Confessions: Variegated Thread and More Thread Stuff

Before we get into today's Confessions post, Sue just shot me an email about her China Shop quilt I just shared - if you will be in the Santa Clara, CA area this weekend for the Pacific International Quilt Fest - you will be able to see this quilt in person. Not able to attend, a little birdie also told me this quilt may make an appearance at Road to California in January :) And yes this quilt may be for her bed someday, part of why it wasn't crazy dense quilted. It needed to fluff a bit and be soft enough to snuggle.

I cannot thank you all enough for the kind words and comments on the latest quilting posts. Sadly I still have a bunch of catching up to do and I'm only just now getting to share quilts I did this past Spring. One day I will catch up and be sharing what I'm working on as I'm working on it with a few exceptions here and there. I have to have a few secrets from time to time!

Oh, and a quick Maura update - Maura is now 7 months old, 29" tall (she grew another inch last month which keeps her at the 99.7% mark - she didn't get it from me, only a few more inches and she'll be half my height!), she's crawling everywhere, pulling herself up on everything and attempting to walk! Since she's so freaking tall she's fitting into 18 month pants, 12 month shirts and I'm afraid with how well she's been sleeping the last few days it's either her teeth finally about to pop through (cross your fingers) or she's having *another* growth spurt that I honestly am just not prepared for. She loves beets, so far the only food she doesn't like is avocado and obviously she eats like a champ. I love her to pieces although she wears me out most days and I know the fun is yet to come once she is truly mobile which will be here before we know it!

Okay, how about we actually get to the post you're all here for? I had a question last week from karenf asking about variegated thread and what I use on the bottom. Great question, Karen!

 As you can see I don't have a lot of variegated thread. Barely any actually. There's a reason for that and basically it comes down to I just don't like it. There is a time and a place for variegated threads but they're trendy. And trendy becomes dated. And before you know it your masterpiece of a quilt looks cheap and kitschy all because of the thread.

Alright, I may be a little over dramatic here, but you know I'm right. Or I hope you do.

 For this reason I only have these two colors of variegated thread in my cubby. And as you can see they aren't very necessary since they're stuck behind my bobbin winder and almost out of sight - like my other threads. I honestly can only remember using each one once in the last year... I almost wish I never bought them.

 I have more. I obviously don't use them that often because:
1. They're hidden in the bottom drawer
2. I couldn't remember what drawer they were in and I guessed wrong three times before I found them
3. I just don't. If I use any it's the pastel colors on baby quilts - again a time and place and baby quilts you can get away with bolder color choices than on other quilts most days.

So here's what I do if I use a variegated thread. If I use variegated thread I only use it on the top of the quilt. The bobbin hardly ever runs out along the edge of the quilt and it's too hard to line up the color sequence just right when you can't see it. It may not be that big of a deal normally, but to me that transition would stand out like a sore thumb and drive me crazy!

Once I have the top thread, time to choose the bobbin. Again I always use a solid on the back and I try to pick something in the middle - something that's not too dark or too light for the colors in the variegated thread. This can be tricky because sometimes you need to go a tad darker with the bobbin thread to compensate for the darkest colors in the top thread, and it may not work well with the backing on the quilt. There's so many variables in quilting that it's hard to give a clear answer on this one.

Basically try to find a middle ground for the bobbin, but find the color in the variegated thread that will be your troublemaker (there's always one color that's bolder than the rest) and work with that color in mind first. For example - in the pastel threads the blues or purples always cause issues because they're darker. Sometimes I would love to use a white or yellow thread, but sometimes a green or a pink is the winner because it works better with the darker colors.

 Which brings me to another topic - checking your tension. I had a client ask where my "practise quilting" was because it wasn't on the side of their quilt. Some quilters check their tension above or to the side of a quilt before they actually start working on the quilt top. Best to check and make adjustments before it's in the quilt itself and needs fixed and ripped out.

I use basically the same threads all the time so I don't need to make that many adjustments, and if I do they're small, but it happens. I start to check my tension as I load the quilt stitching along the edges where no one will see it anyway. You will always get the best results working on the same fabrics and the same batting as the quilt you're working on - no brainer there.

This is my "long arming desk" and that lime green piece to the right is my trick in this situation.

