anne2016

What are some reasons for the machine to sew too-long stitches? It makes good stitches...maybe a dozen or so and then makes a longer stitch.

I am using a Brother PQ1500 with a Brother walking foot. It does this while I am quilting my quilt. It also does it on a small sandwiched piece, but not so often. This happened suddenly. I had half the quilt done and no problems when it just started doing this. I can't figure out why. I have checked everything out....changed needles, cleaned, oiled, used different bobbin and top thread and tension changes and probably other things that I can't remember right now.
Help!

Nammie to 7

You've done everything I would have suggested!

EasyPeezy

Might be a loose or broken gear. You might want to take it for repair.

MadQuilter

Did you try it with the regular foot? What does it do with that?

Peckish

I think you're actually skipping stitches. Try a larger needle.

Jingle

I would go with the last two suggestions. A larger needle worked for me.

quiltedsunshine

If the timing is off just a little, it would make it skip stitches. One way to remedy that is to move the needle position one notch to the left or right. Of course if you do that, you have to pay close attention to where you're stitching, and not rely on the edge of the foot for your measurement.

Macybaby

If I recall, this is a straight stitch only machine. And I agree, it's skipping a stitch. It can be a combination of needle size, type of fabric, thightness of fabric, direction of sewing with the weave of the fabric, and timing. Timing can be two things, the needle hole is not aligning with the hook going up and down, or the needle bar is not aligned so the needle hole is not directly perpendicular to the hook. With my LA, the needle is round and you can rotate it slightly if you are having skipped stitches because of the particular fabric/thread combination.

Macybaby

Continuned - I have a lot of problems posting to this site on one particular computer . . . it either looses half or what I type of posts when I don't expect it to.

Anyway- what happens is as the needle goes down, it pulls the thread tight on both sides of the needle, and then as the needle pulls back up, a loop forms in the thread and the hook can grab it. For assorted reasons, sometimes the fabric grabs tight to the needle/thread, and when the needle goes back up, the thread goes with it and NO loop forms, so you get a skipped stitch. I have one machine that does fine except when I FMQ in one particular direction, and then it will skip about 3 in 5 stitches. Unless I hold the fabric exceedingly tight, then I can get it to skip less, but it still does. I just got good about not going in that direction with that machine. I've had others that would not FMQ without a hoop (very tight fabric tension).

A bigger needle makes a bigger hole, and then it's less lightly the fabric is going to interfere with the thread being able to form that loop.

Now, if the problem is caused by the tension of the fabric, it could be that you've got drag without realizing it (too much tension on the fabric) , or you get tired and aren't holding it as tight (too little tension on the fabric).

I'd also suggest putting in a needle and then getting sideways and looking to see if the hole is perpendicular with the hook. If for some reason your needle bar got rotated, this can happen. Then it's usually loosening a set screw and moving the needle bar so it's back where it needs to be.

anne2016

Thanks everyone. I wasn't expecting so many replies. Cathy, thank you for taking the time to write explanations in detail. It is appreciated. I tried some more things (checking the hole/needle alignment, using the 1/4" foot, using needle with bigger eye and a few other things) but nothing helps. I did find that if I sew REALLY slow it doesn't skip but that would take me forever to get a quilt done. My DH says it's slightly out of line....he never sews but I guess he could be right. I will be taking in for a checkup. Maybe it's something to do with the gears. I am paranoid about taking it in. I always think that the repair guy will make it worse. LOL! The only guy who repairs machines is gone on vacation until late July but I do have a spare machine...just a cheapie but at least I can sew.
Again, many thanks. I can always depend on QB members for quick replies.