Help with thread used on back of quilt (an applique question)
 

I have a quilt that has a rather large (18") red/black applique in the middle. The rest of the quilt top is he back of the quilt is white. All quilting has been done with white thread.

Since the applique is large, I feel it needs to be quilted somewhat to make sure that it doesn't bunch up over time. It is a lap quilt and at some point will need to be washed.

I tried quilting it with red, but then the red shows on the back and looks terrible. When I try to quilt with red thread on top and white to the bottom, I can't get the thread tension adjusted to where the red doesn't pull to the back and the white showing on the front. :(

I've never seen the backs of all the beautiful wall hangings that are done using multiple appliques and having been quilted on the appliques. What do their backs look like? Do I worry about this or do I just make the front look good and not worry about the back? Otherwise, I have no clue as what to do. I really need advise here.

Thanks in advance.

Make the tension as balanced as you can. Sometimes the thread will sink into the middle more after washing. Otherwise, you could use a monofiliment thread. Every quilt is different. Usually people pick backing fabric based on what color thread they're going to use, but I've seen a lot from my applique guild where people match/coordinate to the front & don't worry about the back (using same color in top & bobbin). Others say that combining W&N with Hobbs wool (or wool blend) helps to bury the peaking threads. Some set the thread tension so that the front thread will peek on the back, but not the reverse.

It's your quilt & your artistic decision. If it were my quilt, I'd see how white thread looks doing that front & back. If I didn't like that, I'd go with red for both and not worry about the back.

I know that a lot of people use the same color top and bottom regardless of what the back is due to the tension issue. I think it is accepted practice but it is your quilt so what ever works for you is the way to go. I do think that once you wash it a lot of those pokies may disappear - also is anyone one else going to be looking at it as close as you are. We forget sometimes that we are nose to nose with our quilt while making it but once it is finished we aren't likely to be that close again.

For this particular application, I would use nylon monofilament (or polyester monofilament) in the top, the bottom, or both. The one I like and have used is YLI nylon monofilament:
http://www.amazon.com/YLI-Corporatio...dp/B00A2GSI3I/
There are some tricks to using it because it stretches:

(1) Lower your top tension. On my machine, I move it from 5 to 3.

(2) If you use it in the bobbin, be sure to wind the bobbin slowly to minimize stretching. For a plastic bobbin, fill only half full. For a metal bobbin, you can fill 3/4ths full. Because of the stretch, overfilling a bobbin can cause the bobbin to distort and give you lots of sewing problems.

(3) Use a thread net over the cone. It helps a lot to use a thread stand to feed the thread to your machine. (I really like Superior Threads' latest thread stand.)

If you do a search for "monofilament thread" on the QB, you should find other comments about it. Some people prefer polyester monofilament over nylon. Superior Threads makes a good polyester monofilament. In my experience, polyester monofilament is not quite as invisible as nylon monofilament; however, it is still very invisible.

Edit: Harriet Hargrave is the quilter who introduced nylon monofilament for machine quilting to the world. Her book on "Heirloom Machine Quilting" provides many tips for successfully using this thread.

As I read your problem, I thought why not sew with the red on top the white on back and color the dots of white with a permanent red pen. Would make the white invisible.
Sue

Thanks for the ideas on what to do. I think I'm going to do a combination of your suggestions. I'm going to go with red on top with white bottom. Whereever the white shows on the top I'm going to use the red permanent pen to color the pokies. Thanks for the ideas. This is a gift to my pastor and I wanted it to look nice. I think it will now thanks to all of you.

Just be sure you are using a Pigma Micron archival pen. I know that JAF online had the color ones. I have used these for years to color all my mistake which would then vanish.

I just ran into this but not with applique. My backing has a lot of white with tiny navy flowers, and the white quilting lines were nearly invisible. But I needed to do some stitching in navy and finally went with navy in the top and bobbin. It looks very nice on the back, like a secondary design. Of course, mistakes show up rather well that way, but the ones I can't easily fix will be part of its charm. I'd do that way before I put any ink on it.

Hugs,
Charlotte