 Aside my calendar and client notes of what I need to do on what quilts, I have my colored pens to keep me organized, my pin cushion, my pins, and my trusty lime green scrap. This is a scrap of old fabric sandwiching the batting I use the most and it's what I test my tension on aside from your quilts.

 As you can see I use a ton of different threads and I try to quilt a few tight circles this way and that way and in every direction to truly test the tension. If it looks good I move on and actually work on the quilt itself.

I also use this scrap when I change bobbins. Let's face it, this is an industrial machine that takes oil and sometimes it splashes up after you put a drop in the bobbin case. Rather than having that oil slick on the backside of your quilt, I test the thread again on this scrap. If any oil spills out, this fabric soaks it up leaving your quilt clean and dry.

One other thing about threads and quilts. I try to work my way through the quilts I get in the order they came to the best of my ability, but sometimes I need to switch it up. Again, this is an industrial sewing machine and lint happens. A lot. I will never switch from black or red threads to a white quilt. No matter how much I clean with brushes and vacuums, there will always be lint. It makes appearances at the most inopportune times, or so I used to think. I noticed they tend to happen the most right after I change bobbins, especially from one thread color to another. If I quilt just a little on my fabric scrap, those extra lint bubbles work their way out. You can see some in the photo above. Those splotches of grey in the stitching. That's the lint. It can be thick and oily and messy and nearly impossible to remove once stitched in. I'd much rather have it appear on this scrap than the back of your quilt.

And in case you missed that little detail, I tend to arrange my quilts as best I can in the order they arrive, but sometimes it doesn't work. When I jot down the quilt on my schedule I also note what color thread I think I'll use. Sometimes I'm wrong, but it's an important detail that keeps my schedule running as smooth as possible. I try to work the colors of threads as close as I can just in case there's any lint (which is hardly ever, but again, this is a precaution I take that helps keep the situation almost non-existent). If I'm working on a quilt that uses a red or burgundy thread, I usually try to quilt with brown or pink, then maybe a tan before I even think of loading a white quilt onto my machine. I can always go darker easily, but going lighter is the trick. The great thing is I almost always have an array of client quilts to work with that suits my needs, but trust me - I have quite the stash of UFOs myself that I can always squeeze in if need be.

Sometimes this plan works (it usually does and is why I still keep to it to this day), but the rare exception are the crazy custom quilts that use several thread colors in one quilt. Luckily most of these quilts have a color theme that allows for thread changes, but it can still be a challenge.

I swear one day I will talk about other topics than thread, but it's hard to stop once you start. Again, if you have a question about fabrics, quilts, the quilting process, please comment below or email me at rubybluequilts (at) gmail (dot) com and I will work it into a future topic. I have so much to say and don't always have the time (with an almost mobile baby) to prep for the topics as I'd like, so bear with me. Sometimes trying to take good pictures and editing them and writing the posts can eat up a ton of my time, but I'm trying!

I hope you all enjoyed the topic for today and again, check back often for more quilt pictures and another Confessions post next Wednesday!

Confessions: Top v. Bottom Threads

Hello again and welcome back to another Confessions of a Long Arm Quilter post! If you are new to these little ramblings of mine, this is a weekly (I try to weekly, it doesn't always happen) series where I share a little more behind-the-scenes information about long arm quilting and try to clear up some of the confusion (or assumed knowledge) that exists out there.

So the topic of this week is threads, again. I swear I could write a novel all about threads, but I won't.

Today I'd like to discuss choosing different colored threads on the top and the back of the quilt and what works and what doesn't. Now, this may be a little short and sweet in comparison to the vast amounts of options and possibilities available in today's marketplace, so to begin let's just assume you all use your brand of choice thread, use the same weight top and bottom, and work in solids. It's an easier place to start.

Oh, and yes you can use different colors from the top to the back of the quilt and if a quilter says you can't, think about running because if they don't have a good reason why... It means they don't like adjusting their tension and whatever happens happens. I do have one scenario myself that I "break this rule" but I'll explain later.

If you think about any color of thread, you have lights, mediums and darks. Just take a look at my thread cubby:

The perfect example for this arrangement are the tans/browns in the bottom center compartment. Dark, medium and light. If you try to use different color threads, the two colors still have to be somewhat close. You can use a light and a medium. You can use a medium and a dark. But not ever a light and a dark. It just doesn't work.

