PlanoDebbie

Yesterday was a productive day for me. I managed to get 3 quilts fully quilted. No problems. Stitches look great. No thread breaking. I was in heaven!

Then today happened. I need to quilt the t-shirt quilt I made. I've quilted several other t-shirt quilts on my longarm with no problems. I spent about 4 hours tonight trying different threads and a new needle to get set up for my t-shirt quilt. The stitches all lookd good on the top, but the under side of the quilt were awful. So glad that I haven't touched the quilt yet. Still doing practice stitces.

What size needle would you use for a t-sirt quilt?

ckcowl

depends on what size thread you are using- needle sizes are determined by the thread. the t-shirt quilts I have done I've used a fairly heavy thread- so a larger than normal needle. as for the 'underside' looking awful- that is a tension issue- need to adjust your top tension.

dunster

There are rounded/ball point needles available for the longarm. I don't know if those are necessary for T-shirt quilts. I think the type of interfacing used for the shirts may also mean that you need a stronger needle, less likely to flex. I haven't quilted any T-shirt quilts so can't be more helpful.

PlanoDebbie

I've quilted at least 8 - 10 t-shirt quilts on my long-arm, but I don't remember having so much trouble adjusting the tension to be acceptable. Since it's a commission quilt, I definitely don't want to see any pokies on the bottom or railroad tracks. I've used a size 18 needle in the past with 40 weight Omni thread. Recently I decided to order some Glide thread and the pre-filled bobbins. The Glide just seems like a much thinner thread. The 3 quilts I did the night before were regular cotton pieced quilts. Every stitch looked great. I've tried both #18 and #19 size needles. I've tried both sharps and ball points. If I loosen my top tension just a smidgeon too much, I get little loops about every inch or two on the bottom. If I tighten my top tension I get eyelashes on the top. I had used polyester batting on the 3 quilts the other night because I'm trying to clear out my closet and these were all charity quilts. I normally like to use the Warm and Natural cotton batting. I'm thinking I may pull everything off the longarm and try using polyester batting instead. I've only stitched on my scraps thus far. Just thought I'd check to see if anyone who has done lots of t-shirt quilts had a preference for which thread, needle size or batting seems to always work best for them.