Why Does Using a "Spider" Work?
 

Why does using a "spider" or a "leader" work? I understand why it helps to start the fabric as you are starting in the middle of the leader, but you don't butt the pieces exactly, there is a little space so again the machine is starting in an empty space, so why does this work for chain piecing?

When I don't use it, my first piece gets chewed up of course, but I don't get why the second piece doesn't.

Watson

When using a starting scrap, there are no loose threads to start the next piece, it's like chain piecing.

I use it just in case my machine decides to chew a corner, it chews something that I haven't measured. I think the gap between pieces doesn't get chewed because the thread is already tight to the piece just sewn. It can't push/pull the fabric down and chomp on it.

Also the one hole plate makes a big difference on your machine...whereas if you have the zig zag plate in it has more room for material to be push down..took me a while to realize that...

Hold the beginning threads and using a one hole plate causes that not to happen.

I don't know the answer to your question even though I am a committed chain piecer, but I had never heard the term spider used that way. Leaders and enders is what I'm familiar with. (Of course, it's only been a few years that I knew the term flimsy.) I had to read your post to see what that term yet.

This is the first time I've heard them referred to as spiders, but I love it! Little glob of fabric holding on by a thread :)

When I first started sewing with garment construction, the seam allowance was so wide getting sucked down into the hole wasn't an issue, I was taught to hold on to the threads when I started, besides that meant they were to the back which is where they should be.

Now I use "leaders" all the time, pretty much every time, even when I am sewing wide seams or large pieces. I always have little scraps left from cutting anyway.

I recently saw a hint somewhere about precision piecing, it really helps if you have the correct markings on your sewing machine or draw the lines, but when you are doing a lot of triangles reverse every other piece. Hard for me to describe, but instead of your chain looking like >>> you go ><>< so the seam and pieces nest in a straight line.

Watch the feed dogs. Even though there is space between the two pieces, it is moving the fabric along.

I just used a leader this morning for some strip piecing. Sometimes, I just start with the needle down in the fabric. It starts sewing fine.

One inch scrap pieces are next to machine. Easy to grab one and start stitching.

I first heard Marianne or Mary Fons use the term "spider." The scrap is the body of the spider, and all the loose threads are the legs.

It works on chain piecing because the previous piece is getting pulled along to the back, pulling the front (new) piece in.

As we trend toward the fancy machines, we are getting wider stitches and wider holes in our throat plates. My 14000 has a 9mm stitch width and the throat plate is the worst I have for starting small items. I use a piece of scrap paper that I leave by my machine when I am doing tiny sewing on the big machine. My Juki which is straight stitch only seldom has a problem, but the little pieces of paper are an easy clean solution if it does.

If you hold the loose thread tails tight behind the machine, it normally won't eat the start end of the first piece either. This was a common thing taught to new sewers 50 years ago when I learned to sew, and is still required with vintage machines that will pull the thread tails back into the bobbin area and cause a real mess at the start of every seam.

Once you have sewn one piece, the thread "tails" are now held tight and it won't happen again unless you leave a lot of slack between your pieces. with newer machines, you can sew quite a ways with no fabric and not have the thread break, with many vintage machines, if you went more than two stiches with no fabric, you'd break thread unless you went very slow and kept the thread snug behind the machine.

Every time I sew, I'm amazed that newer machines (which to me is like 20 years or newer) can sew so well without holding on to thread tails when starting. Both my Juki and Babylock can form a stitch with no bobbin thread tail at all.

I do not use a spider instead
I keep pieces of another quilt beside my machine and use them as the leader and ender when working on a project.
Thus after I have made about 3 quilts/other items I have all the blocks for a quilt top. I call it my FREE Quilt.

spider?good grief. i just got used to calling a scrap of fabric a leader or ender! sigh.

Thanks for this post. I always forget to chain piece. I have 20 pieces tomorrow that will need to be "snowballed". I will definitely chain piece. I'm also going to add a jar with 1" pieces next to my machine as a reminder to do so.

I always heard it called a 'security blanket'. ;-)