Handquilting with Rayon- A Good Thing?

For this little quilt of mine, I thought I could practice some handquilting
on since I really don't need it finished any time soon. I bought some
scrumptious variegated thread, so scrumptious I am building up a little
collection rather quickly. I really need to use it for something soon. The
thing is, the stuff is rayon. Is this okay for handquilting or too
difficult to work with and I should just MQ?

BTW, the quilt is all cotton fabric and thread, anchor stitched STID to the
batting with the clear nylon stuff.

kitty in phx

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I sure would try it on a little scrap "sandwich" first. In MQ, only a
little of the thread gets pulled through the sandwich, and only once.
In HQ, the whole length goes through the sandwich multiple times. You
may find it frays and tries to get out of the needle.

Cross-stitchers working with rayon tend to cuss a lot. Try dampening
the thread on a sponge first, and use short lengths. You will need to
be very sure of your beginning and ending anchoring because rayon
tends to weasel around a lot. I think MQ rayon is spun more tightly
than stitching rayon, but I expect it has some of the same properties.

Monique in TX

KittyG wrote:

For this little quilt of mine, I thought I could practice some handquilting
on since I really don't need it finished any time soon. I bought some
scrumptious variegated thread, so scrumptious I am building up a little
collection rather quickly. I really need to use it for something soon. The
thing is, the stuff is rayon. Is this okay for handquilting or too
difficult to work with and I should just MQ?

BTW, the quilt is all cotton fabric and thread, anchor stitched STID to the
batting with the clear nylon stuff.

kitty in phx

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From: Monique Reed

...... Cross-stitchers working with rayon tend to cuss a lot. Try dampening
the thread on a sponge first, and use short lengths. .......

That's putting it mildly -- LOLOL! I don't hand quilt but I do a LOT of
needlework and I *love* to stitch with rayon. I much prefer Thread Heaven over
a damp sponge tho'. If you are gonna do ANY sort of hand stitching -- be it
quilting or cross stitch or crazy quilting -- with rayon be kind to yourself
and invest the $3.00 or less in that little blue cube of Thread Heaven. You
WILL be glad you spent the money!!! CiaoMeow ^;;^
..


PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ Queen of Kitties
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their
WHISKERS!!
Nothing is complete without a few cat hairs!
Online Photos at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

Hullo Kitty
I do see why you love the rayon. I have some beauties in my drawer -
but I only machine quilt.
I wonder if it would be helpful to beeswax the rayon thread? I would
think it would be very 'curly' without some kind of 'treatment'... and
beeswax was what was traditionally used for 'difficult' threads. I
would certainly try to find some way of using it, as it would be a pity
to miss out on all the wonderful colours and colour combinations.
..
In article 5jiHc.41$jJ.34@fed1read07, KittyG
writes
For this little quilt of mine, I thought I could practice some handquilting
on since I really don't need it finished any time soon. I bought some
scrumptious variegated thread, so scrumptious I am building up a little
collection rather quickly. I really need to use it for something soon. The
thing is, the stuff is rayon. Is this okay for handquilting or too
difficult to work with and I should just MQ?

BTW, the quilt is all cotton fabric and thread, anchor stitched STID to the
batting with the clear nylon stuff.

kitty in phx


--
Best Regards
pat on the hill

From: Patti

I do see why you love the rayon. I have some beauties in my drawer -
but I only machine quilt.
I wonder if it would be helpful to beeswax the rayon thread?

I also only machine quilt and my machine is also an embroidery machine :-).
I have loads of machine embroidery rayons that I have used some for machine
quilting. Before beginning on my "specialty thread adventures" I asked lots of
questions, both here and at the machine embroidery newsgroup. What both groups
advised and seems to work best for the specialty thread is to have it as far
from the sewing machine as possible so that it can "relax" and sort of unwind
before going through the eye of the needle. If you can afford it, invest in
one of those specially weighted, free standing cones that hold any size spool
of thread. It won't tip over and you can set it anywhere you want away from
your machine, put your spool or cone of thread on it and then just bring the
end of your thread through the "dohickey" (I am BIG on technical terms) on cone
over to the machine and thread normally.
With specialty threads, they seem to work better if they go through lots of
spaces so that they have time to sort of unwind and relax. If you aren't able
to get one of those specialty cones, do what the inventive people do. Get a
large coffee mug or anything that is several inches larger than your spool or
cone of thread, securely tape a large paper clip to the top edge of it, drop
your spool or cone inside and bring the end of your rayon through the paper
clip AKA "Thread Guide". Now, set the mug or whatever you are using, at arms
length from your sewing machine BUT at the same height as the top of your
sewing machine, bring the thread over to the machine and thread as usual.
I am lucky -- my embroidery machine has a special thread "rack" made
specifically to hold specialty threads. I paid a fair amount of $$ for it but
it has been worth it. I also have a serger that sits right next to the sewing
machine and I have used the spool pins on top of that too.
Just remember to do a test run! Depending on your machine, you might need
to use a special bobbin thread &/or needle. When I work with rayons, I can use
a regular needle but I need to use special bobbin thread in the bobbin when I
am quilting or doing machine embroidery. But that's my machine -- yours might
be totally different. Remember -- each machine is different -- rather like
children or spouses -- LOLO! CiaoMeow ^;;^
..
PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ Queen of Kitties
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their
WHISKERS!!
Nothing is complete without a few cat hairs!
Online Photos at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

