The modern flair of twin needle quilting – embrace the zigzag

In our previous posts using SCHMETZ twin needles we looked at how to let your walking foot workits magic as well as free motion quilting.

Today we’ll use both of these techniques as we embrace the appearance of a zigzag.

As we learned in part one, to make a stitch with a twin needle our sewing machine requires threethreads, two through the needles and one bobbin.

When the single bobbin thread catches both the right and left needle it forms a bridge between the two.

This gives the appearance of a zigzag stitch on the back even when you are doing a straight stitch.

The wider the space between the needles the more pronounced this false zigzag is.

We can choose to minimize the appearance of the zigzag by using a narrow twin needle.

A backing fabric with a busy print will also help hide the stitching.

I choose to embrace the zigzag and let it become part of my quilting design.

After all, we have already decided to do something unusual by using our twin needle for quilting.

If using a printed backing choose a thread color to accent the print so that your stitching will show.

Gridwork that alternates between stitching from the front and back makes wonderful use of the decorative element created by the bobbin thread.

We can highlight the appearance of a zigzag by adjusting the threading or stitch settings on our sewing machine. Some examples below, from left to right:

Thread the needles with one color and the bobbin with another for a more visible ladder effect.

Tighten the top tension and shorten the stitch length.

Thread the needles with one color and the bobbin with a contrasting color. You’ll get the look of a bordered satin stitch.

Use three of the same color threads and slightly loosen the top tension for a honeycomb appearance.

Variegated thread in the bobbin will give a different appearance, sometimes subtle sometimes extreme.

A wide twin needle, a slightly reduced top tension and all three threads the same color will create a pronounced honeycomb.

Matchstick quilting stitched from the back looks completely different.

Be sure to draw frequent positioning lines on the back to keep this stitching square on the front.

Embrace the zigzag and twin needle free motion quilt your design from the back.

It’s OK to practice! Start with something small. Your friends will all wonder “how did you do that?!”

Join me again tomorrow for our final installment of the week as we double the fun and use our SCHMETZ twin needles for quilting with decorative stitches.