Do I Leave It As Is or Do More?
 

I am making a wall hanging out of this panel. So far I have quilted SID around the frames. I had wanted to do some FMQ inside each frame with monofilament thread. However my machine must not like it. The thread kept breaking, the bobbin was making grinding noises, and I broke three needles. So do I just add the binding or is there something else I could do?

I guess it mostly depends on what distance your batting will let you get away with. I think I would quilt the outline of one or two motifs in each frame (FMQ with top thread matching whatever color the motif is), just to emphasize the image and stabilize the frame.

Love the panel!

*goes off looking for a corkscrew*

Alison

What batting did you use and how large are the squares? It looks to me as if the quilting stitches are not sufficiently close together to hold the batting together when washing. This may not be as big a deal in a wallhanging. Seems to me you could use a dark blue thread to quilt around some of the shapes.

ditto to above ... why fight with monofilament, whenyou could use a coloured thread?


You're getting so many threads going here, that it's getting confusing.
As another thought ... have you proven that your machine will FMQ with regular thread?
It could be that it's not the monofilament to blame.

I would try to outline more shapes as others say.......the fabric is asking for it....at least to me it is.
And why not doing that with normal thread?

Are you using nylon or polyester invisible thread? I had a terrible time with nylon so I switched to polyester invisible thread and it sooo much easier to deal with. Or you could do a stippling or meadering quilt pattern with a varigated thread. I think that would be lovely. Good Luck!

since it's small, you should be able to put on your walking foot and slowly stitch around items in each section by turning the quilt bit by bit. I do that a lot when I can't do free motion quilting. have fun. it's cute!!

Like the panel and agree with the above recommendations, I think it needs more quilting.

I love that panel. I would suggest perhaps using your walking foot with a bigger stitch length than you would normally sew with and outline some of the objects - especially around the barrels, bottles, shelves, glasses and pictures on the wall.

I think you should pop a few corks on those bottles and look at it through a rose' colored glass or two. It is a nice piece, suggestions offered are worth looking into!

I thought about the outlining too! I guess the key is finding the correct color thread.

I have the same pattern as yours , look at picture section under place mats was going to use monifliment but decided to use regular thread instead as they will be in the wash. on the other hand my wall hanging in pictures under curved piecing I used the mono thread worked great for me , I used size 9 needle with regular thread in bobbin lowered my top tension to 1 . Yours will look great if you decide to outline eack item in the picture using coloured thread accordingly, good luck.

How about trying some of those "fancy" stitches we all have on our machines? Thinking outside the box on this one could be fun.

I definitely think it needs some more quilting. You may never have to wash it, but if you do the batting will probably shift unless there is more quilting to stabilize it. Nice panel, by the way!

I really like your panel and it does need more quilting. You could always do some hand quilting to go around the some of the items on the panel. Great job so far.
Pat

I have never had a problem with monifiliment thread when I used YLI with bobbin thread in the bobbin which is very fine and the thread must stand upright I also use a topstitch size 90/14 needle I have no interest in YLI but I do use it a lot for free motion work

*goes off looking for a corkscrew* <--- agrees !LOL

I think you will need more quilting. Its a large wallhanging with large blocks. The fabric may pull away from the batting after its hung for awhile. To wash this wallhanging it will probably need to be quilted every 5 inches to keep the batting in place.

As my avitar would suggest, I really like your quilt. I don't know anythinig about the clear thread, but I would quilt around a few of the itmes in the panes.
Phyllis

Yes, it needs more quilting. Having more quilting will take it from having a fabric panel on the wall to an art piece. If you are having problems with invisible thread, use a colored thread. I use to use invisible all the time, and when I look at those projects these days, they remind me of my awful clothes from the 70's! All the wood and others textures in this piece are a great place to practice free motion. And though it is more time consuming, I also match the bobbin to the top thread - especially in a wall hanging where the back doesn't show. If your tension is even a bit off, the bobbin thread will not stick out. Good luck!

I would also outline some of the shapes just to give it stabilty.

