Breaking Thread While Quilting

This thread was started by Krystallees on May 12, 2008:

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Title: What do you do when....
Post by: krystallees on May 12, 2008, 07:09:07 PM
When you are machine quilting on a regular sewing machine and your thread breaks halfway across the quilt. Do you start that part over? Do you just pull another bobbin thread through and keep going? And if so what do you do about the end threads? :idiot2: I can't find that anywhere. I am getting ready to work on my quilting for this gift so I want it to be sturdy and look nice. Pleas help! :1087:

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Title: Re: What do you do when....
Post by: golo on May 12, 2008, 08:25:15 PM
I think I have just backed up a bit, put my needle in a same hole and continued to sew.....

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Title: Re: What do you do when....
Post by: bizkitea98 on May 13, 2008, 12:15:21 AM

Quote :

Quote from: golo on May 12, 2008, 08:25:15 PM
I think I have just backed up a bit, put my needle in a same hole and continued to sew.....

me too

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Title: Re: What do you do when....
Post by: Merry Bee on May 13, 2008, 10:30:34 AM
That works for me, too! When I was a kid in home economics classes, they made us pull the top thread to the back and tie it to the bobbin thread in garments, but quilting is much more forgiving. By sewing over the previous stitches, the quilting will hold.

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Title: Re: What do you do when....
Post by: Schnookie on May 13, 2008, 04:19:05 PM
That is what I have done too, never thought that I might be doing something wrong...but then after reading this I guess I didn't do anything wrong.

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Title: Re: What do you do when....
Post by: quiltermarynel on May 13, 2008, 07:44:48 PM
On TV shows and in judging, they say to bring the threads together and "bury" the ends with a hand needle, so there is no overlap and no sign of stopping/starting. Some say to use a self threading needle and keep it by the machine. What do I do? I back up a couple of stitches so I have overlap and cut off the ends with a 'dead' rotary blade. I make utilitarian quilts. Sometimes they win ribbons, but I am more interested in making a quilt that is as durable as possible. I have found that leaving the ends to tie and bury later is an accident waiting to happen.

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Title: Re: What do you do when....
Post by: Luv2sew on May 14, 2008, 10:41:16 AM
Marynel, I agree, "I have found that leaving the ends to tie and bury later is an accident waiting to happen". I too just back up 2 or 3 stitches and continue on. I don't make my for shows though, so someone doing that may want to be more careful and use a different method. :afro:

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Title: Re: What do you do when....
Post by: krystallees on May 16, 2008, 11:17:58 AM
oh good thanks so much I am glad I was doing the right thing. I want his quilt to last as long as possible!

Title: Re: What do you do when....
Post by: FiberBabble on June 03, 2008, 09:32:10 AM

Quote :

Quote from: krystallees on May 12, 2008, 07:09:07 PM
When you are machine quilting on a regular sewing machine and your thread breaks halfway across the quilt...

Well, I'm going to try not to sound like :police: here, because it's not my intent...

Why does your thread break halfway across the quilt? If it got hung up on something, then probably you have some tension problems preceding the break (either on the top or on the bottom). Problem tension spots should be dealt with - unfortunately that often means removing some of the stitches. If you have a spot of funky tension, that's where the first problems are going to occur later on, whether it's broken stitches (and the quilting coming out) or damage to the fabric. If it's your bobbin only, you may need to clean your machine (even though you did it before you started quilting - right?) and re-load your bobbin.

Or does your thread break just because it's got a weak spot? That's beyond scary. If it's breaking now, what will happen after it's washed and otherwise abused by a non-quilter (aka charity, offspring, inlaw, husband...)? Is the thread old? The old adage, "Penny wise, pound foolish" comes to mind (along with, why haven't we changed it to 'penny wise, dollar foolish'? It's been over 200 years since.... oh, I digress...).

As to how to re-start, burying is optimal, but I agree that sometimes it's not realistic (and it's always a pita). Pull the old ends out of the way, start your new threads a few stitches before the old ones end, do the really-close-together stitching or stitch forward and back on top of the old stitches, then carry on as usual.

My two cents always seem to end up as two pounds.... :1087:

You'll still have to go back and cut the ending and beginning threads. If I'm not planning to pass that way again :wink: I like to put a safety pin on top of the place that I need to remember to trim the threads. (I obviously don't use safety pins to baste - or I couldn't see the forest for the trees!!)

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Title: Re: What do you do when....
Post by: quiltermarynel on June 03, 2008, 11:07:00 AM
FiberBabble is right! Please check on WHY your thread is breaking. Problems I have had to deal withon this: tiny burrs. I have had problems from really tiny burrs on needles, bobbin case or machine foot. The needles are a no brainer. I had the bobbin case problem with my old Bernina (the one that the motor froze on after 5 years) I just had to replace the embroidery foot on my Janome. Problem solved.

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Title: Re: What do you do when....
Post by: missmommy on June 06, 2008, 09:52:51 AM
I have to say, too, that the first thing I thought of is why is the thread breaking? You should address that problem first.

Another common reason (for me) is that I don't have things set right. I may not have dropped the feed dogs, tension may be off, may have a burr on the needle, etc. There is always a reason, although it is not always obvious.

Most of my quilting is done on my HQ16 now adays BUT I when I do it on either machine I always take 2-3 tiny stitches (in place if I can) to secure the threads so I don't have to worry about them coming loose. I would recommend as others have said that you go back a few stiches before the break, line your needle up in one of the holes, do the tiny stitch thing, and go on. I would also like to add here: try to determine why your thread is breaking and correct that if possible. Are you stitching to quickly, or pulling on the quilt too hard? Is it the thread? Do you need a new needle? Prevention is always better than a cure.