penski

hello i am wondering if anyone has ever used a clear thread on there quilt to do a meandering stitch? if so have you ever had this problem? i put clear thread for the top and a dark blue cotton for the bobbin but i noticed that when i am sewing some of the blue seems to show thru on the top of where i stitched with the clear ??? does this make since to anyone i tried to adjust the tension it made it a bit better but still shows up a little could it be my needle? i didnt want to get my tension to loose because i want it to stay in for a long time so then i traded the clear thread for a thread that matched the top and now the top thread shows thru on the back of the quilt. could someone tell me what i am doing wrong. also any opinions on meandering with clear thread would help

thank you

Cookn

I've never used it and this is just a guess but you probably need to really loosen your tension. Clear poly is a plastic and as such will stretch, I would back off until I couldn't see blue at all. Like I said it's just a guess but sew it on a test piece and see how it works.

nativetexan

you might try variegated thread for meandering. looks great. invisible thread can be used but can be temperamental too.

BellaBoo

This is a common thing and from what I have read about it, it's something that just is so don't think it's something wrong. Maybe someone knows why and how to fix it.

MadQuilter

Yeah, sounds like your tension is off. Upper tension too tight. That is probably because the monofilament is not the same thickness as the bobbin thread and it has less give than regular thread. I have used it in the past but only on straight stitching (in the ditch).

I got a bad roll once that broke every few inches and decided that I might as well stand by my quilting (however mediocre) and use thread that screams - HEY I QUILTED this!!

Prism99

Even though I have a Bernina, which is supposed to be exceptionally good in terms of being able to adjust upper and lower tensions, I have found that it just doesn't work for me to use highly contrasting colors top and bottom when quilting, especially when free-motion quilting. One of the threads always makes some dots on the wrong side where it is pulled through a little.

It may have something to do with batting. It may be easier to use different colored top and bottom threads with polyester batting because it is thicker and fluffier, giving more leeway for a thread to be pulled slightly to top or bottom without showing. I prefer using fairly thin all-cotton or 80/20 battings.

Depending on the quilt, I have used invisible monofilament in the bobbin as well as on the top successfully. The secret to doing that is to be careful and not wind the bobbin too tightly. I wind mine slowly. Also, if your machine uses plastic bobbins, wind them only half full to avoid distorting the plastic. (There is still a lot of thread on the bobbin!). With my metal Bernina bobbins, I am careful to stop winding before any thread threatens to exceed the width of the bobbin as that can cause problems too. Finally, I loosen the top tension (again, because monofilament stretches).

If my backing fabric is light-colored and the top doesn't contain dark fabrics, I will often use a neutral thread in the bobbin and monofilament on top.

The problem I have always had is with a light colored bobbin thread showing on dark-colored top fabric, or dark-colored bobbin thread showing on light-colored top fabrics. The slight variations when free-motion quilting seem to disturb even a perfectly balanced stitch once in awhile, at least on my machine.

crashnquilt

When using mono poly you should have your upper tension on the loose side because of stretching. This is such a thin thread you really don't want to stretch it.

If you use a polyester batting when using different color of threads, this will help with some of the "pokies" While mono poly is a soft thread, I don't think I would be doing a stipple stitching with it. Stippling beats down the area and has a tendancy to make the area stiff, then add the mono poly will only make it stiffer.

sewnsewer2

I think it is because of the weight of the thread being heavier than the clear.

penski

Thank you everyone that has replied to my question i knew i could count on you for a answer , a therory or a past mishap with my question i will check out the tension and if that doesnt work i will try going back to the cotton thread on top and bottom