Triangles

I'm having a problem with triangles for a quilt I'm making. When I start to sew at a point, the fabric bunches up under the needle. It seems that the dog feet doesn't grab the fabric, so cannot push it along. Does anybody have a trick or solution to this.
Barb

Sure, Barb and hello and welcome. A lot depends on your sewing machine and
what foot you're using. Just generally - first sew something else. The
something else can be a couple of 2" squares or whatever's handy. Without
cutting the threads from the something else, move on to your triangle.
Stitch it as you press down on and gently lead the scrap sewn away from the
triangle and don't let the wascally needle poke, bunch or annoy your quilt
piece.
We keep little piles of scraps closeby just for that. If this doesn't
resolve your problem, come right back. There are other solutions. Polly


"Barb" wrote in message
...
I'm having a problem with triangles for a quilt I'm making. When I start to
sew at a point, the fabric bunches up under the needle. It seems that the
dog feet doesn't grab the fabric, so cannot push it along. Does anybody
have a trick or solution to this.
Barb

If you have the option of a single hole face plate (or whatever it's
called?), that will cause less bunching than the wide hole designed to
accommodate all the wide (and fancy) stitches. I have a Janome, and it
was possible to buy a single hole plate as well as the wide one that
came with the machine. The single hole is also much better for free
motion quilting.
Finally, it is not necessary to start the seam at the point: you could
start it a few threads in, or you could start at the seam line and
reverse for a couple of stitches before coming back in the right
direction.
Polly's solution is the most favoured (it's just that I never do it, so
find other ways round the problem). You may also find that fabrics
differ in their propensity for getting squished down into the hole.
..
In message , Polly Esther
writes
Sure, Barb and hello and welcome. A lot depends on your sewing machine
and what foot you're using. Just generally - first sew something else.
The something else can be a couple of 2" squares or whatever's handy.
Without cutting the threads from the something else, move on to your
triangle. Stitch it as you press down on and gently lead the scrap sewn
away from the triangle and don't let the wascally needle poke, bunch or
annoy your quilt piece.
We keep little piles of scraps closeby just for that. If this
doesn't resolve your problem, come right back. There are other
solutions. Polly


"Barb" wrote in message
...
I'm having a problem with triangles for a quilt I'm making. When I
start to sew at a point, the fabric bunches up under the needle. It
seems that the dog feet doesn't grab the fabric, so cannot push it
along. Does anybody have a trick or solution to this.
Barb

--
Best Regards
Pat on the Green

Thanks for your suggestions. I have sewn a few like you mentioned Polly - just a little way in and that seems to work quite well.
I was thinking perhaps a small hole plate would be much better. I only have the wide plate, but perhaps I should invest in the small hole plate.
The quilt I'm making has hundreds of rectangles which in itself is very time consuming and precise.
Barb

"Barb" wrote in message ...
I'm having a problem with triangles for a quilt I'm making. When I start to sew at a point, the fabric bunches up under the needle. It seems that the dog feet doesn't grab the fabric, so cannot push it along. Does anybody have a trick or solution to this.
Barb

The small hole in the plate does help a lot. I do mine like Polly does,
and when I start a new set through, I lift the presser foot and set the
fabric right next to the needle. That seems to help, too.

Louise in Iowa
http://community.webshots.com/user/LouiseinIowa
nieland1390@mchsidotcom

On 1/13/2012 12:43 AM, Barb wrote:
Thanks for your suggestions. I have sewn a few like you mentioned Polly
- just a little way in and that seems to work quite well.
I was thinking perhaps a small hole plate would be much better. I only
have the wide plate, but perhaps I should invest in the small hole plate.
The quilt I'm making has hundreds of rectangles which in itself is very
time consuming and precise.
Barb

"Barb" wrote in message
...
I'm having a problem with triangles for a quilt I'm making. When I
start to sew at a point, the fabric bunches up under the needle. It
seems that the dog feet doesn't grab the fabric, so cannot push it
along. Does anybody have a trick or solution to this.
Barb

You already have lots of good advice. But mine is not to sew triangles
at all, unless you really have to. Instead, cut squares. Draw a
diagonal on the back of the lighter square and sew a quarter inch on
each side of the line. Cut on the line, and you have 2 triangle units.
Press and trim. I almost always make mine a little too big and trim
down. I'd be trimming the "ears" off anyway, and it also gets rid of
the occasional scrunched bit.

My other advice is to make sure you have a sharp new needle.
Roberta in D

On Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:41:52 -0800, "Barb" wrote:

I'm having a problem with triangles for a quilt I'm making. When I start to sew at a point, the fabric bunches up under the needle. It seems that the dog feet doesn't grab the fabric, so cannot push it along. Does anybody have a trick or solution to this.
Barb

Because I didn't have a single hole plate, I put a small amount of green
painters tape over the wider hole plate. That has worked very well for me.
Barb
"Pat S" wrote in message
...
If you have the option of a single hole face plate (or whatever it's
called?), that will cause less bunching than the wide hole designed to
accommodate all the wide (and fancy) stitches. I have a Janome, and it
was possible to buy a single hole plate as well as the wide one that came
with the machine. The single hole is also much better for free motion
quilting.
Finally, it is not necessary to start the seam at the point: you could
start it a few threads in, or you could start at the seam line and reverse
for a couple of stitches before coming back in the right direction.
Polly's solution is the most favoured (it's just that I never do it, so
find other ways round the problem). You may also find that fabrics differ
in their propensity for getting squished down into the hole.
.
In message , Polly Esther
writes
Sure, Barb and hello and welcome. A lot depends on your sewing machine
and what foot you're using. Just generally - first sew something else.
The something else can be a couple of 2" squares or whatever's handy.
Without cutting the threads from the something else, move on to your
triangle. Stitch it as you press down on and gently lead the scrap sewn
away from the triangle and don't let the wascally needle poke, bunch or
annoy your quilt piece.
We keep little piles of scraps closeby just for that. If this doesn't
resolve your problem, come right back. There are other solutions. Polly


"Barb" wrote in message
...
I'm having a problem with triangles for a quilt I'm making. When I start
to sew at a point, the fabric bunches up under the needle. It seems that
the dog feet doesn't grab the fabric, so cannot push it along. Does
anybody have a trick or solution to this.
Barb

--
Best Regards
Pat on the Green

There we go! Invention on the hoof g
Well done Barb.
..
In message , Barb
writes
Because I didn't have a single hole plate, I put a small amount of green
painters tape over the wider hole plate. That has worked very well for me.
Barb
"Pat S" wrote in message
...
If you have the option of a single hole face plate (or whatever it's
called?), that will cause less bunching than the wide hole designed to
accommodate all the wide (and fancy) stitches. I have a Janome, and it
was possible to buy a single hole plate as well as the wide one that came
with the machine. The single hole is also much better for free motion
quilting.
Finally, it is not necessary to start the seam at the point: you could
start it a few threads in, or you could start at the seam line and reverse
for a couple of stitches before coming back in the right direction.
Polly's solution is the most favoured (it's just that I never do it, so
find other ways round the problem). You may also find that fabrics differ
in their propensity for getting squished down into the hole.
--
Best Regards
Pat on the Green