Wednesday 23 October 2013

WIP Wednesday: Quilting Bloopers

I've been quilting the Winter's Lane quilt I mentioned a few weeks ago.  After the problems I had with the brown bag doll's quilt, Lorna suggested using a fresh needle or a bigger needle - I did both those things it definitely made a difference but I've still experienced some bloopers.  Can anyone suggest why I have the problems below, I'm guessing some of it is down to me, and some of it down to my machine/equipment.

1. Loop-da-loop - where did this loop come from?


2. Inconsistent stitch length - it's like my walking foot is encountering some resistance and decides to take baby steps, I moved my desk away from the wall so that the quit didn't bunch up behind the sewing machine but it still happened.  I also think this happens when I go too fast, so I tried hard to slow down and sew at an even pace. It mostly seemed to happen I was quilting the middle of the quilt, and so there was a lot of bulk sitting in the arm of the machine.

In the photo below, the horizontal line is the correct stitch length, and the vertical line (obviously) is the problem baby steps.


An update on sewing with Ruby, she loves using my measuring tape, so we made her one of her own out of a plain selvedge on which I wrote 1 - 20 in a range of colours, she loves using it.


Ruby also has asked to make another doll's quilt with the brown bag, awesome!  I wasn't ready at the moment she asked but I've been putting specific scraps into a brown bag so that we can sew another doll's quilt together soon.

I hope you're all having a great week!

Linking up with:
WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced
I Quilt at Pretty Bobbins

PS - if you'd like to see the finished quilt it is now up on the blog here!  Also, I'm having a giveaway to celebrate finishing the quilt, you can find the giveaway here.

12 comments:

  1. I have had number one happen to me every once in a while too. Darn that loop. I'd appreciate an explanation.
    Regarding number two, could your quilt also be hanging off the front of your desk? It looks like it is encountering drag that way perhaps.

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    Replies
    1. I'm taking the quilt into my local quilt store tomorrow, so I may have something helpful to report back after that!

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  2. How long since your machine had a service? And what are you driving?

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    1. I think I had it serviced last year. Possibly the year before that. It's a basic brother machine - BM2600, I'm getting a new machine in the next couple of months so I doubt I'll bother getting this one serviced for a while, I expect it needs it - even just a good clean out would probably help.

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  3. Wish I had advice or a suggestion to help but my walking foot and I aren't friends! I get the uneven stitch length with mine too and use my applique foot for a better result.

    Hope you get it sorted so we can see more of that gorgeous Winter's Lane quilt!

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  4. I get inconsistent stitch length too with my walking foot but usually at the start.

    Cheers,
    Jenn from Mellycoddle :).

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  5. When I get the stitch length problem with my walking foot it's usually when the weight of the quilt is too much and there is some drag that keeps it from feeding through evenly. now I always quilt a bit more slowly and make sure the quilt is well supported and free to feed through easily.

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  6. I was reading through the comments...and I was thinking it's not you...it's the machine...then I saw what machine you had an my suspicions were confirmed. It's also possible your walking foot is shot. I had a brother a while back and the first walking foot didn't last long at all...Do you know what machine you're looking into for the future?

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    Replies
    1. My shortlisted machines are Janome Memorycraft 8900 QCP and Pfaff - both of which are a significant step up from my current machine. I wonder if my walking foot damaged somehow - it certainly started making strange noises and I removed it and put it back on a couple of times while quilting.

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  7. I just finished heavy line quilting with my walking foot. I would get smaller stitches with drag from the front. Once I removed the quilt from my lap the stitching was regular. Have you exchanged your needle or are you using a top stitching needle! I wonder if that would rid of the loop that occurs.

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  8. I wish I knew how to answer your questions. Hopefully someone will be able to help!

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  9. Was your quilt supported while you were quilting it? I find that the drag from the weight of the quilt can cause all sorts of problems. Poor quality fabric can also cause quilting nightmares (I'm particularly frustrated with a bee quilt for this reason). Thanks for linking up :)

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