I assume you remember "Fissures"? Well I love this quilt and I am proud of it, yes I am.
- is it the direction of stitching?
- is it related to the needle or thread, fabric or batting?
- is it because I spray baste?
- is it due to my quilting speed? (fast)
- is it my walking foot?
- is it compounded by the size of the quilt?
The Mini Mango I just quilted did not ripple one iota. On it, I used both my walking and free-motion feet.
And it didn't happen at all on Chinese Checkers, where I did totally free-motion.
So will you share your expertise? Marci and I - and I assume others - would really love to hear what you have to say. . .
Linking up with Really Random Thursday.
I have no expertise, but I've always heard that it was from stitching in opposite directions, though I suspect there are several factors that influence it. I'd say you can rule out spray basting, though. I'll definitely be watching here for some expert opinions!
ReplyDeleteI am no expert either! It has certainly happened to me but I have no real answer! I will be watching this discussion with interest!
ReplyDeleteAnother non expert here but I think it could be a number of factors at work. The direction of the stitching relative to the grain in the fabric, the closeness of the qulting lines and possibly even the speed of quilting. It think with that style of quilting on a large scale it might be ineveitable unless you can almost stretch the top to ensure it is perfectly smooth as you stitch.
ReplyDeleteNo expert here by any means but I'm thinking that the nature of the straight lines and the density leaves no "wiggle" room for easing in any fullness if that makes sense. Could also have to do with the stitching direction. The quilt is gorgeous regardless.
ReplyDeleteI do. It know the answer, but I had the exact same problem over the weekend (didn't blog about it, because it was overshadowed by another quilting drama) but I'd love to find out the answer. I like the suggestion that speed may be a factor, as I dont really have a lot of consistency with that.
ReplyDeleteWill definitely be checking back in to find out the answer :-)
E xx
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ReplyDeleteHumm..... Different fabrics will react differently according to their thread count and I think these quilt lines look quite close together so there is not so much room for a little 'stretch' ..... did you wash the quilt yet? I think once washed the 'ripples' all even out.. Is it a snuggle quilt or a wall hanging.... It wouldn't bug me unless its for a wall hanging & even then I think you are being hard on yourself... its a great quilt.
ReplyDeleteYou ARE too hard on yourself, but that is something I can totally identify with. The quilt is beautiful and as usual, your blog is my favorite.
ReplyDeletehappens to me sometimes when I straight line quilt fairly close together... I'm a beginner at machine quilting so no answers from me but I agree, your quilt is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThey basically disappear in the wash, when the rest of the quilty parts also become ripply and drawn in. I do not change direction for each row of straight line stitching, I go in one direction side to side for part of the quilt, then another for another part. I find if I go at a slower and steady pace and for each part I smooth the quilt and hold it that way with my hands as the machine is stitching that part, there are no ripples. If I go faster and don't hold the quilt smooth sometimes the ripples will happen. So I am pretty sure it is a quilting technique thing, even when you are using a walking foot you need to keep the quilt smooth at the part you are quilting, just like when you fmq or hand quilt.
ReplyDeleteThis happens when you stitch parallel lines starting in opposite directions with a walking foot. A walking foot will help to feed the top layer even with the bottom but it still doesn't feed at exactly the same rate. This is exacerbated when you stitch in opposite directions and the top is shifted one way in one line and then the opposite way in the next line. The closer the stitching, the more noticeable this is.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, washing will help a great deal and when you look at the quilt overall, it looks beautiful!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, that quilt is beautiful! I noticed that about my straight line quilting too. I'm definitely no expert, but I did two double potholders. The second one turned out much better. I slowed down, and I think that was key for me. I think, the fabric was more stretchy on the first one, and that didn't help. I would love to know if there is a secret, special technique too! :)
ReplyDeleteI wish I knew, Debbie! I just finished this type of straight-line quilting on my Cartwheels quilt and got plenty of rippling myself. I did NOT switch directions as I went and still got some rippling. One theory I have is that when I was holding the quilt really straight and taut as I fed it through the machine, it seemed better, but it would probably take some more experimenting to figure out if that was definitely helping. I'm going to be keeping an eye on these comments to see what others say! Thanks for asking, this is a really good question that I'm sure everybody wants to know the answer to!
