Today_s_Quilter_-_November_2019

(singke) #1
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HOWTOl machine appliqué


foot.If youcan’tseewhereyouare
going,yourstitcheswillbedisastrous!
QUsea goodqualitysewingthread
fora finestitch,buttohighlightan
appliqué,usea thickerthread.I love
MadeiraandAurifilwoolthreads,but
youmustusea largerneedle. 16/jeans
alwaysworkwellforme.
Note: thickerthreads cannot be used
inthebobbin.
QUsethesamecolouredthreadinyour
bobbinasthetopthread,thiswillsave
anystraycoloureddots showing up on
thefrontlateron.
QReduceyourtensionsothatthetop
threadwilldefinitelybeunderneath
yourwork– thiswill ensure a good
finish on the top.


Stitching
QMoveyourneedlepositionoverto
therightasfarasit willgosothatthe
appliquéis underthefootholdingthe
fabric. The blanket stitch will take


a ‘bite’totheleft,soyourneedle
positionshouldsitjustbeyondthe
edgeof theappliquéshapeonthe
backgroundfabric.Thestitchshould
travelforwardsalongthebackground
fabricandthenswingtotheleftto
takea ‘bite’intotheappliquéfabric.
QMandy’snext,mostfavouritefacility
of anymachineis theneedledown
position– it holdstheworkin
positionwhileyoumovedirection.
Somemachineshavea wonderful
‘hover’facilitywheretheneedlegoes
downandthefootcomesup a little so
youcanmovethework.
QForordinaryblanketstitching,
Mandyslightlyincreasesthestitch
lengthandwidthjusta dash,
especiallywhenusinga thicker
thread,tomakethescaleof the
stitchlookbetter.Sheonlyreduces
thelengthandwidthwhensewing
reallyfinepiecesof appliqué,such
ashands,facesandtinyflowers.She
recommendsthatyoualwaysfinish
thestitchontheoutsideedgewith
yourneedledownbeforeyoupivot.
QWhenyousewa blanketstitch,you
canvisualisewherethenextstitch
mayland.If youfeelit is outof sync,
youcanverygentlypulltheworkso
thatthestitchlandswhereyouwant
it too, for example, on points.

Finishing
QMandydoesnotfastenoherthreads
onthemachine,shepreferstoleave
longendsthatshetakesthroughto
thebackbyhandlateron.Mandy
doesnotsewthemin,shejustcuts
themotoaninchontheback.It
is veryunlikelythattheywillcome
undonefromthefront,andthiswill
savea lotof time.Generally,her
appliquéworkwillbequiltedlater,
andthistopstitchingwillholdallthe
threads from the appliqué in place.
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