Keys to Successful Renegade Thread Play

 Clematis Flower Pattern and Kits

The Keys to successful Renegade Thread Play are to have a few of the right tools and follow your cut fused piece on each petal. All the work you did of cutting out those little strips and wedges or vines in the petals are your hit lines for how to curve your thread when quilting.  

1.    Do not go fast. Medium fast is great.

2.    Having something on you hand is a must for better control. Aka, Gloves. It really makes for better stitches.

3.    Having the right needle for the job.  What is the Job? Trying to quilt through thick fusible web while making beautiful line drawings with thread and coloring at the same time. 

You need a big hole in the eye of the needle and a needle that is designed to go through thick fabric like fusible.  Topstitch needle size 80/12 or 90/14, or a Jeans Denim needle size 80/12 or 90/14. I start out with the 80/12, but if you have skipped stitches try the 90/14. 

4.    Heat is your friend when sewing through Steam-A-Seam 2.   Warm up the area that you are about to quilt with your hot DRY iron. Steam will make your quilt wet. You can't quilt through a wet quilt. The heat melts and softens the fusible web. This makes its easy to sew through. This only works with Steam A Seam 2.   That is why I use it. You can iron it over and over. Not all fusible can take over ironing.

5.    Lower your top thread tension. I wish I could give you a magical number, but every sewing machine has its own number, and that number can change from day to day. Depending on how moody your machine is. The manufactures number for regular domestic sewing is around 4, 5. But when doing free motion quilting you are pulling and tugging on the fabric under the needle which means you need the tension to be looser than normal.  You need to have the tension at a lower number like 3, 2, or 1.  I move the number down a little at a time, always looking at the front and back of my stitches, to see if I have equal tension on both sides.

6.    I am using Rayon thread to do Renegade Thread Play. I love this thread because of it shine and comes in vibrant colors.  Rayon is very delicate and can break or fray very easily if you do not know how to handle it. I coat every spool of rayon thread before I thread my machine and after I wind my bobbin with Sewers Aid. Its a lubricate that keeps the thread from being nicked or frayed while moving through the sewing machine and needle.  I squeeze 3 to 4 lines of sewers aid a crossed the spool, length wise and squish it in.

The short video below will show you how I use Sewers Aid to helps with sticky build up on my needle.

To watch VIDEO - Click in the middle to play.

More videos are on my YouTube Channel-Melinda Bula Designs

Refresher Course's- How to work with and deal with Steam-A-Seam 2

Video's at at the bottom. So you will read the post!  

Let’s get educated. Iv spent the last month working on making some “how to "or Tips and Tricks videos on how I do my technique for making my Art. Or as some of you may call it Quilt Art or Art Quilting! Call whatever you want but I’m creating and making stuff so I call it, Art and I use my sewing machine so that quilting so we have Quilt Art!

I get asked a lot of question about how I do what I do, why I use Steam-A-Seam 2 and how to handle the sticky that comes with this product. I thought I’d answer those question by doing a few videos. They will also be posted here on my blog so you can come back anytime and watch your favorites.  They will also be on YouTube under Melinda Bula if I do all this tech-y stuff this right! 

Let’s talk about fusible webs first. There are many fusible webs on the market today. The last time I counted it was close to 20 and growing. Here what you need to Know! They are not the SAME and are used for different fusing and quilting techniques!   When your pattern or the instructor says to bring a certain kind of fusible web! Bring that fusible! That pattern and the instructors technique is based on that fusible web they are asking for. This is so important! all of us so called fusers are not doing the same thing! its like we are called Quilters but under our sewing machine we are all doing different quilting techniques. Right! Same with fusing.

 You can’t use just one fusible web for all these techniques.  Just like the threads we use today, you have to buy the right thread for the technique you are doing. We now have many choices and that may not be all good. Are you confused yet? 

In this blog and videos below, I’m just going to talk about the fusible I use. Steam-A- Seam 2. I have tried many. But come back to SAS2 for my technique. did you hear me say it. My technique.

I’m always up for something new! They are all good products. But fusing is not the same for every creative person out there. We are doing many different and unique techniques with fusible web. 

And don't get mad at your quilt shop owner. They can't afford to carry all 20+ fusible webs under the cutting tables. That is why bring yards with me to classes when I teach and sell it on my Esty shop.



Every time you see a color change its another piece of fabric.

 

Ok, what’s my technique? I am laying or overlapping layers of fused fabric on top of each other just like you lay paint on top of other paint. That’s how I make my art quilt. Iv layered up to 6 layers and still been able to sew through it.  The threads I add when quilting are another layer of color added to the composition. Steam-A-Seam 2 allow me to do that. And of course I have developed some tips and tricks I want to share with you.

And I don’t use the Lite Steam-A-Seam (Tip)  It’s dose not stay adhered. When I’m trying to quilt my piece it lifts up off the fabric.   when peeling it off the release paper half of it stay on one paper and the other half is on the other release paper. Which makes my students panic and have a bad experience!

First #1 video is about how to put the fusible web on the fabric! There are tricks that make it easy to use.

Video #2 is how to deal with all the sticky and how to clean it off all your sewing tools. That means your scissors also. Did you know there are special scissors that work better with sticky fusible web?

Hope these videos will answer some of questions? You can leave questions below or on YouTube and I will try and answer them. Remember the video is just talking about my technique and using Steam-A-Seam 2.

NOTE: no company is asking me or paying me to do this. I just have a lot of experience with this fusible and watching 1,000's of students a year using it. I figure last year I bought about 2,000 yards the sticky stuff for myself and student.