my solution to threads that hang loose
I saw Lisa Call's picture on her blog of threads 'hanging loose' on the surface of a quilt.
I also read all the comments to the post and tried out a couple of suggestions. I too hate having to hand thread all those dangling threads by hand AND I hate even more the thread nests that occur when I use the automatic cutter on my Janome.
Oddly enough I saw this advice on another website and found it works well on either machine, both at the beginning and the end of a run - no nests, no dangling threads. Yay!!
Here's what I do - at the beginning of a quilting run, I take a couple of stitches before locking in the row (with lock or back-stitch) then stitch away. At the end of the run, I again lock the stitch, then lift the presser foot and move the fabric away from the needle about 3 or 4 inches and I grab the loose top-thread with my left hand. I then move the quilt back under the needle to the same hole I stopped at. I lower the needle and bring up the bobbin thread, pulling it up from under the quilt to the top surface. I then clip both threads. The results are invisible and the stitch is secure at both ends
Here is a top and bottom pic of this process, done with my Pfaff that doesn't have a locking stitch - so what you see are back-stitches:
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2 comments:
Hi Kit,
That's an old (but very effective!) longarmer's trick. I don't know if it originated with longarmers, but I'm glad someone came up with it. It helps keep things nice and neat. I don't know if I'll come to regret it, but I just pull them up tight and snip them off. The ends go right into the middle of the quilt. Rethreading all of those by hand later can make you nuts!
You're right Dianna - nothing new under the sun - I found this tip on the Janome forum.
BTW I love your blogs. Oh to have 100 avocados fall from the sky into your garden during a rainstorm!
You do indeed live in paradise.
Kit
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