Suzamo

I made a minky lap quilt, and now the stitches are breaking... for example, when you're sitting on the quilt and you pull it out from beneath you, you can hear threads snap if the quilt gets stretched at all, resulting in some of the seams coming undone. I used a long straight stitch like I had read in the minky tutorials, and did wide strips across the quilt, quilt-as-you-go.

I made a second minky quilt, same pattern. I found that a zig-zag stitch doesn't snap - it just stretches with the minky. The fabric is so thick and fuzzy, the zig-zag seams don't look any different from the straight stitched seams.

Has anyone else had this problem?

Any ideas on how to fix the first quilt? The lap quilt has about 8 wide strips going across the quilt. The only option I can think of is to zig-zag over the seams, through all the layers of the quilt, hoping that if the original straight stitches snap, at least the zig-zag stitches will keep the seams from coming undone. The fuzziness of the minky seems to hide the zig-zag somewhat in the tests I've been doing. Not the perfect solution, but I can't think of anything else.

Any other ideas?

Thanks!

ManiacQuilter2

Minky is stretchy so did you quilt on it diagonally?? Never heard this problem before.

Geri B

I've never used minkie in a quilt, but I do know it is a stretch knit, so I'm thinking you would need to use a stretch knit stitch. I know my machine offers that as a choice of stitches....but probably the zigzag will work as there is a "give" to the stitch....

PaperPrincess

This is a common problem with ANY knitted/stretchy fabric. ZigZag stitch is the commonly suggested solution. Some machines have a built in stretch stitch. You can also try easing up the tension and using a straight stitch so there's a bit of excess thread. When a fabric stretches, you want your stitches to accommodate this.
The quilts that I've seen with minkee piecing it was mixed with quilting cottons which probably stabilized the seams. Haven't seen any all minkee pieced quilts. Bet it's soft!

Cybrarian

I think your solution is a good one, my machine has a specific zig zag for stretchy fabrics, check your stitch selections to see if you have that option. Your zig zag will just appear as a decorative element ��

Suzamo

Thanks for the suggestions -- I'll look for a built-in stretch stitch on my machine for next time. I zig-zagged over the seams, and it's really not very noticeable since the stitches get covered up by the fluffy minky. For all the mess and trouble that minky causes, it sure makes a soft cuddly lap quilt!