A friend of mine does volunteer work for Lutheran World Relief. Last year she committed to doing a few hundred book bags that were to be shipped off to somewhere in Asia or Africa. She had called me asking for advice because here Bernina Quilting Edition machine was clumping thread underneath. She was pulling her hair out with panic trying to get some traction on the project.
I was on the other side of the US at that time and after talking her through some steps she could take such as tension settings, making sure she was using the correct thread and needle for the project and had a new needle, checking the bobbin area for gunk, making sure she was correctly threaded and the bobbin was correctly wound, she ended up taking her machine to a Bernina dealer for service. After that she was OK.
But this time I was at her house when the project kicked off. She had committed to sewing 40 book bags this time. The others had been farmed out to other ladies. I offered to do the 40 book bags for her.
They are of a simple design as you can see using canvas with ropes inserted into the casings and loops.
But the thread my friend had selected, as well as the needles, weren't correct for the project. She'd initially insisted they were what she used last year so I spent a lot of time trying to figure out why I couldn't get her Bernina or my BabyLoc to work right. In total frustration, after going on YouTube and Googling issues, and reading and reading our machine manuals, I took my BabyLoc to be serviced and learned that the thread and the needle were inappropriate for the job. The thread was too thick, and not best quality brand. They recommended a high quality medium weight thread with a denim-purpose needle and to use the triple stitch which sews over the same line three times and does this in small segments. It takes a ton of thread, is a little slower, but holds nicely on heavy weight fabrics and looks nice like a top stitch.
I'd never used a triple stitch before and I liked the feeling of learning something new. While in the Sew Vac Shop in Ellicott City, MD, picking up my machine and talking things through, I decided to sign up for their introductory machine quilting session, just two hours, followed by an intermediate machine quilting session a few weeks later. I will do both this fall.
I like the zen of hand quilting and dislike the look of many machine quilted quilts but I like the really artistic work of some quilters who work both by hand and using their machines. I want to be able to choose the right method, the right skill for what I want to create.
I feel good about this decision to get some training besides my books and YouTube.
Even though I got my machine serviced and learned how to complete the project with the correct thread and needles, I used my friend's Bernina when I got back since it was already set up.
So I am excited about heading into a new phase of my sewing.
I was on the other side of the US at that time and after talking her through some steps she could take such as tension settings, making sure she was using the correct thread and needle for the project and had a new needle, checking the bobbin area for gunk, making sure she was correctly threaded and the bobbin was correctly wound, she ended up taking her machine to a Bernina dealer for service. After that she was OK.
But this time I was at her house when the project kicked off. She had committed to sewing 40 book bags this time. The others had been farmed out to other ladies. I offered to do the 40 book bags for her.
They are of a simple design as you can see using canvas with ropes inserted into the casings and loops.
But the thread my friend had selected, as well as the needles, weren't correct for the project. She'd initially insisted they were what she used last year so I spent a lot of time trying to figure out why I couldn't get her Bernina or my BabyLoc to work right. In total frustration, after going on YouTube and Googling issues, and reading and reading our machine manuals, I took my BabyLoc to be serviced and learned that the thread and the needle were inappropriate for the job. The thread was too thick, and not best quality brand. They recommended a high quality medium weight thread with a denim-purpose needle and to use the triple stitch which sews over the same line three times and does this in small segments. It takes a ton of thread, is a little slower, but holds nicely on heavy weight fabrics and looks nice like a top stitch.
I'd never used a triple stitch before and I liked the feeling of learning something new. While in the Sew Vac Shop in Ellicott City, MD, picking up my machine and talking things through, I decided to sign up for their introductory machine quilting session, just two hours, followed by an intermediate machine quilting session a few weeks later. I will do both this fall.
I like the zen of hand quilting and dislike the look of many machine quilted quilts but I like the really artistic work of some quilters who work both by hand and using their machines. I want to be able to choose the right method, the right skill for what I want to create.
I feel good about this decision to get some training besides my books and YouTube.
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| Mise en place. |
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| Bags ready to be roped. |
