration. I would quilt in that medium grey of your background fabric.
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Trying to quilt inside the TWD fabric gets a lot trickier unless you just quilt right over the print & don't worry about it (which isn't as horrible as it sounds). Over time, with many more hours of practice, you may decide to try your hand at Free Motion Quilting which would allow you to easily change direction within the rectangle to outline all the little shapes & even do decorative designs around them. You need to Stitch in the Ditch first for those designs anyways, so this will be a great practice piece for you to learn more about quilting. Just go slow (set your machine on the slowest setting if you have a speed dial). Stitch length should be 3mm or 9 stitches per inch is a good length for SID. Or you could make it a bit shorter (as short as 2.5mm or 10 stitches per inch). The walking foot, if you need one, is pretty clunky & it can be hard to tell if it is up or down. If you don't see your fabric moving when you press the speed pedal, odds are the walking foot (presser foot) is up. Same thing with nests of thread.

That said, it really isn't terribly difficult to learn to quilt with a walking foot (or dual feed machine) if you already know how to use your sewing machine for basic sewing. Making a practice piece (at least 12x12, preferably Fat Quarter size which is 18x22" or even a 1/2 yard) does help, though. It will allow you to get your machine settings just right for your quilting project. You usually need to lower the top tension to somewhere between 1-3, depending on your machine. You want the same thread in the top & bobbin. And make sure you use a fresh needle. Universal needles do not work great for quilting. I love Microtex needles. For a 50wt, 2 ply thread, a 70/10 Microtex (aka, Sharp) needle works well. For a 50wt, 3 ply thread, a 80/12 Microtex needle works nicely. You can also use a Top Stitch needle in size 80 or 90. Or a Quilting needle. Needles should last 8 hours of quilting time if undamaged.

BTW -- love your design!!! Your nephew is one lucky guy!

Congratulations on your first quilt. No matter how you quilt I'm sure it will be very much appreciated.

Wow! Thank you for all the tips, and for taking the time to draw out the lines!

For the batting, I got Heirloom 80/20. I got enough to make a queen, but the quilt will end up between a throw and a double size, so I have a lot of room for error. Plus, I wanted some excess to play with. The package says I can quilt between 1/4" and 3-1/2", so I may have to figure something out for some of the larger areas, but like you said, it is probably going to be minimally used, and rarely washed...so I may be able to get away with larger unquilted spaces. You think? Or I could quilt around each square in the print like someone else suggested.

Believe it or not, I've been sewing with a Singer 96-10, which was made in 1924, until recently. It's an amazing machine, a total workhorse as long as you keep it oiled, but very few options. For Christmas, I got a Brother LB6800 (which is supposed to be almost identical to the SE400) so now I have all these bells and whistles I'm still learning about. I do have a walking foot, but haven't used it yet. I read that it was pretty much required to keep the sandwich feeding through evenly. Your information on the stitch length is invaluable! That's one of those settings I've never had as an option digitally before...my old machine has a thumb screw that you use to loosen a knob that moves up and down and you just move it and tighten the thumb screw again. It is a simple machine...I think the manual is all of about 18 pages, total. My new machine came with 4 manuals totalling about 200 pages. :shock:

I just went and checked my needle stash and I do have a pack of Microtex, but only the 80/12, not the 70/10. I also have a ton of excess fabric, so maybe I'll use the weekend to make a 'mini' version...for practice. I got so ahead of myself, and I am so glad I decided to reach out for thread advice. The thing about doing something new is not knowing what you don't know. I am so grateful for all of you taking the time to help a newbie. I have really enjoyed making this so far and I'm sure if I had just barreled forward, it would have been very frustrating.

I agree with using a grey. BTW, I think you did a great job on your quilt!

I would not quilt it less than what the batting recommends. It only takes one time through the wash to bunch up the batting (might last more, but you know how I know). Hobb's is a fantastic batting. It's what I use for hand quilting because it provides great definition.

You'll need the foundation quilting that I drew out in any case. I'd start with that & see how you do. One option would be to go back in after the foundation work is done & use a smoke colored monofilament on top & the same grey cotton in your bobbin as before & quilt in between with the mono so you get enough quilting. That's probably what I'd recommend. You want to be sure to buy a POLYESTER mono as it is more flexible than nylon.

What a fun quilt! Are you quilting each row and then planning to join the rows? If you are, have you decided what method you will join them? Some of the Quilt-as-you-go methods require some hand stitching on the back.

General rule of thumb when selecting quilting thread -- lighter thread against a background shows up less than darker -- think about how white chalk on a black board is harder to see than black pen on a white board.

I read a lot about batting, and put my hands on different kinds at 2 different local stores before I actually bought. Hobbs had the best consistent reviews. Nice to have my choice validated by someone with experience with it.

I've never used monofilament thread. I just did a quick search and looks like either Sulky or Superior Threads are my choices for polyester. Do you know which would be the better choice? It looks like they are similar in price...a dollar difference for the same amount.

It HAS been fun!! I've always thought of quilting as more of a social activity. Probably because my grandmother and her sisters used to get together once a year and spend all the time quilting. Unfortunately I didn't pay attention...sure wish I had. But I've really enjoyed it so far!

