leaders and enders
 

Argh.....I did not understand about leaders and enders and never used them. I do now! This is the the first machine I have had that the thread quickly jammed without a leader. :thumbdown: After fighting with my machine (cheap one) for about an hour, I am now using a LEADER....:eek:

I use a leader with some fabrics, but don't understand the advantages of an ender. Someone please tell me. froggyintexas

I think your ender will become your leader when you return to sew something else. At least that's how I look at it. :-)

I use an ender so it becomes my leader for my next bit of sewing. I stop when my ender is under the needle with the needle down and snip off the but of work I was sewing then its ready there under the needle for the next bit of sewing it then becomes my leader. Not sure I've made any sense lol

Ha, ha. also make sure your needle isn't dull.

The only time I don't have a scrap of fabric in my Bernina is when I change thread color. I tired using the thread cutter on my friend's Janome 6600 and I just couldn't remember to do it before lifting the foot. This old dog will stay with my antique Bernina. :)

I used to use the same one and just cut it when I was done using it as a leader but then realized I could get two quilts done at once if I start sewing squares together for another quilt. It takes me longer to do one quilt but before I know it I have too quilts done.

exactly right. My machine does the same thing. Live and learn, huh!
peace

I love leaders and enders...make two quilts at once.

yes, leave the ender in the machine and it is your leader for the next session. I used to use a piece of scrap and used it forever. Now I have squares pre cut and get twice as much sewing done and save thread.

I still never got the point of them, have never used them even on my cheap machines

Besides the advantage of avoiding the beginning of the seam getting eaten (without a leader), I find using an ender keeps the last few stitches on my seam straighter. I also find that I use less thread with leaders/enders - I don't sew as much on the scrap as I cut when I end and then start a new seam.

I have never really understood or seen the point in leaders and enders before today. It has all just clicked for me. Thanks so much ladies! I am going to precut some fabric to keep by my machine and start that s3cond quilt while I sew! Clipping the thread and starting the next stitch is sooooo time consuming. I think this will save me time and frustration.

Check out www.quiltville.com. This has great information on Leaders and Enders.

Bonnie Hunter's (quiltville.com) theory on leaders and enders is that if you keep scraps near your sewing machine, you start with 2 pieces of scraps and sew the 1/4" seam (leader). Sew your project block, then finish (ender) with another scrap. You don't use the same scraps over and over. You keep going with this method so that over a period of time, you have blocks starting to form for another quilt.

I believe the main intent is to have actual blocks for a quilt ready to sew and make these your leaders and enders. Then as you work on one project, you are actually working on two with the leaders and enders method.

Bonnie makes scrap quilts and think this is how she came up with this idea. I keep scraps by my sewing machine and do this then square them up into possible blocks for scrap quilts.

Hope this makes sense.

I don't need leader/enders. I normally sew a bunch of whatevers - not one at a time, and I leave my last one in as a leader. I don't need it for my Juki, but I try to stay in the habit for my other machines that need it for.

I never sew without a leader/ender... no matter which machine I'm using. I keep 2" squares of WOW and 2" squares of print fabrics by my machine, and those are sewn together in 2-patch units as my leader-enders, and then tossed in a bin as I go along. When there are enough of those, they get added together to form blocks that make up scrappy double or tripple irish chain quilts, or other patterns like that. :)

This is how I look at it also. I send the ender under the needle and then trim off the last block or strip and I'm all set for the next set to sew.

Cheers, K

Bonnie mentioned in the lecture on Monday that she also uses leaders/enders for counting. So - say you are working on a project that has 100 blocks and you want to be able to quickly see how many of a unit you have finished. She would send a leader/ender set through after every 10 units for the current project. This allows her to build up the leader/ender blocks more quickly and to see at a glance how many sets of 10 she has completed for the other project.

I need to do a better job of keeping the precut squares nearby so that I don't keep sending the same dust bunny square through. On my list for tomorrow (tonight is lacrosse practice and getting my son packed for 2 camps).

Cheers, K

The leaders and enders are good for not having the machine snack on your fabric and try to eat it. The enders will become new leaders when you start your next piecing and my sewing machine dealer told me that it is a good idea to put the pressure foot down on a piece of fabric. If you go to a sewing machine dealer, I think you will almost always see the pressure foot resting on a piece of fabric.

I precut all I need for a quilt, table runner or what ever. I use these pieces for my leaders and enders. I have just finished with a large swap. I am finished with the blocks and at the same time I have finished almost all the blocks needed for another quit. Time well spent.
Phyllis
sunrise450

This is called chain stitching. The last seam finished is the leader. I only put an ender on when I'm finished with a section and it's time to go to the ironing board.

Leaders and enders
 

What keeps the thread from tangling in the leaders? Do you have to start a ways from the edge?

Jellybean, that is also my question.

In reference to the ENDER....I am happy to use one as having the piece of cloth sewn under the needle will hold the thread from disappearing when I start the next line of sewing. Thus no re-threading the eye of the needle. Bonnie Hunter uses one, it is from a stack of pre-cut 2 inch squares nest to her machine. The little squares can be used in another quilt. She will also use them to help her keep track of the number of chain sewn items....10 or 20 like items is enough for her.

In reference to the ENDER....I am happy to use one as having the piece of cloth sewn under the needle will hold the thread from disappearing when I start the next line of sewing. Thus no re-threading the eye of the needle. Bonnie Hunter uses one, it is from a stack of pre-cut 2 inch squares next to her machine. The little squares can be used in another quilt. She will also use them to help her keep track of the number of chain sewn items....10 or 20 like items is enough for her.

Very nice quilt Madan!

I've tried to understand the concept of making two quilts at once with leaders and enders. I think I would get really confused doing this. Plus, my Juki2010Q never eats the thread-- you don't even have to hold it when you start sewing-- so I really don't need to worry about leaders and enders.

If you are familiar with chain stitching, putting on an ender is just like adding another piece. You can keep sewing to the other end of that seam and then add another pair of pieces to make the next seam. No tangling.
I don't usually sew all the way across my ender. I just pull my last-sewn piece away a bit, start in the middle of a folded scrap and make three or four stitches. Then I pull the thread out an inch or so, put in the next pair and keep going.

Thank you, Sunny!

If you do the L&Es this way you are NOT creating another possible quilt....just using a scrap to control wasted thread...right? But if you do as BH does you are actually piecing something other than the project you r working on at the time.....sort of a prepared bonus...a twofer....

I don't "need" to do it, but I do, just to control scraps as I work on something else...I just have a small basket of precut squares near my SM and use as I need to.

Another reason I LOVE leaders and enders is that it REAlLY cuts down on the stray strings clinging to everything!!!!!!!

MADAN49 - this is a fabulous idea. I need to do this. I have four new boxes of scraps from my organizing of my sewing room.

I'm just in the process of doing exactly that.....two quits at once using leaders and enders. I'm pairing a dark 2" square with a light 2" square as my leader and ender while I am making another quilt. Then I will make a 16 patch with all my pairs, and make an Arkansas Crossroads quilt from there.

My Mom was the sewing machine police when I first started sewing. Her rule was the presser foot could not be down unless a piece of fabric was under it. When chain piecing became popular this "rule" became my leaders and enders.

She about had a cow when she purchased her first surger and was instructed to sew off of the fabric. LOL

And if you get bored with doing 2-patch square units, keep some triangles handy and do up a bunch of HSTs for a future project. There are a lot of scrappy units you can make ahead of time as leader/enders and not ever have them go to waste.