Quiltmaking 101 -- sinking thread ends

If you have begun or ended a line of machine stitching in the middle of your quilt, you have to deal with the two thread ends, assuming you don't want to leave them hanging (although if this is the effect you want, go for it; you might even want to knot a bead onto the threads to make it clear that this is deliberate, not accidental). 

Some people backstitch to secure the threads, or perhaps use very tiny stitches as they get to the end of the line, then cut the thread ends off right there.

But I have seen too many such finishes that don't look finished at all.  The scissors can't reach exactly to the surface of the quilt, so the thread ends stick up in little eyelashes.  Or the backstitch didn't really secure the threads, so over time the quilting comes unsewed.  I think it's much more professional to pull both ends to either the front or back of the quilt, tie them, thread them into a needle and make the threads disappear between the layers of the quilt.

This is time-consuming, of course, even if your eyes are good enough to thread a needle without difficulty (mine aren't).  I have used self-threading needles but they tend to shred rayon or shiny polyester thread. It's much easier to just use a needle threader.  As an alternative, quilter Robbi Joy Eklow champions an alternative method of sinking thread ends that really works.

Try both methods and see which one makes you happier.

My method -- with needle threader

step 1:  Insert a needle into the quilt exactly where you want your thread ends to disappear.  Run the needle between the layers of the quilt for about an inch, feeling or peeking underneath to make sure the needle doesn't poke through on the back.  The threads will be more secure if you carefully run the needle through another seam.  Bring the needle up to the top of the quilt.

step 2:  Pop the needle threader through the eye of the needle.  Arrange the thread ends underneath the wires of the needle threader.

step 3: Using a tweezer, grab the thread ends and pull them up through the wires of the needle threader.  Pull on the needle threader to get the thread ends through the eye of the needle.  Pull the needle through the quilt to sink the thread ends.  Clip off the thread ends where they emerge from the top of the quilt.  Scribble back and forth over that spot with the eye end of your needle until the ends disappear back into the quilt.

Yes, you could have threaded the needle before you ran it between the layers of the quilt.  But what if your thread ends weren't long enough?  We always try to leave plenty of thread when we start or stop, but sometimes things happen. This way you can pull the thread ends through the needle even if they're only a half-inch long. 

Robbi's method -- with needle and thread

step 1: Cut a piece of thread about a foot long.  Robbi suggests orange so you can keep that threaded needle in your pincushion forever and find it easily the next time you need to sink thread ends.  Double the thread and thread both ends through the needle.  Adjust the length of the ends so the loop is longer than the cut ends.

step 2:  Insert the needle exactly at the point where you want your thread ends to disappear.  Run the needle through the layers of the quilt, feeling or peeking underneath to make sure the needle does not poke through on the bottom.  The threads will be more secure if you carefully run the needle through another seam.  Bring the needle up about an inch away. 

step 3:  Pull the thread through until only a small loop is left.

step 4:  Pull the thread ends through the orange loop.

step 5:  Pull the orange thread, which will carry the thread ends through the layers of the quilt.  Clip off the thread ends where they emerge from the top of the quilt.  Scribble back and forth over that spot with the eye end of your needle until the ends disappear back into the quilt.

Collage update -- face front!

Faithful readers may know that I'm doing a daily collage this year (last year too) but I haven't written lately about this project or how it's going.  After 15 months of making my collages on 3x5 cards (actually cards from old library card catalogs, discarded when the libraries went digital) I decided that I wanted to work larger.  Many of the pictures I was cutting out of newspapers and magazines were too big to use in that small format, so I decided to start the second quarter by moving up to a 4x6 card.  Only an inch bigger in each direction, but 60 percent more area to cover.

I will note that 60 percent more area means at least 60 percent faster use of glue sticks, which fortunately I bought in the huge 18-pack.

One of the things I love about daily art is that if you happen upon something intriguing, you can do it again tomorrow and the next day, really exploring lots of variations before you move on.  Recently I went through a phase of face mashups.  Here are some that I think worked particularly well:

You can check out all my collages here.

Photo suite 132 -- homemade flags

Sign of the week

At the Sweater Shop in the Aran Islands:

Form, Not Function 2 -- abstract

The Form, Not Function show at the Carnegie Center for Art and History in New Albany IN is more than halfway through its run and I have finally managed to see and photograph it at leisure.  I wrote last month about the winner of the social and political commentary award, but now let me mention some of the other pieces that I particularly liked.

I think the quilt medium is particularly conducive to abstract and geometric design, especially in pieced quilts, and this year's FNF seemed to have plenty of excellent examples.

Bonnie Bucknam, Tangle, detail below

Bonnie's huge quilt continues in her long series of designs that reference nature forms -- this one brings to mind a tangle of roots.  It took best in show at FNF, a decision I strongly agree with.  I've sat next to Bonnie for weeks of workshops and watched her compose her quilts on the wall quite improvisationally, then magically make all the complicated shapes fit together and lie flat.  Even after much scrutiny of her methods I am in awe that she pulls it off.  Also note the exquisite quilting. I would be happy to have this quilt come home and live with me.

Heather Pregger, Tuning Fork #6

















Here's another award-winner, this one that I helped choose, given by River City Fiber Artists, my longtime small quilt support group.  It's a classic example of using a recurring motif in different sizes and values, an exercise that you might encounter in a workshop but substantial enough to  work with for a long time (as I infer Heather has done, since this is already number six).  Note how the use of neutrals adds so much interest and sophistication to the monochrome color scheme.

Karen Schulz, Stonehenge-ish, detail below

I liked the strong, clean geometric shapes and complex, interesting quilting.  Don't you love the little red piece in the corner?  If this is sorta Stonehenge, maybe the red is sorta the sun at solstice.

Gail Baar, Structure 23  

A similar character -- mysterious shapes huddled on a white background -- is found in this piece by Gail Baar, an artist whose work I have seen in person several times and admired for a several years.  But unlike Karen's white background, which was framed in yellow and olive, Gail's white background had the misfortune of being hung on a white wall and it was hard to tell where the quilt stopped and the wall started.  I think that hung on a colored or gray wall this quilt would sing a lot louder than it did here.

Pat Bishop, Two of a Kind

Finally, I liked this quirky smallish piece, not just for its strong design but for its wide variety of fabrics.  Different materials (silk, velveteen, damask, cotton), some commercial prints, some hand-dyed and painted, some recycled.  The different shades of black in the background are particularly effective.

A new book that I love

It's always a thrill when an author wants to put a picture of your quilt into a book, and after I got my copy of "The Ultimate Guide to Art Quilting," by Linda Seward, I was doubly happy because it's a fabulous book.  You wouldn't think that even in 255 pages she could tell you absolutely everything you might want to know about art quilts, but Linda has come pretty close.

I am in awe of the exhaustive list of materials and processes that she has managed to fit into the book, and with the clarity and economy of the directions.  

Want to know how to sew the classic pojagi seam?  how to dye an already-quilted quilt?  how to put a sleeve on an odd-shaped quilt?  how to make a gelatin plate for printing?  how to make "paper" from silk fibers (either with or without seracin)?  how to marble fabric (either with size medium or shaving foam)?  how to avoid repetitive stress injury to your wrists?  how to "dye" fabric with rust or cyanotype? 

In between the how-tos are photos of quilts by more than 140 artists, including my Crazed 16: Suburban Dream.

If you could have only one how-to book in your quilting library, I don't know any that would rank higher than this one.