Even if your tension is perfect, with too contrasting threads, it will look horrible. Trust me, I learned the hard way. Think about it this way - the act of sewing is essentially tying a knot perfectly in the center of multiple layers of fabrics and batting as you punch holes through those layers for those knots to lie. Naturally the hole from the needle will be slightly larger than the thread and this is how you can see (or not see) tension issues. Ideally you'd like to see one thread on one side and the other on the opposite side without any little pops here or there. If the threads are too contrasting one of those threads will overpower the other visually and swallow it whole.

Common offenders of being too powerful (or not powerful enough) are black, red, and white. Actually the whole reason for this post today was someone in a group online asking about how they could use white and black threads and make it work. The obvious unanimous answer was no way possible will it work.

Following the dark to medium rule from above I tend to use black with dark grey, but I can also branch into other colors like dark brown, navy blue, purples, maybe a burgundy (maybe depending on the actual colors). With red I can go a bit darker into a maroon or burgundy, lighter into a magenta pink, or into other similar colors like oranges and browns. And finally white is usually good with other creams and light tans, but you can branch out into certain pastels as long as they're not too bold - like lilac or light blues may be too bold to go with white.

I hope this all makes sense. I guess a good test to see if it'll work is to take the two threads and wrap them around each other - then take a step back and look at them from a distance, a few feet or so. If you can still distinguish the two colors, it's probably not going to work. If the threads seem to melt together and you can't tell one from the other, you're good to go. It always helps to keep different threads in common color families like blue and green, pink and purple, red and orange, etc.

Alrighty, I did say I have one way to break the rules and this is it - BATIKS... I love batiks but sometimes they are a pain in my backside to quilt through. Especially unwashed batiks. The way batiks are made, and with the demand these days, there is a starch part of the printing process but it doesn't always seem to be as washed out these days. You ever purchase batiks and it looks like there's dried boogers on your fabric? Yeah, that's the excess starch. Anywho, you can hear a difference when you sew with batiks. Sometimes it can sound like you're sewing through paper. If there's a lot of excess starches and with the denser weave, it can be hard to stitch through.

Now imagine two layers of unwashed batiks plus batting... Almost nothing will dull the needles on my machine faster. Sometimes the action of sewing "punches" through the fabrics like paper (or better yet drilling through wood) where there's a visible tuft of punched fabric on the backside of the quilt. Kinda like those dang chads from voting back in the day. Or if you've ever worked with wood and the side you're drilling through has a jaggedy ridge. Same principle here.

In this case I like to use the same thread top and bottom as much as possible. It's not always possible, but I try. What that jaggedy ridge does at times is hold the knot of the thread on the one side of the quilt. The fabric lost it's ability to give/breathe and essentially give the knot a place to live. Again, it may not be across the entire fabric, but just in spots where the starches are more prevalent, but it looks awful when it happens and there's not much you can do. Some people will say try using a bigger needle, but if it's the wrong needle for the thread you're using, you're possibly creating another issue to fix an issue. Say you chopped off a finger, you're not going to chop off another finger to replace the first one and expect it to solve everything, right?

Now unwashed batiks on just one layer of a quilt are fine (usually). If they're in both the top and the back, I almost always try to use the same thread top and bottom. At the end of the day it's my work that I have to be happy with too and I know I may not be able to get the results I'm capable of with contrasting threads. I am my own worst critic (I hope) and if I'm not happy with the results, why should my client be?

Last little detail that could use it's own post but I'll touch on it briefly here. If you're trying to use different color threads in different weights, I have the best luck with the heavier thread on top and the thinner thread in the bobbin. The bobbin allows for a little more flexibility in the quilting process and less adjustments are needed. It's not a fool proof method, but it also relies heavily on the threads your machine is willing to accept as well as the project you're working on.

There are so many variables in quilting that some days it can make your head spin, but when it's all perfect - you can hear angels singing!

Does this post clarify thread choices for you? Do you have any questions or scenarios I haven't mentioned? Are there any other quilting topics you'd like discussed in this series? Let me know! Comment below or email me at rubybluequilts (at) gmail (dot) com! Honestly there's so many topics to discuss and so many conversations to have that some weeks I don't know where to start...

