Quiltmaker - July/August 2017 - 63

Needles and Thread

Layer and Baste

I made a note that I should start each quilting project
with a clean machine (free of lint ) and a new needle.
Needles dull quickly when sewing through layers of fabric. When stitches start skipping the most likely culprit
is a misshapen needle. There are three popular types of
domestic machine needles for quilting: quilting, embroideryy and topstitch.

The layer of quilt top, batting and backing is often
referred to as the quilt sandwich. The ﬁlling of the
sandwich is the batting. The degree of texture we see in
a ﬁnished quilt is determined by the loft of the batting
(weight and thickness of its ﬁbers) and the amount of

Fabric: Garden Notes by Kathy Schmitz for Moda Fabrics.

A quilting needle is slim, has a tapered point and a
slightly stronger shaft for stitching through layers of
fabric and across intersection seams. This needle is ideal
for machine piecing and quilting. The topstitch needle
has an extra sharp point and the eye has a groove to
accomodate heavier threads. And, the embroidery needle
has a larger eye and is made for heavy stitching with
embroidery or decorative threads. I'll add a note here
about needle selection. Needles are made from different
metals. Several needles have recently become very popular. Titanium nitride needles last up to 5 times longer
than ones made of chrome-plated steel. Microtek sewing
machine needles are terriﬁc for piecing and quilting
tightly woven fabrics, like batiks.
It's important to have the correct needle size for the
thread. Broken threads are most often caused by using
the wrong size of thread for the needle. I read many recommendations to use the same thread (and color, too)
on the top and in the bobbin as a beginning quilter. It's
easier to check to make sure the tension is good if they
are the same. I've listed a guide for choosing the correct
sewing machine needle and thread. Please note these are
American sizes.

quilting stitches in the design. A high loft batting makes
a ﬂufﬁer quilt. A low loft batting is easier to machine
quilt and gives a ﬂatter appearance. The batting and
quilting design need to align to get the desired effect.
I have a couple more notes to share about preparing the
batting for quilting. Batting needs to lie smooth between
the top and backing, to not cause puckers or wrinkles
while quilting. If a packaged batting is used, it should be
removed from the package and allowed to "rest" before
placing it in the quilt sandwich. I've read recommendations to lay it ﬂat for several days, iron it or tumble dry
with very little or no heat to ensure a ﬂatter batting. One
more thing, while we are on the subject of smooth and
wrinkle elimination, it's also important to make sure the
quilt top and backing have been pressed. A few quilters
told me to spray the backing with starch, because it
makes the sandwich easier to move around on the table
of a domestic machine.

* #80/12 size needle for ﬁne 50 weight threads

I could ﬁll a whole article about batting; there's more to
learn about the various ﬁbers used for batting-just by
reading the package labels. I've chosen Warm & Natural
from The Warm Company to use for my quilting projects because I like the texture and weight it gives to my
quilts. I encourage you to learn more about all the batting choices on the market to select the right one
for you.

* #70/10 size needle for very ﬁne 60 weight threads

To be continued...

* #100/16 size needle for heavy 30 weight threads
* #90/14 size needle for medium 40 weight threads

A word about tension: It's important to make sure the
machine stitching is even on the quilt top and on the
backing, without loops or puckers. I test my machine's
stitches on a small sample of the fabrics I'm going to
stitch together before I begin piecing or quilting.

Ok, I've run out of space again, so please look for my
article in the next issue. I plan to continue my exploration of what I need to do to prepare for quilting on my
domestic machine- basting and marking a quilting
motif. See you next time!
Quiltmaker #176 * quiltmaker.com

http://www.quiltmaker.com

Quiltmaker - July/August 2017

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