what am i supposed to do with the thread tails?
03-28-2014, 03:55 AM
#21
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Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 1,141
I try to mimic what my friend's Gammill computerized machine does. I pull up the bobbin thread with a long tail and take 3-4 stitches in almost the same place, stitch a few inches, then stop to trim the threads. At the end of my stitching, i do the same, stitch a few stitches in a very tight space, then pull up the bobbin thread and clip very close. My kids have been dragging around their quilts for years, and nothing has come loose. My sister has washed the baby quilt I gave my nephew this summer several times and it still looks great!
03-28-2014, 04:58 AM
#22
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: St. Cloud, Minnesota
Posts: 1,653
I always knot and pop the knot into the batting, as others have described. For me, taking tiny stitches at the beginning of the quilting line doesn't look nearly so nice.
But-on a cautionary note- if you have a lot of knots to do, be careful about pulling the knots tight against your thumbnail. I stupidly did a few hundred like that and the top half of the thumbnail lifted up. (It looked strangely white, which is a telltale sign). I had to cut the nail back to the point where it was still attached, which was at a spot you never see normally, and it took months of monitoring it and clipping it back until it started to re-adhere.
I was being prepped for a surgery soon after, and the nurse asked me how I injured my nail (it was pretty disgusting, having so much of the thumb showing), and I said, "Quilting." She looked startled, so I helpfully added, "It's more dangerous than you think."
I never did explain.
hugs,
Charlotte
But-on a cautionary note- if you have a lot of knots to do, be careful about pulling the knots tight against your thumbnail. I stupidly did a few hundred like that and the top half of the thumbnail lifted up. (It looked strangely white, which is a telltale sign). I had to cut the nail back to the point where it was still attached, which was at a spot you never see normally, and it took months of monitoring it and clipping it back until it started to re-adhere.
I was being prepped for a surgery soon after, and the nurse asked me how I injured my nail (it was pretty disgusting, having so much of the thumb showing), and I said, "Quilting." She looked startled, so I helpfully added, "It's more dangerous than you think."
I never did explain.
hugs,
Charlotte
03-28-2014, 06:25 AM
#23
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: PA
Posts: 2,879
Put hats what I do. I have found that backtacking builds up thread and may leave a little bump. Plus, if have ever stiched with a very very small stitch and had to rip it out - you know it's not going anywhere, so your tails are safe to cut off.
03-28-2014, 06:59 AM
#24
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Quilting, crocheting, sewing and crafting in my Sewing Room...Peaceful and wonderful !!
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I bury mine too, and ayep, it comes from my hand quilting roots.. Sometimes I do it as I go along, sometimes I save it for the end. I love "couchwork," especially in the winter when it's cold, when I can cover up with the quilt while working on it, so I'll frequently save the thread tail burying for while I'm watching TV
I tie the two ends together about a half or so inch from the quilt. I then use a big eyed needle (not self-threading) to sew them together into the batting at a spot in between the two ends and come back out about an inch away. I pop the knot I've made into the batting, so it all stays secure.
Whatever you want to do is what you should do. It's supposed to be fun. I just personally enjoy the process of finishing my ends the way I do it.
I tie the two ends together about a half or so inch from the quilt. I then use a big eyed needle (not self-threading) to sew them together into the batting at a spot in between the two ends and come back out about an inch away. I pop the knot I've made into the batting, so it all stays secure.
Whatever you want to do is what you should do. It's supposed to be fun. I just personally enjoy the process of finishing my ends the way I do it.
This is what I do as well .. Grandmother taught me that one ! :-)
03-28-2014, 08:38 AM
#25
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: SoCal
Posts: 702
Thanks Tartan for the link. http://www.theinboxjaunt.com/
I am going to try it too. I don't like the looks of back tacking so this will be fun to try.
I am going to try it too. I don't like the looks of back tacking so this will be fun to try.
03-28-2014, 08:40 AM
#26
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Lowell, MA
Posts: 14,083
I will take a few stitches in place and/or backtack at the beginning of quilting, then snip those threads. I had a Home Ec. teacher (do they even have Home Ec. now?), who would lecture us severely if we did not clip all our threads, so it was a habit I started and have kept. I find that if I'm working with someone who doesn't clip their threads, I go a little postal mentally; and I know I drive them crazy, but it's so much easier to clip as you go along.
03-28-2014, 08:47 AM
#27
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Ridgefield WA
Posts: 7,765
And be sure to read the "How to Thread a Traditional Needle" instructions at the bottom!! The gal has a sense of humor!
if they are secure you can simply cut them. Some people bury them using a self threading needle like the spiral eye needle.
http://www.spiraleyeneedles.com/
http://www.spiraleyeneedles.com/
03-28-2014, 10:06 AM
#29
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: SW Florida
Posts: 739
I've done both burying and taking small stitches.
I used a monofilament once on top and the tiny stitches at all my starts and stops are coming out so maybe I won't do that again and I'll tie the monofilament. It was brand new thread from the LQS and I had a good bobbin thread in (not monofilament). Who knows...
I used a monofilament once on top and the tiny stitches at all my starts and stops are coming out so maybe I won't do that again and I'll tie the monofilament. It was brand new thread from the LQS and I had a good bobbin thread in (not monofilament). Who knows...
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