Charley's Mom

I recently bought a Babylock Tiara and have spent so much time trying to get the tension correct to no avail! Grrrrr. I saw on the Superior Threads website a TOWA to use with a long arm. It had both an adjuster for the bobbin and upper tension.

Has anyone had an experience with this setup?

Thanks so much for any info that you can give me.

Prism99

I don't use the TOWA, but this Youtube video by Jamie Wallen helped me a lot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1mRhcquZTM

DogHouseMom

I use the Jamie Wallen "drop" method as well. Works for me.

cpower

Babylock has some UTubes videos for the drop method tension too. Kay Capps teaches this method for the long arms! Works fine for me!

quiltedsunshine

So many times, we get called on longarm tension problems. And when we look closely, the thread isn't actually between the tension disks. Longarm tension disks don't open when you lift the presser foot, like a domestic machine. You really have to pull the thread into them. When you adjust the tension on a domestic machine, a quarter of a turn is a lot. But when you adjust the tension on a longarm, you can crank the knob half-way around, and it won't make as much difference because the screw is so fine.

Good Luck!

Prism99

Also make sure that your bobbins are wound tightly and evenly. Sometimes experimenting with pre-wound bobbins helps because you can eliminate this variable from the tension equation.

Tashana

The best advice I can give you is the one that saved me countless hours of grief. HandiQuilter has a video for long armers called TNT - treads, needles and tension. It is my mantra! If you always use the same thread, it is a one time thing to adjust it. If you use multiple types of threads in your bobbin, it may be a good investment to purchase an extra bobbin case and set it for each type of thread. The video is available on YouTube or at the HQ web site, it is free, and it is about 30 minutes long. Good luck!

LyndaOH

I second this! I got a Sweet Sixteen about a month ago and the tension drove me nuts until I discovered that I hadn't "flossed" the thread properly into the tension disks. You do really have to pull hard until you hear or feel it click. Hard enough that you think you'll break the thread. Once I realized this, I went back to the bobbin tension, followed the manufacturer's directions for that, then tried it with my thread properly flossed - perfect!

My trainer also taught me a neat trick. If you want to set your top tension back to what's considered factory tension, tighten it all the way, then loosen it six full turns from that. If you're not sure you're doing full turns, put a little dab of white out on the little dot on the tension knob so you can see better. What you think is a full turn might actually be a half or 3/4 of a turn.

Milli

Yelp!
That was my problem , once I fixed it, I was good to go, am still am.

Charley's Mom

Thanks so much for all of the advice. I watched the Jamie Wallen video and that seemed to help. I will keep working on it a d definitely watch all of the others. I will also try the upper tension suggestions. This group is a wonderful help.