Using clear thread -- what all do I need to know?

[Nancy R.]

Actually I didn't bother to get the masking tape out, but used an old and rarely mentioned technique - simply scoring the line on the fabric and this has worked very well on the white cotton that I am working on. I have then stitched this line with the clear thread and it shows up well enough for the purpose. The advantage of using the clear thread is that you don't split it when sewing over it, which will make the frogging easier. And I would rather frog than wash this one.

Masking tape is great for straight line designs , unfortunately I will not be doing straight lines - the design is going to me more like this

A contrasting colour is usually a good idea, but because it is a bright white if I were to use a different colour when I came to take the marking stitches out it would probably leave behind small fibres of the other colour and would never completely be removed and would shadow the fabric. (This can be a problem for those who make wedding dresses too).

All the ideas mentioned here are equally good, it just depends upon individual circumstances and preferences.

[Nancy R.]

Oh, it's going to be lovely!! Thanks for showing us the specifics I hope you'll be back with pictures of the finished product when you're done!

[Margo C.]

Great tips everyone!! Keith your explanations are spot on!!

[Keith D.]

Thanks, Margo! =) Rosemary, your quilting design looks wonderful!

[Keith D.]

I've just put up a couple of posts in the Laura Nownes Classrooms thread about how the quilting on Caught Red Handed is coming along, for those of you who are interested.... Heather, Keith?
http://forum/the-classrooms-discussi...6-laura-nownes at the bottom of the page.

[Keith D.]

Rosemary - it looks really good! I had that kind of relaxing appreciation that took me back to a very good place. It's pretty, and comforting. And it looks very well done. I love your little variable stars! Good pictures, too - capturing the quilting. Thanks for sharing, Rosemary!
Please do let me see more of the border as the design gets filled in.

[Keith D.]

Just coming back to say I'm starting this today finally after being back from the US for a couple of weeks (we had our dog sitter's dog here, had to take our turn, and he is NOT a quilt-around kind of dog, LOL!) and realized --- I forgot to buy bobbin thread!!!! So, going through my thread, and what I have that matches the backing fabric is King Tut. Going to do a test run and see what happens......hopefully no issues.

I also brought back a little oiler thing for my machine so will clean/oil first and hopefully be good to go! Have to locate the manual so I know where/how to do the oiling business.....but better to start with a clean machine I think.

If the King Tut in the bobbin won't work with the YLI invisible (my LQS didn't have Superior, only the YLI).....what color thread would you use on a sky blue background??? I have white, gray, or a sand/tan color, which I think are So Fine and something else smoother. Cannot believe I forgot to get a bobbin thread for this project.

[Nancy R.]

To choose a thread, I unwind a couple of feet of each thread and lay it against the fabric. Then choose the thread that looks the best to me. It all depends on the shade and weight of each thread. If you have extra fabric and are super particular, you could do a little stitch test, which would give you the exact look of each thread, but I usually find that just laying the thread is enough for me.

Nancy

[Lois B.]

Not that I have tons of experience machine quilting but I am inclined to think you might run into difficulty with King Tut in the bobbin because of the weight difference. I'll be interested in reading what more experienced quilters have to say about this.

[Lois B.]

I tend to go with the same thread top and bottom. I used King Tut for my Sottts quilt 'Batty Besottted & Bewildered', and don't recall any problems with it in the bobbin.

[Rita C.]

Heather you could always use the YLI invisible thread in the bobbin too. Just don't wind the bobbin all the way - about half way is good. I have used it in the bobbin as well as the top and it was fine. You will need to reduce your tension to about 1.2 to 2 but a little tester will sort that out. Alternatively, I would go with a light grey in So Fine. Just my tuppence worth.

[Rita C.]

Heather you could always use the YLI invisible thread in the bobbin too. Just don't wind the bobbin all the way - about half way is good. I have used it in the bobbin as well as the top and it was fine. You will need to reduce your tension to about 1.2 to 2 but a little tester will sort that out. Alternatively, I would go with a light grey in So Fine. Just my tuppence worth.

aha, but I don't think I bought enough of the YLI to use it both places. Or, maybe I did, but I do not want to risk it.

I did a test piece with the King Tut in the bobbin and it was fine, so I'm going to do that. It's all ready to go now -- pieced together the batting (from 3 kinds of batting scraps), pieced together the backing (got it together with the seam on the outside and didn't notice until the end. I'm leaving it, as it's all basted together now......luckily there is applique going over the middle so mostly this errant seam won't actually show....), and it's all basted together now with proper basting pins I picked up in the US as well.

Tomorrow will be the quilting, or the start of it. 'tis enough work for today already, and time to start putting away/getting ready for dinner prep and such. Thanks all!

[Rita C.]

Well, the family wound up watching a movie I wasn't too interested in last night, so I started quilting. The YLI invisible thread in the top + King Tut in the bobbin is working beautifully! I was even able to leave the tension around 3 and it is just fine; I am doing the short length first, doing straight line quilting at the seams for now, and got done from the middle up to the outside edge in one direction. Not bad for just during the duration of one movie, and with interruptions!

Today I'll finish this set and start the long direction; I think on this one I'm going to have to go between each seam, too, because of using a mish-mash of batting scraps....but it's going quickly and the threads are playing nicely together, so that's good!

Will post a pic when I get done later this week.