I have watched a ton of youtube videos on different ways to QAYG. The easier methods looked like I'd have some bulk at the joined area because they just stitched through the whole sandwich and then pressed it down. And others, as you said, required some hand stitching. And yet another way that included sashing (which I didn't think I was ready for). I ended up settling on one that went row by row by a lady called Candy Glendening. She quilts one entire row, then pins her next row, top fabric face down on top of the row already quilted. Then she pins the backing, face up on the bottom. Then she sews a 1/4" seam to attach the next row without the batting inserted to the second row. Then she inserts the batting and butts it right up next to the first row and quilts it. She uses fusible batting though, so I hope that doesn't affect it too much, since I'm not.

Good to know! I had read someplace that it's also not a good idea to use straight black or straight white thread, but didn't really explain why. I struggled with that because I have so much black in my fabric choice. :eek:

Thank you! There is something extremely relaxing about cutting perfectly uniform pieces of fabric. Looking back, if I could change anything, I would have been more selective about where I made my cuts to maximize the 'comic book' effect. This time around, I was more focused on getting all my rectangles, squares, and strips exactly the same size.

I use YLI monofilament thread on most of my quilts. I'd rather have the fabric be the star of the quilt than a contrasting thread color. It also hides imperfect quilting stitches. I always use it for stitch in the ditch. Using a walking foot for straight lines is a lot easier than free motion quilting which takes many hours of practice to master.

Bree has given you some great advice. If you are a beginning quilter, keep your quilting simple so you don't become frustrated with the process. You mentioned having had to rip out and this is one place you don't really want to do that, especially with machine stitches! I like the suggestion of gray thread as it should work in well. I, too, have used monofilament on the top and have had good luck with that, even with wear and laundry. If you decide you need more stability inside the big squares, you might consider just a simple X or could maybe put a few ties there. Stitching around the designs will be tedious and might become more than you really want to try on a domestic machine. If you decide to outline though, consider some hand quilting to see if you like doing that. Yes, you can utilize several methods on the same quilt.

YES, yes, and yes. The Print it self has boxes within it. Not sure how big your squares are but you "COULD" follow some of those lines with quilting. I may be wrong (often am LOL) I believe poly batting does not have to be quilted so close together.

From one TWD fan, he will LOVE it!!!!!!!

When I made a shadow quilt for my daughter, I did a SITD on both rectangles. They were close enough together that I wasn't worried about it and it gave a nice look to the back. Hers had an off white background with dark grey shadows and a variety of grey/mauve/burgundy prints for the boxes. I used a dark grey thread and it all blended nicely. Using that idea, I would do that with this one using a black thread. If you start at a junction of the print and black, you can do one continous line around both rectangles. No matter what you decide, I'm sure any walking dead fan would absolutely love this quilt!

Honestly, I haven't worked with monofilament for quilting since my first quilted project (a tablerunner). I bought a cheapy nylon mono from JAF that I definitely wouldn't recommend because after 7 years or so, the stitches were brittle & snapped so I have to re-quilt much of the runner & it's sat in my "to do" pile for the last 2 years. There are a lot of quality nylon monos out there (including YLI & Aurifil) and they are great for many things -- I use the YLI for couching and hope to maybe give the Aurifil a try when I run out -- but poly is a bit less fussy to work with and it also holds up much better in the dryer (not sure how old he is, but teen/college-aged boys are rarely known for their laundering prowess -- they tend to put everything in the dyer on High so it's done quicker). The one downside of poly is that it is slightly shinier and therefore just slightly more visible, though that's not quite as noticeable with the smoke than with the clear mono. It's a trade-off either way. Sulky & Superior are both reputable brands.

I know many more people who use Superior mono both in my guild and on this Board. Note that Superior recommends a Size 60/8 needle with a top tension setting of no more than 2.

I think I'm going to order a few different options of the mono thread. YLI, Sulky, and Superior Threads. Maybe get a mix of clear and smoke. You can never have too much thread, right? I have boxes and boxes and boxes of thread, but never seem to have exactly what I need for any given project. Funny how that works.

I played with my walking foot last night and I'm really impressed with how well it worked! I still need to get my tension exactly right though. It looks like that will be my next challenge. My top tension is too tight, I think. But I didn't want to mess with it too much until the actual thread I will be using gets here.

They make the free motion sewing look so easy!! I am interested in free motion embroidery...I love how that looks. But it is going to take a lot of practice. The ladies online just glide through, making these beautiful stitches...my attempts looks like I'm writing blindfolded with my left hand (I'm right-handed). haha

I was thinking that hand quilting might be something fun to try. I haven't looked into it too much, just scanned through a couple of videos so far. I thought that would be a way to continue working on the quilt while watching a movie so I'm not sitting here thinking about quilting while I'm supposed to be paying attention to a plot line. :)

Thank you! I am learning so many techniques with this quilt, and am continually amazed at all the options available.

I admit I just had to look up what 'couching' is...I'm in LOVE with that technique! It's taking everything in me not to go do that right now! I know I'm not ready now, but expect that I will be back at some point to get advice on this. I crochet a lot, so I have several bins of different fibers that I'm already imagining as embellishments. Not for this quilt, but wow, this just changed the game!

He's 14, but I'll be washing it. I'm very territorial about my washer. ;) And I'm just going to get a variety of brands of the mono so I can see what works for me.

I like the idea of quilting along the edges of the boxes inside the print areas. Definitely don't try to quilt less than what the batting package calls for...that way lies disaster.

My only other thought is trying to come up with a quilting pattern in the sashing areas that might look like a chain link fence...diagonal cross hatching with a bit of a wiggle? Definitely do a test sandwich, or three. Try different threads, different patterns, anything you can think of. Then bind it (them), and wash and dry several times. Much will be learned!