Confessions: Random Thoughts on Thread and How to Make Your Quilter Love You

I should also add to that it's not only how to make your quilter love you, but how to avoid making your quilter cuss you out under their breath. But back to that in a minute.

I'm enjoying this little series and it seems you are too. Thank you again for the kind comments and emails. That's actually kinda how I got today's topic.

I actually got my other threads in that I ordered and updated my cubby. It's all pretty much the same, but I think I have a bit more of a well-rounded rainbow now. The new threads are the three the arrows are pointing to.

One of the questions or comments was what brand everyone was using. That was not why I wrote that post but I should note that what works in my machine may not work in yours. And what works in your machine may not work in mine. Threads are goofy like that. Seriously if you are having all sorts of issues with a project and it's a new thread you're trying, it may just be the thread.

I honestly found this thread, found I can use it for just about everything I need thread for (about 90% of what I do) and I quit looking. I'm sure there's other brands that would work and other colors to try, but this is what works for me and I like it simple. Don't fix what ain't broken. Plus you could spend a small fortune trying each and every thread available out there. It may not be the best solution, but it's what works for me.

So onto today's random thoughts on thread. These aren't anything hard or complex, but they're so simple they get overlooked and can drive long arm quilters insane.

The main reason we got on this topic was another quilter commenting about piecing threads. Specifically contrasting threads (her version was white thread with navy fabric). Please don't use super contrasting threads when piecing if you can help it. Sometimes you have to use what you have, like say in a scrappy quilt. You've got every color from white to black and everything in between - use what you can. My choice is a light tan/off white for most of my piecing.

But if you're piecing all dark fabrics together, use a gray or a brown or a darker thread. Granted your stitches aren't supposed to show from the front of the quilt, but it happens and it stands out when the thread doesn't match. It doesn't take much pull for threads to show sometimes.

Now, I'm guilty of this when I'm piecing bindings together or border pieces, but I'm usually on a tight deadline and don't honestly have the time to switch my threads every time. That's why I stick with a light tan. It works both ways. It's not too dark and not too light. It's like the Goldilocks of thread.

The alternate fiasco what happens if your threads are too dark (say black thread with white fabrics), it'll look like there is a pencil line or a chalk line (if you used a colored thread like red) that won't go away. This one shows up in the quilts I finish a lot and sadly it's just a seam or two on a really pretty intricate quilt that must've taken forever to piece and the only thing I can stare at is that unruly thread in the one seam. It's usually in a border or some really big area that makes it stand out even more.

Your safest colors to piece with are in the white to tan to gray tones. Keep it neutral and keep a small variety so you have what you need for anything that you may be working on.

What else drives us quilters absolutely batty? Bias edges and unlocked stitches. Your quilts are going to be handled a bunch during the piecing process and prior to quilting. They will get beat up whether you try to prevent it or not. The best thing you can do is lock the stitches especially at the ends of seams at the edges of the quilt. I honestly lock almost every seam that I can. It's just a good habit to get into (you never know what seam may end up at the edge of a quilt if there's no borders). How do you lock a seam, when you start and right before you stop each seam, take a couple reverse stitches and then keep on stitching. That's it.

Sometimes just being handled enough to be measured and then put on the quilt frame is enough for some edge seams to start to unravel and it's not pretty. If you can't lock stitches because your quilt will be trimmed down, like in paper piecing for example, keep reading and treat the edges like they are bias edges.

Also, your quilter will LOVE you if you have bias edges around your quilt and you "stay stitch" the edges. This is where you stitch about 1/8" from the edge of the quilt all the way around. It doesn't sound like much but it keeps the quilt from fraying and stretching out of square. It takes just a few extra minutes and the results will be worth it. Just keep the stitching inside the outer 1/4" so they don't show when you put on the binding. Bias is a four letter word for a reason. No joke.

And last but not least for my random thoughts on threads - please Please PLEASE DO NOT give your quilter a top with a hole in the seam. Don't hand it to me and say, "there's a hole in the top, it's okay I put a safety pin where it is and I'll fix it when I get it back." NEVER do this. It will almost send you quilter into a psychotic rage and yes it has happened to me more times than I care to admit. Outside I think (or I hope) I was smiling, but on the inside I could not think of enough four letter words in my brain. Just keeping it real here.

