Does your machine bite?
 

Do y'all use a Bob (starter) when piecing? I'm so in the habit that I don't even know if my machine would eat the fabric or not. So does your machine bite? What do you call your starters?

leaders and enders

Only when it is hungry does it take a bite. I have to remember to use a Bob - good advice.

only if I put my finger the needle

Mine can bite if I'm not paying attention where I stopped it but I use leaders and enders for two other reasons: I will eventually get a quilt out of them and I also find that using them saves me lots of thread that I would otherwise pull, cut and throw away. I like watching my pile of leader and ender pieces growing while I'm sewing something else!

no my machine doesn't eat fabric so I don't use leaders

Nope, mine doesn't bite, so no need for leaders, enders.

I do not understand how you get a quilt from your leaders and enders. I have lots of little pieces. Just trim off 1/8" and keep sewing a line 1/4" from the edge until it is too small and it goes in the doggie bag with the rest of its pieces.

I use a scrap piece of fabric too. If I get cocky and try to start a seam without it, my machine always knocks me down a peg! :D It's pretty much a habit for me too

i call them leaders and enders, my machine doesn't usually bite

Instead of just sewing onto and off of a scrap for leaders/enders, you would actually be piecing scraps or patches together. Bonnie Hunter has a system for doing this Oof course!), but I have not tried it yet. And I don't trim my leader/ender pieces, just keep sewing over them till they're so full of thread they're too thick and toss them. I mostly use them to conserve thread, my newer machine only "bites" if it's in a bad mood!

My straight stitch plate hasn't eaten anything yet, but.....

I call that tiny piece of fabric a starter. I was taught to use one when I started quilting 3 years ago, but I rarely use one. My machine doesn't usually fuss.

Dina

that used to happen with my Singer but not so much with my Janome. I have a plate on that came with the machine and so far, so good. The singer had two plates. one for straight stitching and another for zig zag or more.

my machine usually behaves, so I don't use the leaders & enders idea, but want to, to help work on a scrap quilt for someday :)

Most of my machines don't 'bite', but I use a leader and ender to save thread.

We call leaders etc, pigs.
I have a selection of machines and don't use them I prefer to just hold ends as I start.

my Brother doesn't bite but I use starters and enders to save thread.

I am sewing two scrap blocks together as leaders/enders. The smallest scrap I keep in my "food chain" is 2" blocks. Anything smaller than that gets used as stuffing or is tossed. I always cut as many 2" squares from my scraps as possible. I keep them all mixed together in a drawer next to my sewing machine. I just grab two random pieces at a time to sew together. 2" blocks are the perfect size for leaders/enders and I really do save a lot of thread by using them. After they are sewn together and clipped off of my chained pieces I just throw them into a bin to be pressed and sewn together later. It will probably take forever and a day to get a quilt out of them, but little by little they are adding up quickly!

I posted pictures of my leader & ender sewing setup in "Pictures" under "Mission Organization" so maybe my description will make more sense!

I think using them helps me conserve a lot on thread!

I rarely start a new seam - I plan my piecing so that I have something ready to go under the presser foot at all times so my blocks are my leaders and enders. My 301 doesn't eat fabric, but I sew like this to cut down on thread tails. The quilt back is so much neater.

My machine bites sometimes. I use a leader.

I'm with Dolphyngyrl. No leaders and enders needed with my Brother machines. Also the thread cutting feature wastes very little thread. I don't have to pull a tail up before I start sewing.

Most of mine don't bite but I use leaders and enders too. One of these days they will make it into a quilt.

Use a "single stitch" sole plate - that prevents the biting....

What machines are "biting"? I have an Elna 62C, a Singer 99 treadle, a Bernina 1630 and a Singer 403 Special. None of them bite. I am sorta looking for an embroidery machine and would dearly like to miss the bites if possible.

Thanks for listening.

Pat

My elderly Bernina 930 (mechical) sews a perfect stitch from the start. Much newer Janome 6600, computerized, makes a thread mess every start so I start with a tag (fabric). I am wondering about those who are sewing quilt pieces together for their leaders, don't you get a thread mess at the beginning of those? On my Janome I would need a tag for the leader...........don't quit get how this works.

I am thinking of trying the leaders and enders - my Brother machine has the auto cut - so I, too, don't feel like I am wasting. Sometimes at the beginning of a seam I will start down about a 1/4 inch and back stitch before going on.

To Lynnefay - I think the idea is the last item you sewed, leave the "ender in your machine (cutting off the project you just sewed) and that "ender" now becomes your "leader" for the next project/sewing. Clear as mud? Anyone else - - -

Marysewfun

I do use leaders, particularly if I'm piecing triangles, as my machine has been known to chew/bite the fabric from time to time. I know if I changed my throat plate to the single hole plate it would happen less, however, I frequently switch from straight to zig-zag stitching, so having the larger throat saves needles and my patience.

Have you seen Bonnie Hunter's website (www.quiltville.com)? She makes quilts out of those and has a book called "Leaders and Enders."

My Janome 11K does not bite/chew....it goobles...even with a straight stitch plate..I forget to start with my leader until the mess is made than remember...I now keep a sticky note on machine to remind me....

Yes, I use starters and enders. They save me a lot of thread and if my machine decides to act goofy, it saves my fabric. I had never heard of them until I was in a class that was taught by my local quilting store owner. She asked were my "thread bunny" was. I just looked at her...duh? She said that she had dust bunnies under her bed, so she used a small piece of fabric at the beginning of sewing and end so that she wouldn't have to clean up by her sewing machine. So, yes, I use my thread bunny for sewing. Hugs

What's a leader and what's an Enders and how does a machine bite? I sewed my finger once and that bit but otherwise I'm confused!

raine

My Pfaff and my Brothers both bit...bite? I bought a single-hole plate for my Pfaff. It helped but then I forgot and tried to zig zag and Oh, boy! So to answer your question. I call them "starters" and "stoppers". They are a tremendous help to me. Great question.

I have heard the term leaders and enders, but I heard 'hugs' first and that is usually what I call it.

Alright, I'll bite... what is a Bob starter? I am always learning something new on the QB so I'll be anxious to hear what it is.

I think Bob is another name for starter/ender if I understood the previous post.

I called them all leaders, because as someone else said, the ender for the group you are stitching now becomes the leader for the next group you start stitching. But I am a secretary in the "real" (as opposed to quilting) world, so started using the terms headers and footers, which are word processing terms for the top and bottom margins of a page.