Good Morning, Quilters!
It was a very rainy day in Minnesota yesterday which meant two things: I had a lot of “indoor time” AND it was a low-energy day.
I don’t know about you, but I’m not terrible creative on rainy, dark days…
However, I still had enough energy to stitch, so I finished this little quilt that I started months ago. The Nora’s Rose motif was already completed in the center and the grid was started…I just needed to stitch all the “pop” filler lines–perfect work for a low energy day…repetitive lines, not a lot of concentration involved.
One of the most frequent questions I receive is…“Why do use different threads in the top and the bobbin?”
The conventional wisdom is to use the same thread top and bobbin for the best tension. This rule works great for conventional sewing, but not so well when you are using decorative or heavy weight threads.
DECORATIVE THREADS -NOT ALWAYS THE BEST CHOICE IN THE BOBBIN
First of all, decorative threads are often heavier–which means they won’t travel very far in the bobbin.
Second, decorative threads can be (not always) more expensive–so it’s more cost-effective to use cotton in the bobbin.
Third, many decorative threads (like Rayon) are slippery which means they don’t knot as well.
MY BOBBIN CHOICE
Most of the time, my choice for a bobbin thread is Aurifil 50 wt cotton. It is a great all-purpose thread for piecing and appliqué, and it is a great bobbin thread.
I like it because it is very strong and lint free–it’s an extra long staple cotton thread. Because it is a medium to light weight thread it goes a long way in the bobbin.
I recommend you try different threads (brands and fibers) to see what works best for you and your sewing machine.
Cotton and polyester are the most commonly used fibers for the bobbin, though many people also like nylon or polyester invisible threads. (I have not had much luck with invisible threads.)
ADJUSTING TENSION
Whenever you free motion quilt, you will likely need to adjust your tension even if you have the same thread in the top and the bobbin.
Make friends with your sewing machine manual and all the tension dials on your machine!
NORA’S ROSE MINI QUILT
This little quilt contains several motifs you might recognize…I stitched all of these motifs on the Craftsy Video
They are also available as FREE step-by-step tutorials–Can YOU name any of them?
The Wide Leaf–Craftsy video only
What’s your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?
Lori
PS…All tutorials, images and information are the property of Lori Kennedy at The Inbox Jaunt and are intended for personal use only. Feel free to Pin, Share, Tweet or re-blog with attribution to The Inbox Jaunt. For all other purposes, please contact me at lckennedy@hotmail.com. Thanks!