Be sure to use the polyester invisible thread and google tips for sewing with invisible thread. I use this thread a lot because I sew dance wear and there is a ton of tips out there for using this thread. You can use it to quilt also, so research this. I put it on a tall sewing stand and treat it like metallic thread when I use it. Works great and flows without getting tangled up. I really have learned to love this thread. Sew badges on with it also. I have even done backsmocking with it on an artistic project where other threads would have been too heavy and shown to the outside of the project. You might have to adjust your tension just a bit when quilting with it but you probably already figured that out. Let us know how this works out . Good luck.

I love the colors in that panel. Not a wine or any other drinker. No ideas on the quilting.

Morning!

If monofilament thread is what you really want and you also want to FMQ a pattern in the blocks instead of in specific areas of each block, how about sewing temporary lines around each block and then put your monofilament thread in the bobbin? Then FMQ with the underside of the quilt up. Remove the temporary sewing lines around each block when you are done with the FMQ

Also, correct me if I am wrong, but I think I remember that there are different thicknesses of monofilament thread.

Another few things I just thought of: make sure the bobbin case, etc. are really clean; oil anywhere oil is indicated for your machine; and the last thing I can think of before you give up on the monofilament idea is a larger needle with a larger eye (remember that the eyes of needles sometimes will shred the top thread so try a few needles before you throw up your hands in disgust); and lastly, play with your tension and try sewing a little slower.

In another life that I miss terribly, I volunteered in the sewing rooms of a number of Drum and Bugle Corps and my sewing machine and I sometimes traveled with the corps. We did costuming, sets and sets of flags, alterations, and creating uniforms for the players (the exceedingly tall horn player from the UK was a fingernail biter of a project - entire uniform from scratch; no pattern but the right material) but he was so nice that we bit our nails with smiles on our faces. Bottom line: there were many different machines of various ages as well as many different volunteers with varying sewing skills and the mix of people and machines allowed us to learn from each other.

All the best, Pat

As a hand quilter, it is screaming out to stitch around the motifs with black thread. I did that with a musical instruments panel. Hopefully, you can see the stitches along the bow and the strings but I did stitch around each instrument. Here is one of the squares in the panel.
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My first thought would be to outline stitch one, maybe two items that are most prominent. Use a thread that does not stand out too much

I like the idea of meandering with variegated thread...but I also have an urge to try my hand at FMQ so I could be biased.

I love the panel. I'd stitch around something that is in every panel, like the bottles and/or the glasses. It'll look great one the front and interesting on the back.

I would quilt around the bottles and glasses. A LOOOOOOONG time ago a friend of my grandma use to sew around items then add extra "stuffing" from the back to make items stand out. Not sure that is the direction you want to go but just a thought

Okay here is what I'm doing. I bought thread to match the blue, brown, pink and green. I am FMQ in each color. I'm taking a Craftsy class on machine quilting. When I was watching it the other Dat the instructor showed a quilt she had completed that had a variety of colors on it and quilted each color in the particular matching thread. So I thought I would try it! So far it's going well. It is time consuming though.

I'm with the others. I would use black thread tho, so it actually stands out in contrast to highlight the shapes I outlined.

Sounds like you're on your way to more quilting. Wall quilts need as much quilting as ones that are washed because as they hang, if quilted insufficiently, the batting, top and back start to sag and the quilt looks "old" quickly. I think you indicated that the machine is having no trouble with FMQ when using colored thread- so that covers that question. So it's on to the monofilament thread. It needs a looser tension than cotton or poly thread because its stiffer and a little sticky going through the machine. Due to it's size a 65-70 microtex needle is recommended. Also, older monofilament thread was definitely breaking more often. Get a new spool of poly that is a good brand: YLI, Superior etc. Monofilament has some benefits and in some situations, such as outlining motif or applique, it is the thread of choice.

I don't know whether I'll ever try the monofilament again, at least on my current machine that holds the thread in only a horizontal position. It was a brand new spool of Sulky, so a good brand. I know other people said putting it in a cup worked. I think it wasn't coming off the spool quickly enough. I had put the tension down to 2. I am taking a Craftsy FMQ with Leah Day and asked her about monofilament thread. She said she never uses it because she prefers to have designs show after all the work she put into them.

Just love it....think that the suggestions of outlining is good.....