I agree! Thread Heaven is wonderful for any kind of hand stitching, and I
love it for hand quilting.

--
Carolyn in The Old Pueblo

If it ain't broke, you're not trying. --Red Green
If it ain't broke, it ain't mine. --Carolyn McCarty

If at first you don't succeed, switch to power tools. --Red Green
If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer. --Carolyn McCarty

"Tia Mary-remove nekoluvr to reply " wrote in
message ...
From: Monique Reed

...... Cross-stitchers working with rayon tend to cuss a lot. Try
dampening
the thread on a sponge first, and use short lengths. .......

That's putting it mildly -- LOLOL! I don't hand quilt but I do a LOT
of
needlework and I *love* to stitch with rayon. I much prefer Thread Heaven
over
a damp sponge tho'. If you are gonna do ANY sort of hand stitching -- be
it
quilting or cross stitch or crazy quilting -- with rayon be kind to
yourself
and invest the $3.00 or less in that little blue cube of Thread Heaven.
You
WILL be glad you spent the money!!! CiaoMeow ^;;^
.


PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ Queen of Kitties
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about
their
WHISKERS!!
Nothing is complete without a few cat hairs!
Online Photos at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

Thanks Tia Mary. I have previously only used the clear nylon stuff and
never had that much of a problem with it. But I've got a bunch of the rayon
now so how to set up the spools sounds like something good to look at. When
you speak of special bobbin thread what kind of thread are you referring to?
Would mercerized cotton not be A Good Thing then?

kitty in phx

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"Tia Mary-remove nekoluvr to reply " wrote in
message ...
From: Patti

I do see why you love the rayon. I have some beauties in my drawer -
but I only machine quilt.
I wonder if it would be helpful to beeswax the rayon thread?

I also only machine quilt and my machine is also an embroidery machine
:-).
I have loads of machine embroidery rayons that I have used some for
machine
quilting. Before beginning on my "specialty thread adventures" I asked
lots of
questions, both here and at the machine embroidery newsgroup. What both
groups
advised and seems to work best for the specialty thread is to have it as
far
from the sewing machine as possible so that it can "relax" and sort of
unwind
before going through the eye of the needle. If you can afford it, invest
in
one of those specially weighted, free standing cones that hold any size
spool
of thread. It won't tip over and you can set it anywhere you want away
from
your machine, put your spool or cone of thread on it and then just bring
the
end of your thread through the "dohickey" (I am BIG on technical terms) on
cone
over to the machine and thread normally.
With specialty threads, they seem to work better if they go through
lots of
spaces so that they have time to sort of unwind and relax. If you aren't
able
to get one of those specialty cones, do what the inventive people do. Get
a
large coffee mug or anything that is several inches larger than your spool
or
cone of thread, securely tape a large paper clip to the top edge of it,
drop
your spool or cone inside and bring the end of your rayon through the
paper
clip AKA "Thread Guide". Now, set the mug or whatever you are using, at
arms
length from your sewing machine BUT at the same height as the top of your
sewing machine, bring the thread over to the machine and thread as usual.
I am lucky -- my embroidery machine has a special thread "rack" made
specifically to hold specialty threads. I paid a fair amount of $$ for it
but
it has been worth it. I also have a serger that sits right next to the
sewing
machine and I have used the spool pins on top of that too.
Just remember to do a test run! Depending on your machine, you might
need
to use a special bobbin thread &/or needle. When I work with rayons, I
can use
a regular needle but I need to use special bobbin thread in the bobbin
when I
am quilting or doing machine embroidery. But that's my machine -- yours
might
be totally different. Remember -- each machine is different -- rather
like
children or spouses -- LOLO! CiaoMeow ^;;^
.
PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ Queen of Kitties
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about
their
WHISKERS!!
Nothing is complete without a few cat hairs!
Online Photos at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

