Secret Sewing Becomes Secret Quilting

Can You See the Loose Threads?

Obviously, I could not before I took the picture or I would have removed them. They were from the first round of stitching that I did in the morning, and ripped out in the afternoon. I've had a lot of indecisiveness while designing this project.

Can I say up front that I don't do well with this Secret Sewing concept? I'd love to show you more, but the Hop isn't until January. If you're going to the Fall Market, this piece will be there. I've let a few dear friends see what I was involved with, but other than that I've been mum. This is the first quilt I've made entirely out of batiks so let me pass on a few things I've encountered.

Use Sharp Needles!

Making batik involves printing on fabric with wax. Finer detail and ease of wax removal is best done with a finer weave of fabric, but this means it can be more difficult to pierce with a standard machine needle. For piecing, I use a 70/10 'Denim/Jeans' needle in a Schmetz Microtex brand. It works wonderfully! 

Want to Know More?

If you're curious about my own adventures in batiking, check out this latest post at "One More Thing Before I Dye" where I am experimenting with a new tjap.

Hand Stitiching

I am using several stitching techniques in this project along with a wide variety of threads. I like to use Perle cotton No. 8 and a crewel needle to hand quilt. I use the same with a button hole stitch to attach applique. I also go through all the layers, and this quilts it all together while adding more dimension to the piece. It's my preferred method, but certainly not the only way.

How Should I Applique This?

Considering the difficulty of stitching through batik as it is, I did not want to turn under the edges. Raw edge applique was going to have to work. Sadly, I have not had good luck with any iron on adhesives normally used for raw edge applique, and needed forceps to pull my needle through the fabric when I'd used them before. Could I do this project without my raw edges becoming ragged?

To my delight, the tighter weave of the batik worked in my favor! This time I simply used an archival glue stick to attach the applique in place, a few pins, and started stitching. It was still rough going sewing through 3 layers of batik plus batting, but almost no frayed edges.

Somewhere in my stitching, I had an area where I'd previously torn stitches out. Those holes were very easy to go through, and the idea of running the appiqued areas through my domestic machine came to me. This time I used the length of stitch I was comfortable hand stitching, and left the thread in it as a basting. As I moved on with my stitches, I removed the basting. Much quicker, and easier on the fingers!

Consider Your Longarm Needles, Too

If you do your own longarming, choose a needle recommended by your machine manufacturer for batiks. You should be able to contact the company or the business that sold the machine for a recommendation. I find a size 16 or 18 both work well on hand dyed or batiks, and I favor Superior's Omni thread. It's locally available, and works very well on my HQ Avante.

I Rip Out Stitches in Batik 

and Have No Holes

Gosh, I think this needs to be addressed. I have heard from more quilters the tale of never being able to rip out stitches when sewing batiks because the holes don't go away. Hand dyed fabrics count here, too. May I say that if that was really the case my work would resemble Swiss cheese! If it doesn't look right, I rip it out. I also keep a little bottle of water in an old bottle of hair spritzer, and spritz liberally. A little touch with my steam iron, and air dry. The holes are gone. 

Go forth and sew with batiks (and hand dyed fabrics), and be not afraid! Just stay sharp.

Come on, Doxie girls.

Let's go sew.

And check out the sister blog~

One More Thing Before I Dye

Linking up with~
Young Texan Mama
Show and Tell with Bambi
Quilt Story
Fiber Tuesday
Freemotion By the River
Stitch All the Things
Live Laugh Quilts
Patchwork Times
Cooking Up Quilts
Em's Scrap Bag