The corner of my marred batting has been repaired, #6 UFO of the month has been pin basted, and quilting is well under way. I just stitched in the ditch with my walking foot all the horizontal and vertical seams, and a few diagonal lines.Now I am enjoying some free motion swirls in the border. (With this swirly border fabric, I couldn't possibly quilt anything but swirls.)
The problem is the tension.
I'm using a bright green thread on the top and a white thread in the bobbin, and just when I've got everything running smoothly, I whip around a swirl and the tension gets loose on the bottom.
Can you see what I mean?
I fiddled around with the tension for a while, and then I chastised myself for quilting too fast.
Now I am accepting that I can't have good tension and fast quilting...I have to pick one or the other.
Guess which one I picked?!?
7 comments:
awe, do I really have to guess. I know what I would chose, but it's not my project. i am working at finishing little projects and then I 'll jump into one of the biggies.
Slow down? I know it's hard to do when you are doing free-motion! Looks good. I finished my #6 last night. YEA!
I find I need to slow down when using my Juki98 otherwise my thread sometimes shreds. Ugh!.....
as for tension polka-dots (that's what I call 'em).....I simply avoid that now by insisting the top thread and bobbin thread are the same or nearly the same shade.
BTW---FUN BRIGHT fabrics :0)
Looks pretty good from here...and I suspect that it is because your top and bottom thread colours are different...if there were the same colour it wouldn't make the tension issues so obvious...other things to try are:
1. Slow down...particularly on curves
2. Try tightening your top tension so it pulls up that bobbin thread into the middle of the sandwich. Every kind of wadding will have a different effect. I have been know to tighten that top tension to 8 to get the bobbin thread and the top thread in the right part of the sandwich
Hope that helps :o)
I had the same problem so I slowed down a bit...... Isn't it a good feeling to have a UFO on the road to be completed.
Hopefully NOT the stitches *S*
I love your swirls. They are worth going slow for.
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