quilterj

I am doing machine quilting on my sewing machine. Unfortunately I don't have a long arm. Any way I was wondering when you have machine quilted has your thread ever got caught on the the foot and made a long loose stitch? What did you do to fix it?
When I finish I want to clip those and sew a new stitch or two in there? Is that what you do?

butterflywing

be very careful to start your new stitches in the hole of one of the old stitches. carefully and slowly fill in the missing stitches until you come to a hole in the old stitching. on both ends, where you fill in, the new stitching should overlap the old stitching. at this point. some people thread a needle with the machine thread in the eye and pull it through the batting before cutting off, some tie off and some overlap enough that the stitching won't undo. you'll have to try and see what works for you. good luck.

quilterj

Wow this is my first machine quilt that I haven't done just digagonial lines. Other than the loose stitches I now found about 5 small puckers one the back side. Now what should I do? I will post a picture of it tomorrow.

butterflywing

oho! in my opinion, that is the hardest part of quilting a rolled-up quilt. you need LOTS of basting or pinning. some members spray baste. i have never tried this method. someone else will have to advise you on that.

quilterj

yes i have sprayed it. But i guess i just didn't keep it spread flat.

Jamie

I do all my free hand quilting by machine ( I cant afford a long arm quilter)...should the threat catch or be looser then the rest, or what ever the case may be..I personaly cut that threat out, and stitch back over it. But you need to be very carefuly to get it directly over the old stiches so they overlap properly. Not 100% this is the proper way to do it, but it always works for me.

Jamie

as for the puckering...well I can tell you I ignore it! lol it's just part of having a hand made quilt :) If it is bad, I will un-do some stiches and try to straighten the puckers out, maybe stitch around the pucker so it looks like it is supose to be there lol...I have never been able to get my quilts during quilting to be completely flat ( meaning without a pucker or fold )
I'm sure there is a trick to it..maybe basting, or a lot of pins, but I personaly have never used either.

Maride

There are many reasons for the puckering in the back. Starting from the moment you make your sandwich. I tape my back to the floor and then layer the batting and top. I then press the whole sandwich and pin. Start pining in the center of the quilt and work your way out, pressing again if the quilt shifts. When you start to quilt, make sure you use a walking foot. Depending on your machine, it may be very expensive or reasonable. for example, for a Bernina is very expensive, but if your machine is a regular low shank, I found one ay Sears, in the sewing machine section, for under $20.00. If you don't use a walking foot the layers are not fed evenly and that's why they look folded in the back.

I am not sure how your thread get caught on the foot to make the long stitch. It sounds to me more like your machine is skipping stitches, which is due to your needle. Remember that your needle have to go across a much thicker layer and the needle needs to be very sharp. As a rule, I change my needle after every large quilt or after every two small quilts. No need to discard the needle, you can save it for piecing later, when you don't have that many thick layers. Also, if you are using a high loft batting, you may need to increase a little the pressure of the presser foot (if your machine has this function) to make sure the needle can go through all the layers every time. If the needle can not penetrate all the layer, it will not form the stitch and it will look like the stitch was skipped, like when you are sewing jersey.

I hope this helps,

Maria

littlehud

I would snip it and carefully fill it in. Sometimes I get puckers. If they are very noticeable I take out the quilting there and restitch it. Some I can just work out the pucker, but it has to be small. Like one stitch.