Sugar Shack

Please forgive me if this has been discussed before, but I need some help. I have a Nolting Fun Quilter and a friend of mine wants to use it to quilt a Batik quilt (the material is on front and back of the quilt). She will be using Mettler 40 wt thread and I need to know what type of needle I need to use in my machine.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks#

Peckish

Since it's a fairly thick thread, you'll want a larger needle such as a size 18. Here is a reference chart that might help:

https://vw-superiorthreads.storage.g...ence-guide.pdf

I have a very experienced quilter friend who struggled with a batik quilt a couple of years ago. She just could not get the tension right, no matter what she did. She turned to the internet and other forums of experienced, professional quilters and found that quilting batiks was a struggle for quite a few quilters, and the one tip she hadn't tried yet was to lightly spray the quilt top with silicone spray for fabrics.

Not all batiks are the same, you may find your friend's batiks perfectly fine to quilt. I'd ask your friend to bring some scraps and do some test quilting off to the side of the quilt first. But if you do have tension issues, try the silicone spray. You can find it in good quilt shops and online.

Sugar Shack

Yes, I was reading that on one of the threads on here. We had a lady come from one of the local shops in our area and she said to use a stretch fabric needle on batiks, which kinda puzzled me. I will try to purchase some silicone spray and see if she will use it on her fabric, she is kinda picky about her quilting and quilt work.

Thank you for your answer...I was looking at the size 18 to use.

Peckish

Did she explain why to use the stretch needles? That puzzles me too. A stretch needle has more of a ball point, which I would think would make it harder to sew batiks, which are more tightly woven in the first place. Ka-punk, ka-punk, ka-punk..... I'd look for a topstitch needle.

About the silicone spray.... I'm not saying you HAVE to use it. I'm saying test the quilting out first, using the same fabrics and same batting. If you have tension issues that you can't resolve, THEN try the silicone spray. If your friend is nervous about using it, have her bring some scraps from her quilt and test the spray on them.

Sugar Shack

I'm trying to remember her explanation for using stretch needles, something about it would go thru the material better, I think. I'll have to ask my friend, she may remember better than my old self does these days.

PaperPrincess

I have also read about using ball points with batiks. I think the theory was because batik fabric is a denser weave so the ball point needle will ease the threads apart and the needle will go between them rather than a sharp needle which could potentially cut the threads. Personally, I've quilted with batik fabric on top and for the backing and just used a regular needle. I just change the size of the needle to match the thread chosen. Every machine is different! I would do as Peckish suggested & ask your friend to bring fabric scraps from the top and backing and just do some research on your own when she gets there.

Barb in Louisiana

I use a 14 sharp on my older Nolting and have had no problems with batiks. However, I did read on the Ludlow quilt & sew website that when piecing batiks, if the needle starts skipping, drop down to a smaller needle, which will pierce the batiks easier. That is the very first time I have seen that suggestion. It does make sense though. Several years ago, my friend and I were sewing some batiks and couldn't get them to sew without skipping stitches. We tried bigger needles but never a smaller one. We never got that particular batik to sew. We ended up ripping it out and replacing the fabric. Next time, I will try the smaller needle.

notmorecraft

Use a ball point needle, it slides through the weave, rather than a sharp point which is piercing the weave. I’ve been test driving a long arm and this was advice from the dealer.