Here's what you may not know. My quilting machine can be going along all nice and dandy and it will inevitably find a hole whether you mention it or not. And if you don't mention it, I will find it the hard way after my machine will have stitched itself to your quilt. This is by far my worst nightmare that I have encountered. When the machine is stitched to the quilt, I have to take out the stitches without doing more damage to the quilt and try not to damage the machine. No machine = no quilting. Plus I have less room to work in and the machine is always in the way but I can't move it because it is literally stitched to the quilt. It can happen in just a few stitches and it can take half an hour to get it all undone. Or more. And it's a nightmare. Did I mention it only takes a few seconds usually to prevent this from happening? Please take the time to fix a hole if you know it's there.

I honestly know I have a picture of this somewhere and I will find it and share it soon. Or it'll happen again and I will take a picture then and show you what a nightmare it is. It's nasty and I don't like it at all. Plus it always makes me nervous that it'll screw up my machine and again, broken machine = no quilting.

So those are my random thoughts for the day. It's a bunch of little things but they all add up to big issues if not handled correctly for your quilter. If you have any questions, comment below and I will get back to you or you can always email me at rubybluequilts (at) gmail (dot) com.

More quilt pictures are coming and come back next week for another confession. What will be next? Backings, loading quilts onto the machine, something you have a question about... We shall see!

Confessions: Thread

Thank you all so much for the kind comments and emails about the first Confessions post. It's so nice to know that you're not alone on this wonderful-yet-sometimes-intimidating journey. It's also great to know that the quilters you look up to feel the exact same way as you do. We are all human and quilting in general is one of those goofy careers where it's being invented as you go sometimes and there's no college course or manual to tell you how it should be. Granted there are books and patterns and classes and tutorials - but there's also a million other ways to get a similar result with quilting. It's not a science. It's not black and white. It's what works best for each and every single person and that's where it gets intimidating - we can't all measure ourselves against one another no matter how much we (or our subconscious) wants to. Once you realize the only person you're competing against is who you were yesterday - the better off (and more relaxed) you'll be.

So, onto the actual topic for today - threads. We all use them. We all have them. But why do so many of us use them the wrong way??? Or maybe not wrong, but not the best way...

Here's my threads. The cones in the shelving cubby are the threads I use for everything. When there's still some left but not enough to use for quilting, they go in the bin on the floor and I use them for bindings. The small threads in the printer's tray at the top are some of my Hubby's Grandma's threads on wooden spools and some small spools that I've gotten through the years, some hand quilting threads, thread samples, some for small applique projects and such. Basically at this moment they mostly live up there and look pretty.

This isn't a post about this brand or that brand and comparing the differences in sizes and materials. This is simply about color and where most of my clients go wrong from the beginning. And bad habits are hard to break.

First things first. Let's get something straight. There are thousands upon thousands of colors of fabrics. Just walk into any quilt shop and take a look at the shelves and displays. Now, with thread... there's maybe at best a couple hundred colors. I know that sounds like a lot, but once you break it down between your whites, greys, tans, blacks, and ROYGBIVs, then break it down between pastels, lights, dusty colors, darker hues and brights - there's not much room for much else. Again look at the thread options at any quilt shop versus the options of fabrics...

Take a look. This is the thread I use for everything (piecing, quilting, binding, the whole shebang). These are the colors they offer. Many of the colors are very close so it doesn't make sense to have them all and there are gaps sometimes in the colors you are looking for. Fabric colors and trends change faster than the threads are able to catch up. So what's a girl to do?

Well, this is what I have. You want to use the threads to "go" with the fabrics. NOT MATCH. You don't want to get too matchy matchy. You can drive yourself bonkers (and spend a small fortune while you're at it) trying to match threads. I have a range of white to cream to tan to brown and I use these the most. Seriously, I order them sometimes 4 cones at a time. Then I have a range of colors with some lights and some darks but it truly depends on what my clients are bringing me. I never know what will show up at my doorstep. The colors you work most in may be different in your area following the trends and the vibe of your clients interests.

