rumizgirl

hello all,

any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

doing my first quilt, a tshirt quilt. i i have no idea how to hand quilt and my "borrowed from my mother" sewing machine is too small....so after many you tube videos i decided on tie knotting the quilt.

i have bought embrodiery floss, yearn, and crochet string and a variety of needles from quitting to the curved ones.

the first 5 times i tried, all the diff yarns and strings because none of them would go thought the fabric layers and the needle broke. ive tried all combinations of needles and strings.....the needle has a hard time going thru ...even the big ones who left gapping holes in my quilt top.


im sure i am doing something wrong! any advice would help me greatly.....please!

mcfay

When I was a kid I use to help my mother tie quilts. She didn't quilt either. We used a large needle and would, put one hand under the quilt and push the needle unto the top through to the bottom and pull the needle through, then push it up from the bottom through the top and pull it out there, then leave a tail on the end of the thread long enough to tie the knot. We always used the bedspread crochet thread, not yarn. We even did blue jean quilts with a blanket for the batting.

Hope this helps.

JulieR

Hi, and welcome to the QB!
What can you tell us about the fabric and batting you used? I'm surprised your needles are breaking so I'm a bit at a loss. I've never tied a quilt before but I'm currently tying buttons onto a wall quilt (oh God don't ask, really don't) and I'm using large embroidery needles and 2ply DMC floss, and it's going fine.

Are you "stab" stitching straight down through all the layers? Are you trying to rock the needle, or coming back up in a separate motion?

Daylesewblessed

A large needle is important, and it needs to have a sharp point, not the type with a blunt point used in needlepoint.

A t-shirt quilt is a challenge to get a needle through -- it is thick and maybe you have used an iron-on stabilizer. Ordinary quilting cotton and batting are much easier. In any case, something that works for my mom's quilting group is pliers. Their utility quilts often have sheets or a thick fabric instead of batting, and they struggle to get the needle through. A pliers gives the grip needed to get the needle through. Mcfay is right about making each stitch a 2 step process. A thimble is another valuable tool that gives you "push power".

A thin crochet thread will be easier to pull through than yarn. If you are concerned about strength of the thread, go up and down twice in the same area before tying.

Another option is to use your machine for "tacking". You still have to be able to get the quilt small enough to fit in the "harp" space, but it is much easier to manage than quilting. Just do a strong stitch in one spot (where you would have tied). Make sure you have pinned at or close to each spot while the quilt is spread out on a flat surface before beginning the sewing.

I have tied many quilts, and I like to tie at the seam intersections (tougher than in the middle of the blocks). It helps me if I can spread out the work, so that my hands can rest. I usually only work about 1/2 hour at a time.

Best wishes!

Dayle

GrannieAnnie

I've broken needles before------------but certainly not every time and certainly not with every type of thread. My preferences are embroidery floss----------all 6 strands or just 3 even. Perle cotton. And smaller crochet cotton.

Something we're not understanding has to be wrong. I've even used a needle nosed pliers to pull needles thru and seldom break one.

You need a very sharp needle------with a good sized eye----------but only as big as needed for the thread you use.

GrannieAnnie

LAST CHOICE of thread is yarn of any variety!

Dolphyngyrl

I used dritz curved basting needles with no problem, hope this helps

lynnie

Wel ome, my first 3-4 quilts i ties. Used emb floss, comes in every color.

Prism99

Could you machine tie? There are different ways to do this. One is to place a piece of yarn over the spot, then use a machine zigzag in place to secure it. If you use a regular zigzag, then you need to do about 4 very tiny straight stitches at the beginning and end to secure the thread ends (so they don't pull out). Or, you can choose a decorative stitch that incorporates small securing stitches at the end (some machines have stitches like this).

I would not try to hand tie a t-shirt quilt; too hard! Usually t-shirt quilts are made with stabilizer behind the shirts, and this makes pushing any kind of needle through by hand problematic. Even if your sewing machine is small, you should be able to maneuver the quilt into position for machine ties.

Also, you do not need to cut the thread between the ties. You can move from one to the next in an organized manner and cut the threads after you are done with a section.

After the yarn (or floss, or whatever you decide to use) is secured to the quilt by machine, you can tie it so it is still hand-tied.

majormom

Use the 'stab' method of quilting for this. First stab the needle straight down through the quilt, and pull your choice of tying strand through ( NOT yarn!!!) Then turn the needle and stab the needle back to the top, coming up a short distance from where you stabbed down. Leave long ends for tying. To do this properly, you need to keep your dominant hand below the quilt and your non dominant hand at the top of the quilt as it is easier to control your dominant hand when you cannot actually see what you're doing! You really should have a large hoop or a frame to hold the quilt taut, but I'll bet if you're careful you can do it without!