This week on QUILTsocial I'm going to be experimenting with the different longarm quilting threads that WonderFil has to offer. My Gammill is a little particular when it comes to threads, so I usually try to use the same type of thread and needle for everything that I quilt. I LOVE variegated quilting thread, so most of the time I use different colors of the same thread, but even then I have issues with threads breaking or skipping. So I'm excited but nervous about trying all of these new threads on my machine!
Attacking my pile of UFOs
Last year I challenged myself to finish 52 UFOs (unfinished objects) that I found in my sewing room when I was tidying up after Christmas. I chronicled my journey on my Fairfield Road Designs Blog and I ended up finishing a whopping 44 projects which ranged in size from pincushions to bed quilts. BUT, in the process of the year, I accumulated a few more UFOs. So, last month I sent Calista at WonderFil pictures of six of them and asked her to send threads that would match.
The threads
In September 2014 and October of 2014 on QUILTsocial, I used both Tutti and DecoBob threads to do some awesome thread painting and quilting, and I've used the pre-wound bobbins of DecoBob in my home sewing machine ever since, but the size "M" bobbins that will fit in my longarm quilting machine are very cool!! I also LOVE the look of the Fabulux thread so that's the one I'm going to try first.
Fabulux is fabulous!!
This Fabulux thread matches my blue tablerunner perfectly!! Look at the sheen on that thread! Fabulux is a 40wt, 3-ply trilobal polyester thread which is designed for longarm as well as midarm and domestic machines. It's available in 35 variegated colors and 5 solid neon colors to stand out and show off beautifully on all your quilts and projects.
Great resources
WonderFil's website has a ton of great resources for using their threads and since Fabulux was new to me, I looked up the "Hints & Tips" sheet to find out what I needed to know before I loaded it onto my longarm quilting machine.
Testing the tension
Before I quilt ANYTHING on my longarm quilting machine, I test the tension of my threads on a scrap piece of fabric that I lay on top of the batting and backing that's going to be used for my quilt. This way I can make any adjustments BEFORE I get quilting.
A quick peak at the back shows that the tension between the Fabulux on the top and the DecoBob in the bobbin is just right!
On the outside border of my tablerunner, I decided to use a scroll design - one that I use quite often. Here's a video in which I demonstrate how to machine quilt this design.
The inner border is a fairly narrow one, so I decided to do a little "loop-de-loop" design. This design is really handy as you can change up the size to fit any sized border.
Every once in a while I like to practice using my quilting rulers, and since this is a small project, I decided to use both straight and curved rulers to machine quilt the three blocks in the center of the tablerunner. Check out this video to see how I used a meander design along with the rulers.
Here's a close up of the quilting on my tablerunner. I just loved using the Fabulux thread and can't believe how lovely it looks with the Artisan Spirit Sandscapes fabrics from Northcott!
So there you have it - 3 versatile designs to machine quilt with WonderFil Fabulux thread!! Tomorrow I'm going to pick out another one of my UFOs, using another variety of machine quilting thread and get quilting!!
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