Tuesday, December 3, 2013

WIP Wednesday

I've had two things in the works this week.  First up, the Stack & Whack blocks I showed progress on last week, for my friend's daughter's quilt, are now finished.  All 48 of them!  Really, they came together so fast I was surprised.  I haven't laid them out to start deciding rows, and all of the blocks will need trimming, but they are a nice finished stack of blocks now rather than a nice stack of fabric!


Also this week I started on a Have It All Wallet for myself (my first wallet, which went to Lucy in a swap, can be seen here).  I used a variety of cute floral fabrics and a nice bright red zipper!  It is finished except for adding a snap closure and top-stitching around the edge.


Now, about the top-stitching.  On the first wallet I made I didn't top-stitch.  It really doesn't need it and I wasn't sure if my machine would be able to handle the layers and produce a nice even stitch.  On this one, I gave it a try starting on the bottom edge, and it was a disaster!  I had huge skipped stitches almost every other stitch, and this was with a brand new denim needle suitable for thick layers and my walking foot.  So I cleaned out my machine and re-threaded the top and bottom and tried again.....same result.  Next, I took some scrap fabric and folded it into thick layers - I think it's 12 layers - and sewed through that and it worked like a dream!  No skipped stitches, and a nice even line.  Huh!!??


Do you think that the wallet having a combo of multi layers of fabric plus light and heavy interfacing could be the problem???  Clearly my machine can sew through many layers of regular cotton fabric.  Hmmmm.  Any thoughts??

Linking up with Lee @ Freshly Pieced

11 comments:

Sarah @ mila+cuatro said...

Could it possibly be because you're working on the edge of the wallet and with your example maybe you weren't the same distance away from the edge?

Nilya said...

The blocks AND the wallet Look so great!

Susan said...

I think Sarah might be onto something...the unevenness of the wallet being fed through- thick on one side of the foot, nothing on the other? Your idea has merit too! I think it looks great without it though!

Elita@Busy Needle Quilting said...

What a pretty wallet! If it doesn't need the top stitching, I wouldn't do it. However, just as a learning experience, I would agree with Sarah & Patchwork & Play, about nothing on the one side. That makes my machine act like she's going to get up & leave. Not happy! I love those Kate Spain fabrics too. Just bought myself some for Christmas. This is a nice pattern for them. Great job on both!

Kleep said...

Looking great. Whatever you end up doing, you should definitely post more pictures of the finished wallet!! Good luck.

Tanyia said...

It does look great, I have not tried making a wallet yet but I always love how they look when other people do them. I agree maybe the edge is harder plus all the seams are in there? Maybe a thicker needle would help?


Stopping by from Lee's hop
http://domesticdeficitdisorder.blogspot.com/2013/12/wip-wednesday-dec-4th.html

Kirsten said...

Your wallet looks lovely! I have had some problems with skipped stitches when sewing through many layers too and not sure what else to do other than what you have already tried. Maybe just leave the top stitching if it isn't totally necessary.

Cathy said...

Oooo it is a lovely wallet! Darn it with the skipped stitching...I would have tried everything you did. Frustrating!

Debbie said...

Very curious about the top stitching. Looks like you never really got an answer, huh?

Renee said...

That quilt looks like fun to layout! I better sewing the blocks all together will go fast too. Your wallet is really cute! My guess is that when you're sewing on the wallet the presser foot is not staying level-- when you go over large bumps (like around the zipper), try holding the back of the foot up.

Katherine said...

Oh, great fabric choices!

Hmmm... thinking about your problem with topstitching and came up with an idea to add to the ones here. Try adjusting the pressure dial on your machine (it controls the amount of pressure your machine foot has on the fabric) - I've found this to be a help when dealing with layers.