SITD - do you get puckers?

[Gayle8675309]

I tried to SITD on a quilt, but I ended up getting puckers. I had spray basted well, and even ironed the layers after spray basting, but when I SITD around the first border, by the time I got to the end I had a pucker in the fabric that I couldn't avoid. So I ended up ripping out all that stitching and just FMQ the whole quilt with a stipple.

Anyone else have this problem with SITD? I really am hesitant to try it again.

[buckeyequilter]

I'm having that problem with a jelly roll quilt and now in process of ripping it out. I'm going to try again and see what happens, I might just end up FMQing the quilt. But I saw someone's quilt on here that looked like that so maybe that's the way they are supposed to look...I don't know.

[Denis]

Are you using a walking foot or a regular foot? I have to admit even when I used my walking foot for SID, I got puckers when I came near a line of quilting going in the other direction like a "t" in the road, but never on a border.

[Bubby]

I have never had that problem, but I always use a walking foot and lengthen my stitch a little.

[EnumclawGramma]

Does it have anything to do with the thread tension? I need to know the solution because I'm getting ready to finish up a quilt for my daughter using SITD.

[Gayle8675309]

Yes, I did use my walking foot. And I made sure that all the puckers were ironed and smoothed out before starting. I don't know what the answer is.

My tension was fine...I always check my tension before starting.

[a1angiem]

Did you start in the centre and work out? Apparently you can smooth out the pucker a bit as you come to it (according to course on craftsy)...

[Gayle8675309]

No, I took both machine quilting classes and learned to do your outside border as a stabilizing stitch. Maybe I should have started in the middle? I was just going by what I learned in those classes. It's frustrating.

[HandsOffItsMine]

I only do SITD and always start in the middle, do upto 3 vertical lines down to one side then go to the the other side and to three, then back to the right, back to the left, etc. Flip the quilt, start in the middle, repeat process. Then go back and fill in other sections once the main quilt is stablized, this seems to create the least amount of chance of puckering along the runs.

I use a 3.5 stitch length with a walking foot, my machine does have automatic thickness adjustment though as well.

[buckeyequilter]

I practiced with longer stitches and the practice piece didn't pucker. So I'm going to use longer stitches and see what happens. I didn't start in the middle but think I will this time. Hopefully I won't have puckers