ReplyDeletehaving done loads of straight line quilting i have lots of experience with this and have come to the conclusion that there are many factors that affect this....basting technique, presser foot pressure, quality of the walking foot, direction of quilting, denseness of the quilting lines and speed as well as the harp space on the machine which will affect how much you have to scrunch and manipulate your fabric as you move the quilt through the machine which is also affected by how much turning you need to do. fabric gives and we are not machines. even longarm quilters will get some rippling some times. the closer the quilting and the more turning you do the bigger chance you will get ripples...there is no where for the extra fabric to go. i don't change direction of the stitching when i'm doing straight lines, but for some designs you can't avoid it. great basting also makes a difference. all that being said, i say embrace a ripple...it is a sign that the quilt was quilted by you on your machine and we are not perfect. it is a lovely quality of a handmade quilt.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you asked this question, because I have had this issue a few times. The rippling happened on larger quilts when i quilted diagonally in one direction. The closer together the lines are the worse it gets. I've noticed the same effect in quilt books where the quilting is similar. I'll be watching these comments to see if this is preventable! It is not much of an issue after washing, but it is a bit frustrating.
ReplyDeleteThe quilt is gorgeous! I love how you framed those beautiful blocks!
I'm absolutely no help here - but a big thank you to all commenters. It's very valuable reading.
ReplyDeleteI don't do a whole lot of straight line quilting, but when I do, I usually do chunks of it in the same direction with a walking foot, and it does the same thing. I think it adds personality, and actually love the ripple effect. I say embrace it LOL! It's beautiful! I think it'd be next to impossible to keep the fabric stretched tight enough to avoid. It's probably just part of that style, but if you find an answer it'd be neat to discover.
ReplyDeleteThis happens to me once in a while too. Most pronounced in this quilt: http://craftingdotdotdot.blogspot.ca/2013/02/brrr-complete.html It was bothering me at the time that I was quilting it, and didn't really seem to matter whether I switched directions or not. In the case of that particular project for me, I wondered if I didn't baste well enough... Don't know though!! It seems like a bit of a mystery. Happens sometimes and not other times.
ReplyDeleteI have had this problem too. I haven't completely figured out how to get rid of it, but I have actually had better luck if I do spray baste so I don't think that's your problem. It also helps if I don't alternate directions. Have you tried decreased the pressure on your walking foot?
ReplyDeleteSuch a good question! I'm no help, but I'm grateful to read everyone's responses. It happens to me a lot, and it's more pronounced when the lines are closer together. I wonder if you could get Megan from Canoe Ridge Creations to weigh in. She's a straight-line quilting fiend, and there's never a ripple in sight. :)
ReplyDeleteI can live with the ripples, it's the entire foldover of fabric that sometimes happens when lines cross that bug me! But I've been reading with interest in case it solves that too :o)
ReplyDeleteI don't know how those ripples come but I've been interested to read all the suggestions above. Your quilts all look beautiful, though. I LOVE your Chinese Checkers :)
ReplyDeleteI'm just adding in this because Debbie and I have been discussing this for few weeks now. Originally my answer for this problem was EXACTLY what "katyquilts" said, except she said it way better than I. But after reading so many comments about folks going in the same direction and still having the problem, I am going to theorize that it is a bunch of factors including size/weight of the quilt creating drag, fabric type, speed of stitching and that changing directions certainly doesn't help anything.
ReplyDeleteOh but I did find out that if you don't want to wash the quilt and it has ripples, iron the heck out of it once you are finished, and it does help to a point, or at least improves it a bit!