I'll put together a scrap sandwich and try that Monique. The brand is
Sulky, decorative thread, sort of general purpose I think. Not marked
specifically for hand or machine quilting. It's sounds like my
introduction to hand quilting might not go as smoothly as I thought. Ah
well, what else is new?

kitty in phx

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"Monique Reed" wrote in message
...
I sure would try it on a little scrap "sandwich" first. In MQ, only a
little of the thread gets pulled through the sandwich, and only once.
In HQ, the whole length goes through the sandwich multiple times. You
may find it frays and tries to get out of the needle.

Cross-stitchers working with rayon tend to cuss a lot. Try dampening
the thread on a sponge first, and use short lengths. You will need to
be very sure of your beginning and ending anchoring because rayon
tends to weasel around a lot. I think MQ rayon is spun more tightly
than stitching rayon, but I expect it has some of the same properties.

Monique in TX

KittyG wrote:

For this little quilt of mine, I thought I could practice some
handquilting
on since I really don't need it finished any time soon. I bought some
scrumptious variegated thread, so scrumptious I am building up a little
collection rather quickly. I really need to use it for something soon.
The
thing is, the stuff is rayon. Is this okay for handquilting or too
difficult to work with and I should just MQ?

BTW, the quilt is all cotton fabric and thread, anchor stitched STID to
the
batting with the clear nylon stuff.

kitty in phx

--
Remove "s" and "i" in email to respond.
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ÿWPC5

Hullo Patti
I keep thinking of these as jewel threads. I'm not even sure I want to use
them! I'm going to look up Thread Heaven, as Tia Mary and Carolyn in the
Old Pueblo suggested. I assume that is some sort of beeswax type thing to
help control the thread and reduce friction. This is really the only thing
I am *planning* to handquilt. Really.

kitty in phx

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"Patti" wrote in message
...
Hullo Kitty
I do see why you love the rayon. I have some beauties in my drawer -
but I only machine quilt.
I wonder if it would be helpful to beeswax the rayon thread? I would
think it would be very 'curly' without some kind of 'treatment'... and
beeswax was what was traditionally used for 'difficult' threads. I
would certainly try to find some way of using it, as it would be a pity
to miss out on all the wonderful colours and colour combinations.
.
In article 5jiHc.41$jJ.34@fed1read07, KittyG
writes
For this little quilt of mine, I thought I could practice some
handquilting
on since I really don't need it finished any time soon. I bought some
scrumptious variegated thread, so scrumptious I am building up a little
collection rather quickly. I really need to use it for something soon.
The
thing is, the stuff is rayon. Is this okay for handquilting or too
difficult to work with and I should just MQ?

BTW, the quilt is all cotton fabric and thread, anchor stitched STID to
the
batting with the clear nylon stuff.

kitty in phx


--
Best Regards
pat on the hill

Yes on the Thread Heaven, no to the damp sponge. Rayon is weaker wet than dry and
the damp might cause more problems than it helps.
Hand quilting with rayon thread that is meant for machine work should be fine.
When a machine sews the thread see-saws back and forth through the needle many
times before it makes a stitch, so going through the fabric sandwich will not be
much different in any case, except near the eye of the needle. Use a single thread
and move the needle down frequently and you should be fine.

That all said, I don't understand why you have the top stitched to the batting
without the backing.?? Usually it is easier to layer backing-batting-top, then
stabilize to make sure the back doesn't have pleats while quilting. G

Pati, in Phx

Tia Mary-remove nekoluvr to reply wrote:

From: Monique Reed

...... Cross-stitchers working with rayon tend to cuss a lot. Try dampening
the thread on a sponge first, and use short lengths. .......

That's putting it mildly -- LOLOL! I don't hand quilt but I do a LOT of
needlework and I *love* to stitch with rayon. I much prefer Thread Heaven over
a damp sponge tho'. If you are gonna do ANY sort of hand stitching -- be it
quilting or cross stitch or crazy quilting -- with rayon be kind to yourself
and invest the $3.00 or less in that little blue cube of Thread Heaven. You
WILL be glad you spent the money!!! CiaoMeow ^;;^
.

PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ Queen of Kitties
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their
WHISKERS!!
Nothing is complete without a few cat hairs!
Online Photos at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary