I have always quilted with Minky on my domestic and never had issues. I have most recently bought a long arm with pro stitcher. I keep having the issue of my thread breaking with Minky. I’ve changed my needle and using 90/14. I have checked the tension, slowed down the speed and use glide thread which is supposedly the best. I asked my local quilting store and their response was “oh we don’t use Minky and everyone in the quilting world hates it.” So I’m reaching out because that is not an answer that I will accept!
Minky is a little bit tricky but I love it and so do the receivers of the quilt. I struggled with Glide initially but as I gained a little more confidence with adjusting my tension I was found of it. How many quilts have you quoted so far? How confident do you feel generally with glide and your machine? Minky does add another element to your skill set. One of the reasons people struggle with Minky is that the ‘fluff’ sometimes comes up into the top of the quilt. That’s why I recommend a light weight backing if the top of the quilt is light weight. Step 1- get comfortable with your machine and glide Step 2 practice on. The side of the quilt with the Minky and adjust your tension as you go. Let me know how that goes.
@@DaraTomasson thank you so much I appreciate the help! Actually I just my quilting machine and tackled Minky first, probably not the smartest but I am comfortable with Minky from other quilts I’ve done on domestic machines. I plan on doing a non Minky quilt soon to practice more. I was just wondering if there was something else I was not doing right. Again thank you!
@@kaylapipkins4678 I quilted professionally on my domestic for about a year before I got a long arm. There are some differences and a learning curve. So excited for you to start this journey!!
I kinda got confused with stretch and less/non stretch side. I think it would help me if you laid it on the bar and shown stretch non-stretch while laying it on the bar. Thank you for making these informative videos! 😃❤️
I'm a longarmer and much prefer customers to not trim the minky till after they get it back from me. That way I have less fuzz and they only have fuzz once. I'll mount it so they get the biggest possible scrap back for another project. Also find a background in learning to sew back when double knits were popular really comes in handy.
I've quilted dozens of Minky backed baby quilts which were nice and light while being cudly. The secret is poly batting. Poly fil. And it machine dries faster.
I am quilting a fleece/minkie on my long arm and my stitches are skipping. I thought maybe if I made my stitch length longer it would help and it seems to go along well and then skip. Do you have any suggestions on how to keep that from happening?
How do you know if you have the Minky too tight on the rollers - I did this once and when I took the quilt off the rollers the Minky bounced back to its regular size and the quilt top was all ripply - it looked awful!
You probably could make it work- it would be tight. I usually have long 4 inch strips of backing fabric I sew on the sides to lengthen the back and then trim it off afterwards
My next longarm project will be using minky. Going to try these tips. Thanks!
How did it go?
Thanks for the tips. Made it much nicer quilting on the no stretch side!
I am so glad it was helpful.
I have always quilted with Minky on my domestic and never had issues. I have most recently bought a long arm with pro stitcher. I keep having the issue of my thread breaking with Minky. I’ve changed my needle and using 90/14. I have checked the tension, slowed down the speed and use glide thread which is supposedly the best. I asked my local quilting store and their response was “oh we don’t use Minky and everyone in the quilting world hates it.” So I’m reaching out because that is not an answer that I will accept!
Minky is a little bit tricky but I love it and so do the receivers of the quilt.
I struggled with Glide initially but as I gained a little more confidence with adjusting my tension I was found of it.
How many quilts have you quoted so far? How confident do you feel generally with glide and your machine?
Minky does add another element to your skill set.
One of the reasons people struggle with Minky is that the ‘fluff’ sometimes comes up into the top of the quilt. That’s why I recommend a light weight backing if the top of the quilt is light weight.
Step 1- get comfortable with your machine and glide
Step 2 practice on. The side of the quilt with the Minky and adjust your tension as you go.
Let me know how that goes.
@@DaraTomasson thank you so much I appreciate the help! Actually I just my quilting machine and tackled Minky first, probably not the smartest but I am comfortable with Minky from other quilts I’ve done on domestic machines. I plan on doing a non Minky quilt soon to practice more. I was just wondering if there was something else I was not doing right. Again thank you!
@@kaylapipkins4678 I quilted professionally on my domestic for about a year before I got a long arm. There are some differences and a learning curve.
So excited for you to start this journey!!
@@DaraTomasson thank you so much! Me too!
I kinda got confused with stretch and less/non stretch side. I think it would help me if you laid it on the bar and shown stretch non-stretch while laying it on the bar. Thank you for making these informative videos! 😃❤️
I am sorry to confuse you!! Thanks for the suggestion.
I am placing my stretch horizontally against my bar and my non stretch is vertically is that correct?
Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge and experience. I'm going to give it a try!
Please do!
I'm a longarmer and much prefer customers to not trim the minky till after they get it back from me. That way I have less fuzz and they only have fuzz once. I'll mount it so they get the biggest possible scrap back for another project. Also find a background in learning to sew back when double knits were popular really comes in handy.
oh i like that dryer tip!
Don’t the leaders cover that tape as you roll the quilt?
Dara, I don't want the baby quilt to be heavy. Will it be ok to not use batting?
I haven't had success with skipping the batting.
I've quilted dozens of Minky backed baby quilts which were nice and light while being cudly. The secret is poly batting. Poly fil. And it machine dries faster.
Dara, do you need to change the tension on your long arm to accommodate the minky bulk? Btw I love your quilt studio - so much light.
It really depends on your machine. Usually no.
When you say straight of grain I think you are saying the selvage?
I am quilting a fleece/minkie on my long arm and my stitches are skipping. I thought maybe if I made my stitch length longer it would help and it seems to go along well and then skip. Do you have any suggestions on how to keep that from happening?
I would change my needle size more than the stitch length. I love to put a scrap on the side to play around with tension to make sure it is okay.
What size needle would recommend when using a black monkey to avoid it pulling through to the front?
What machine do you have? I usually use a 5.5 (Gammill)
What size needle? I’m have a Janome QMP 18
How do you know if you have the Minky too tight on the rollers - I did this once and when I took the quilt off the rollers the Minky bounced back to its regular size and the quilt top was all ripply - it looked awful!
I like to have a nice bounce on the backing.
I love Minky
Can I use a 4-way stretch minky on a quilt frame? Thanks, Laurie
I have never hear of 4 way stretch. Which brand is it?
@@DaraTomasson Thanks for getting back to me. As it turns out I received my minky in the mail and it is 2-way stretch. So I'm good. Thanks again.
What about using the clips on the sides
They are helpful.
Why wouldn't you just tape at the edges of the backing? I make sure they are lined up, that way my backs are usually straight .
I have never thought of doing that. If it works for you, that’s awesome. What type of tape do you use?
Blue tape
That surprises me that it would be strong enough. That’s awesome that works🎉
@@DaraTomasson it is just a guide
I serge the edges of minky after cutting to cut down on the mess
That's a great idea.
Minky is 58" wide and my t-shirt quilt top is 64" wide so I will have to piece the back,,any hints are appreciated , thanks ,,Martha
You probably could make it work- it would be tight. I usually have long 4 inch strips of backing fabric I sew on the sides to lengthen the back and then trim it off afterwards
I've quilted several pieced minky backs. The trick is match the stretch so it lays smoothly.