New Video Tutorial
A question was posed on the SAQA list last week about what is the one thing (or 2 or 3) we quilt artists don’t particularly like to do when it comes to creating our art. The answers ran the gammet, from designing to quilting to labels and sleeves.
A few people, however, felt that burying threads is right there at the top for them. Yucky, yucky, yucky! Once upon a time, I would have said that too.
I noticed a long time ago that no matter what workshop I take there is always one thing I can take away to help me in my work or help to work more effectively. In a class with Robbie Joy Eklow last year she showed us this neat trick to burying thread tails. It was like a gigantic light bulb when off in my head.
Ever since then I’ve done it her way and it’s no longer a hated chore for me. I can start and stop where ever the heck I like. It was one of the reasons I tried to start and finish the quilting in one go…hence earlier pieces of mine were filled with lots and lots of meandering stitches. lol.
So I thought I’d do a video tutorial about it (with Robbie’s permission of course).
I’ll be adding this video to my Tutorial Page. You can also access it on Youtube along with my other videos.
Great tutorial, Grace. It was very clear what you were doing, and I’d be confident about doing it myself now that I’ve seen your video.
I never bury my threads when I quilt, though… I just take several very small stitches at the end of my quilting line, then bring both the bobbin thread and top thread up to the top and cut them off.
Can you explain why you find your method preferable? I know it would take longer than what I do, and as you know, I’m all about the speed!!!
What a great video Grace. I learn better by seeing so this was perfect. Thank you.
Susan, I still sometimes use the method you describe but when I’m rushing and forget to take those small stitches or when those extra stitches are too big to leave on top the quilt I, instead, just leave the long tails and bury them later.
Sometimes between the stop of one complete FMQ stitch and the start of another (usually when there are a few thread tails hanging) I’ll take the time to bury the knots then continue stitching. Because I’ve been doing it a long time now it’s so darned quick and easy that it’s no bother to me anymore.
Well done video … although, I confess–I am just mesmerized by your voice and accent! Red Moon is a terrific piece, by the way.
Fulvia´s last blog ..spoon river (update)
Thanks for the excellent video. Somehow I had previously missed out on that business of tying the knot so couldn’t figure out how the thread would stay buried. But, now – aha! And now I’ve seen your gorgeous hand-dyed fabric, too. Good stuff.
Roberta Ranney´s last blog ..Snow Dyeing
Great video! I do bury my threads (just finished that job on an XLong twin size) and will try this method next time.
Thanks!
Joyce´s last blog ..Slippers!
Thank you, thank you, very well done video.
Diane´s last blog ..big and small projects
Fantastic Tutorial, Thank you.
Found you site through ‘Serendipity and the Art of the Quilt’.
Will be posting a link on my patchwork groups blog to your site and this great tutorial
Andrea
Andrea Tuer´s last blog ..500 Art Quilts………Stunning new Book
Well done! To reply to Susan’s question, I bury my tails because if I do the short stitches with the slippery threads I like (Superior Threads 40-wt trilobal polyesters, mostly), the short stitches can, over time, come undone and leave unsightly little tufts which always end up on the front (not the back!) of the quilt.
One thing I do differently: instead of snipping with the scissors, I hold them in a static “V” shape. I’ll lift up with the thread so that it pulls out of the quilt a tiny bit, then pull the tails into the notch / “V” of the scissors. The edge of the scissor blades are sharp enough to cut the threads, yet you don’t risk accidentally snipping the quilt surface.
THANKS! And love the waves on the background… I can just feel the rocking of the sea!
Wonderful tutorial! Beautiful work as well. Thanks!
Katy S´s last blog ..A Finish…..finally…..
This is SO easy, I always wondered how to make those “tails” disappear. Thanks for sharing, I have to get out more and attend some quit workshops to learn this stuff!
Thanks for those extra tips Sarah…..especially about the poly’s unraveling over time. I do more burying of threads these days than the lock stitching at the beginning and end. I want those threads to stay put!
Glad the video is a help to you all.
Great tip !! I can’t wait to try this on my next project. Not one of my favorite things to do – burying threads. This seems so much more secure than the way I’ve been doing it. Thanks for sharing and such a great tutorial.
Oh my Grace, wonderful video! And I was in that workshop with you, but I forgot all about that tip! It’s so much easier than the self threading notched needles that I’ve yet to get threaded! So now, if I can only remember and let it stick this time. Sometimes there’s so much in a workshop that I forget the little nuggets that are so good! Thanks again!
Great video! Very clear instructions.
Great job with the video! I love this tip!! I’ve tried several methods and I can’t wait to try this one – looks like it might just be my favorite of all. Thanks for sharing.
as a hand quilter novice, I just love this tip and thank you for sharing it downunder.
Hi Grace!
This was a great tutorial, thank you so much!
Louise
Louise´s last blog ..Peep Cake!
Thanks Grace….I came looking for this video this morning…my assignment for today is doing just this on a quilt.