I did just order a couple more oranges and a medium blue to round out some colors for a super rainbow quilt that I'm getting ready to work on. But honestly I've been quilting now for several years and this range of colors has gotten me quite far. You do not need to have every single color available. Plus some colors like purple for example, are hard to match well because they change color. They can easily be too grey or too blue or too bright for what you need. I try to have some "middle ground" colors and it seems to work for me.

The colors I personally use the most are the bottom 5 on the right, the light pink (top row 4th from the left) and the light blue (center row in the middle). In the actual order I use them the most would probably be Pearl (#402 the off-white), Cashew (#405 the darker tan), Brown Sugar (#425 medium brown in the center), Snow (#401 the white white), and then the others. I definitely use these colors the most. They just work so well so much of the time.

Now, that we have the fact-of-the-matter out there that there may not be threads available to match specifically to your fabric, but I may have something close that goes - let's talk about how the threads are used in the quilt.

I think the single biggest misconception with quilting is that the thread needs to stand out in order for the quilting to show up more. ROOKIE MISTAKE. For your quilting to stand out and show the best, the thread should actually BLEND IN with your fabrics.

Think about it this way. You want to look at a quilt, see the quilt first, the quilting second and the thread color last. Everything should work well in perfect harmony to enhance each other as a whole.

If you have a contrasting thread, you'll notice the thread first, the quilting next and the quilt last. You don't want your quilt to play second fiddle. If that was the goal then why make it in the first place? Plus, by using a contrasting thread each and every little mistake will stand out soooo much as contrasting thread emphasizes each imperfection in the quilting.

There are exceptions to every rule and some "famous" quilters are known for using contrasting threads. But they've had years and years of practise so they know how to hide their mistakes (if they make any at all). You can break the rules more when you've worked hard for years and proven that you have the skills to not necessarily break the rules, but create your own set of rules. I hope that makes sense.

Granted I have some clients that love color and want their thread to stand out. At the end of the day it is their quilt and I will do what they want, but I will voice my opinion if I don't think it's the best result we can achieve together. Why is that? Well, it's their quilt but it's my name on the quilting and I don't want to put out only "okay" quilting. If my heart isn't into the quilt, the quilting will reflect that and I only want to do the best I can do. I'm not good with just getting it done. Now the thread is only a small element in the grand scheme of quilting, but it can play a big role if it's not chosen wisely.

Also, there are times no matter what thread you choose, it IS going to stand out SOMEWHERE on the quilt. A perfect example of this are scrappy quilts or yellow and navy blue quilts. Really anything with a high contrast. If you're only choosing one thread, choose something in the middle if you can. This way it won't be too dark on the lights and it won't be too light on the darks.

But at the end of the day sometimes you just gotta lay that thread on the quilt and take a look. There are days where the best choice is the color I didn't think would work at all. Sometimes if it's a weird color like a salmon (pink makes the salmon look orange, orange makes it look pink) I will lay a couple threads on the fabric in question and take a look at it over a period of time. I try to look at it several times throughout the day as the light changes to see if that alters how the combination plays together.

Oh, and last little tidbit - do not, I repeat DO NOT, bully your quilter into ordering a new thread just for you and your little tiny quilt if they don't think they can use it again. If they haven't needed it this far, that neon magenta obviously hasn't been a high request. If you're giving them a super custom king size quilt where it seems to be the only option. That's one thing. But for a baby quilt... Come on now. Be respectful. And yes I'm speaking from experience on this one.

So, that's a lot of talk about thread and where does this leave you? Well if you're a quilter, don't waste your money on every single color of thread available. If you're giving your quilts to a quilter to finish, trust your quilter and their judgement. This is their job and if you don't trust their judgement, they shouldn't be touching your quilt in the first place.

Oh, and if you noticed I really don't have variegated threads, yeah, that's for another post. Let's just leave it with I have a love/hate relationship with variegated threads...

Keep the conversation going in the comments. Let me know what you think about this post, this series and what else you'd like to know more about. Also, you can always email me at rubybluequilts (at) gmail (dot) com. I love reading your emails and sharing stories with you! Come back next week for another post in the Confessions series.

Phew, it feels so good to get some of this out there!