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How long does it take you to clean up all the stray threads, clip the ones still attached, and generally get comfortable that there won't be any 'peek thrus' after it's quilted. I always dread this as there is so much. And I'm also thinking that if I used as much starch as Margo mentions, maybe there wouldn't be so much floating around.
Lynn :roll: -
You are right Lynn! I have very few threads as you can see from this photo of the back of part of my 2011 BOM.
The starch also makes it easy for me to "twirl" my intersections so that they press really flat. I will have instructions in my additional BOM tutorials showing how I do that.
If you click twice on the photo you will get a much closer view.
It's Not What You Gather, But What You Scatter
That Tells What Kind Of Life You Have Lived ! -
When I'm pinning the quilt I keep a tweezer and little scissors nearby to take care of threads sticking out from the seams. May in Jersey
It's Not What You Gather, But What You Scatter
That Tells What Kind Of Life You Have Lived !Comment
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Gee Margo you age certainly going to have to come on over to Australia and live with me and do all my sewing for me while i just sit and watch.....well i would make you coffee.....okay okay and a cake too :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Taree NSW - Australia
My motto in life: live by the three GGG’s - be Grateful, be Gracious, be Gorgeous to yourselfComment
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Well, I'm certainly not as organized as Margo. And I don't use starch yet because a quilt could sit around my house for 5 years waiting to be finished and I'm afraid of leaving starch in the fabric that long... So, I take my thread snippers and sit in front of some good old movies -Turner Classic Movies or some good musicals on DVD - and snip for about 2 days, depending on the quilt size. Two days for a Twin-ish. Maybe 3 for a Queen. Maybe I could crank out a lap size in a day. But I HATE snipping threads, so I drag it out as long as possible :wink: The right movies make the chore more fun. BUT, don't pick anything with, say, Paul Newman in it or you'll just watch Paul and maybe cut a hole in your quilt. No, I haven't done that yet. I know better
-Tina
Taree NSW - Australia
My motto in life: live by the three GGG’s - be Grateful, be Gracious, be Gorgeous to yourselfComment
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Where are all your threads coming from???
If you will use a "starty/stoppy" there should be nothing but tiny thread tails that shouldn't be an issue!
These are just little scraps of fabric that you start your stitching line on before you sew your seams, then sew off onto at the end of the seam. When you cut off the starty/stoppy you have no more excess thread than between pieces that are sewn assembly-line style. All the long bothersome threads are on the starty/stoppies!
You can see the "starty" behind the pieces that I'm sewing together. I find that Alex's 4-in-1 tool is fabulous for cutting the threads when I'm just doing single seams instead of chain piecing. The long thread tails that you can see on a previous seam is about the longest I ever have left on my piecing, and that is just because I was careless. I can't imagine spending 2 days trimming threads!
Try it! You'll like it!
It's Not What You Gather, But What You Scatter
That Tells What Kind Of Life You Have Lived !Comment
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As Margo points out the stopping and starting pieces, chain stitching, etc eliminate so many thread ends. They are a reason that I very often am stitching two projects at the same time. This way it also helps my pressing if I am working with set blocks so that the pieces stay together for pressing and subsequent stitchings. I don't starch and I only have an occasional stray thread or fabric lint that has to be dealt with.
It's Not What You Gather, But What You Scatter
That Tells What Kind Of Life You Have Lived !Comment
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Margo, do you wash the quilt top to get the starch out before you sandwich the quilt to quilt. Or do you go ahead and quilt your quilt and then wash your quilt? Paulan in ArkansasComment
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Many of my threads come from frayed edges, lots of handling (uh-oh) and seams that have a bias edge or are not cut perfectly on grain. which would explain the non-matching aspect if it gets stuck behind a lighter fabric and would show thruComment
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My "threads" that I'm snipping are rarely actual sewing threads. I ALWAYS use a starting and stopping piece of fabric (I just get a better stitch that way) and have very little thread tails. That's not a problem at all. But I do have lots of frayed edges. I work in my dining room. That means that stuff gets moved around a LOT. Kids move things. Cats move things. Dinner moves things. Juggling between projects moves things. My quilt tops see a lot of handling before they're ready to sandwich. I don't have the luxury of leaving a project out on a design wall until it's ready to sandwich and quilt - I seriously don't even have room for a design wall. So my quilts crawl on the floor with me and get pushed and pulled and straightened while I figure out layouts and measure for borders. And my mind doesn't work well on one project at a time - I need lots going on.
So I get frayed edges. I deal with it. -Tina
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Oh, and just to clarify - I don't spend an ENTIRE two days snipping thread :lol: . Just some time watching movies while the kids are in school or after they go to bed. My sense of time is off, I guess, because that's all the 'free time' I get in a day sometimes, so I count that as a 'day'. I could crank it out faster if I really wanted to. Just don't want to - don't know when I'll get a chance to sit down and watch a good movie uninterrupted again - ha!
-TinaComment
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Originally posted by Spitfire
Gotcha! It's probably nice to sit down and get to know the project again after a while! Don't you just love how the starty/stoppies prevent the machine from eating the first couple of stitches or making bird's nests when you start sewing!
It's Not What You Gather, But What You Scatter
That Tells What Kind Of Life You Have Lived !Comment
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Paulan, I don't wash my quilt until the binding is finished. Of course, mine are machine quilted, not hand quilted....that would be a consideration.Originally posted by paulan
When machine quilting on my domestic machine, I find that if I starch the backing fabric, the quilt actually slides around better on the machine. I mostly use my Handi-Quilter mid-arm machine now, and like the fact that the starched top and backing have much less distortion than softer fabrics.
If you will be hand quilting, I would recommend sewing a line of stay-stitching around the entire perimeter of the quilt top and gently soaking it in tepid water to remove the starch. It may take a couple of water changes to make the fabrics soft again. I have done it in the bathtub so that the fabric doesn't have any agitation, which would cause some fraying and loose threads to deal with.
It's Not What You Gather, But What You Scatter
That Tells What Kind Of Life You Have Lived !Comment
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My knowledge for today is from Margo's Post: I find that if I starch the backing fabric, the quilt actually slides around better on the machine. I shall try the starch on the backing of my next lap quilt.
I also realize everyone uses the price point/quality of fabric they are happy with for performance and economy. I was involved with a group that raved about the "quality for the price" fabric of a certain internet company (not quilting name brand manufactures) so I ordered a small stack of 10" squares to see both actual color and quality. I was most unhappy with the fraying that happened just handling these pieces to decide on colors and placements in various designs. As a result much as some of the colors were going to work for me I will not be getting any of the fabric and will be spending more to finish these "economy" quilts. If you find cleaning up quilts quality time I say go for it.
I give the following advice under advisement that I get accused of being too organized. A little hint that might help for those that don't have a design wall and work off the dining room table along with the kids, cats, meals, etc is to use "mini" design boards that fit into bins. I don't have cats or kids and work but I work off a limited sewing machine table. I will have to post separately after I get the right photos chosen to show you my system.
It's Not What You Gather, But What You Scatter
That Tells What Kind Of Life You Have Lived !Comment
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Agnes, you are going (or already are) a real asset to those of us still developing our particular 'style of management.' tee hee
And I agree with you. I have some of those fabrics, and they indeed, are not worth the saving in the long run. Am no longer tempted when I see one that "visually" looks like I must have it -- if once I 'see' it is inferior or loose weave, I'm no longer tempted. Has taken alot of time to get that firm in my resolve.
LynnComment
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