How to Troubleshoot Machine Quilting

Quilts come in all different styles

You have pieced your fabric into quilting blocks and put your blocks into one large quilt top. You have the top, batting and backing fabric layered. Now you're ready to quilt it--to stitch through all three layers. For those who don't have the time or inclination to stitch your quilt by hand, it is possible to do this on a standard sewing machine. It takes a good deal of preparation and patience, as some difficulties can develop, but the finished heirloom will be admired for years to come.

Things You'll Need

• Sewing machine
• Seam ripper
• Masking tape
• Safety pins
• Card tables or folding table
• Spool of high quality thread
• Sewing machine needles

Instructions

Layers Shift and Pucker While Sewing

1. Remove the quilt from the machine and pick out the bad stitches with a seam ripper. Stretch the quilt taut with all layers meeting at the edge. Tape the quilt to your work surface (floor or large table) and add more safety pins.

2. Place pins so that they are evenly spaced, about 8 inches apart and covering the entire quilt. Ensure that the pins go through all three layers so that the backing does not pucker up and shorten while sewing. Remove tape from quilt.

3. Sew the quilt again, starting with a section near the middle of the quilt. Work your way gradually out from the center, flattening the area you are working on with both hands. Check frequently for puckers underneath the quilt.

Inconsistent Stitches and/or Breaking Thread

1. Check that the machine is threaded correctly and that the thread isn't snagged on anything. Ensure that the thread is a high quality brand.

2. Lengthen the stitches to about nine per inch. Check your machine manual for specific directions on how to do this. Decrease the thread tension to one or two numbers less than the tension you used to piece the quilt top.

3. Place a scrap of batting between two fabric scraps that mimic your quilt in weight. Sew through the layers of scrap, adjusting the tension and stitch length until stitches are consistent and not raised on top or bottom of scrap. Throw away the scrap and use the same settings on your quilt.

Free Form, Rambling Patterns

1. Drop the feed dog (the jagged-looking mechanism below the needle that moves the fabric from underneath as you sew). Sew with the feed dog in this lowered position, enabling you to move in any direction and to make loops and curves.

2. Grasp the fabric tightly with both hands on either side of the needle, and move the fabric manually. Keep the fabric moving or the needle will simply go up and down in one place. Move gently and slowly.

3. Stop sewing, lift the foot and needle, and drag the fabric to another area to sew another area. When finished, cut the connecting threads.

Breaking Needles

1. Insert the needle completely into the fabric whenever you lift the foot and pivot the fabric. This will keep the needle from bending and breaking.

2. Change a bent needle before it hits underneath and breaks. Ensure that the needle is completely seated in the needle shaft. Locate the tiny wing nut that holds the needle, loosen it to check the needle position, and then tighten completely.

3. Ensure that the needle is facing the right way in the shaft. Check your manual for correct positioning.

Tips & Warnings

• If the quilt is heavy and difficult to maneuver, tightly roll the fabric under the arm of the sewing machine and support the remaining quilt on several card tables. Take the quilt off the machine frequently, flatten it and inspect the layers. Remove pins only as stitches completely surround them.

• Pin scraps of contrasting fabric onto completed blocks. This helps to see at a glance how much progress you have made.

• Use fusible batting, which is more stable and less likely to pucker when sewing. Do not expose this batting to heat or moisture while still packaged; it fuses to itself.

• Consider using "stitch in the ditch," which means stitching along the main seams in the quilt top. Practice and take your time. Your straight line will be almost invisible.

• Many a seamstress has sewn a finger. Turn the machine off or move the foot pedal away while checking the needle.

• Restrict access of children and pets to your work space.

References

• Anyone Can Quilt: Machine Quilting 101