(Parking) Help avoiding vertical lines.

[Mistresspaige]

Hi everyone I've recently given parking a go since I find it very good for HAED work and the like but have the annoying issue of vertical lines showing up where each column meets.
I do my parking in 10x10 blocks working on the first colour of said block until filled before doing the next colour and so on and so forth. Once done I park my threads for the next block under.

Is there anyway to avoid getting these lines because I find them abit bothersome.

Cheers, xx

[cairee]

yes there is a way to prevent them. dont stick to strict 10x10 blocks. if a color carries on to the next column over go ahead and stitch it, this will keep the edge of the column more jagged and prevent lines from forming.

[richardandtracy]

It may also be an indicator that your thread tension is a little too high as you stitch up. A combination of lower thread tension & not doing exactly 10 columns wide could help.

Regards,

Richard.

[Allyn]

I agree with Cairee and Richard. Those are tension lines. You'll get them if you do 10x10 columns and you'll also get them down the edges of pages if your tension is even a little taut. All those rows stopping on the same vertical thread tend to pull it, creating the discernible line. It's most noticeable in areas of solid color, but you can get them, too, in areas of confetti.

A few possible solutions are:
1) to park more threads in the next column rather than parking everything below so you'll carry that needle across to continue the color.
2) instead of parking in the next column, just go ahead and stitch across the line. You don't have to stitch *all* that color, but putting even just a couple of stitches over every few rows helps break up the line.
3) ease up on your tension a bit so the fabric thread isn't pulled at the line.

Instead of stitching in 10-stitch-wide columns, I treat the whole page as one 'column' to avoid those stripes and then just reach over and stitch a few stitches on the next page every few rows to break up the page edges.

[Pampam]

These are great tips! I'm still a scare dee cat when it comes to parking (too OCD really). But if I ever give it a go, I'll have a great head start.
Thanks mistresspaige for asking this question!!