I agree with Jacquie that there are probably a lot of factors that play into this. I have only had this issue come up a couple of times, and as I recall it was when I tried to quilt one length of the quilt in one direction, then turn the quilt and quilt another line directly next to it in the other direction. It created a herringbone of rippling. So, now I try to quilt in a single direction if possible. For spiral designs, I haven't had an issue with it. I think your quilt is gorgeous, and I wouldn't be bothered at all by that slight ripple.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, what a beautiful quilt! I LOVE it! Secondly, thanks for the email :) my personal experience is that you get the rippling when changing directions. I've never had it when I start and stop so I'm always travelling in the same direction. I also don't get it when using my fmq foot so I suspect it is also related to pressure. So.... I'm guessing that in the exact photo above it is something to do with the tight space (so you were stitching between the other stitching getting a similar affect to switching directions) and that it's a big quilt and the weight of it played into it. I now prefer to do organic SLQ with my fmq foot to avoid this, but of course that isn't always practical. I'll bring it up in my linky party the week after next and see if we can get you some more answers :) such beautiful quilts and thanks so much for sharing honestly xx
ReplyDeleteMy guess is it's all about the grain of the fabric. In our Clothing/Textiles classes in college, we learned that a wrinkle, or in this case, a ripple, is fabric off-grain. And by quilting it, the maker is stitching in the "off-grain-ness."
ReplyDeleteOf course, stitching in different directions may cause that rippling if you are on the diagonal (and your quilt has lots of diagonal stitching)--again, it's all about the shifting of the grain. But if you stitch on the straight of grain, you may not notice it. I assume that's why Marci Girl's ironing technique works: it's easing/shrinking the fabric's excess (ripples), so they aren't so noticeable (an even better technique when used with steam, hovering the iron over the top to allow the fabric to shrink into place, then pressing with the iron it to stay).
I have had some success with placing cross-wise tension (think east-west) as I stitch (north-south). It also helps get rid of the excess fabric looping over/folding over the previous stitching, as Katy Cameron has experienced. It's sort of like "hard-smoothing" away the fabric to the right and to the left with your hands, almost pulling it, to counteract the tendency of the grain of the fabric to shift.
My guess is that you'll get more rippling/stretching as you stitch diagonally on the bias, and less, if you stitch cross-wise, and even less if you stitch with the straight of grain. As most quilts have grain going in different directions, the east-west tension trick can be tried to smooth out the top, but it (obviously) will have a lesser effect on the bottom, where Mr. Feed Dogs is more in control.
I doubt speed has much to do with it, but I suppose it could distort the grain more. We're working with fabric, here, not plywood, so even if you spray baste, the batting will still have some give to it as well.
I've enjoyed reading all the responses. As far as the differing answers, each sewing machine is different, each quilt is different, so what one quilter may experience with certain factors may not happen for another. It's been interesting to read everyone's comment. Thanks for opening up this discussion.
I'm finding this an interesting read - mine do this and I have assumed its my fault for spray basting and not pinning every 6" on the times I don't spray baste like crazy. Even if there's no magical answer, at least I'm getting some tips!
ReplyDeleteWhat interesting comments! I agree with katyquilts completely - I always straight line quilt in one direction only, and since I started doing this I haven't had any ripples. I'm a pin baster, and if the quilt shifts, I can let the pins out and rebaste as needed. But I haven't done a quilt like Fissures, with quilting lines going in many directions!
ReplyDeleteYour quilt is beautiful. Such an intersting discussion. I agree totally with Jacquie's comments, there are so many factors to consider.
ReplyDeleteI spray baste all the time so don't believe that's the problem. I also quilt in the same direction whenever possible.
I do believe speed might be a factor and the difference in sewing machines....not all walking feet are created equal.
I read somewhere (can't remember where of course) not to pull the fabric tight when using the walking foot and let the walking foot do what it supposed to do...I found that to be quite helpful.
I switch directions so that I don't get waves on the outer edges of the quilt and as Leanne says, keep tension when stitching so close together. I think that having ripples can ADD to the quilting so wouldn't it be fun to get them to happen on purpose when making water or wind or... ? :)) love your blog!!
ReplyDeleteThis is fascinating. I'm soaking up the information and saving it for future use. Because as many of you know, I only do quilt tops, not completed quilts. hehe
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