Ruby the Quilter

I'm so frustrated I'm quilting a quilt and for the first half of the quilt everything went fine. Put a new spool of thread on for the top and now the thread breaks after one or two stitches. I have tried everything I can think of. I have loosened the tension, checked the bobbin, cleaned lint. The thread comes off the tension knob really tight even when I loosen it.
Any ideas? It is interesting that nearly all of the problems with long arm machines are Tin Lizzie. I hope to finish this quilt and them will probably sell.

Maybe Tin Lizzie needs a tech to stay on this forum to help the owners of the Tin Lizzie. When it works it great but it doesn't work very often. Fro the cost it should work all the time!

khquilter

Sorry you are so frustrated. What kind of thread are you using? I have the queen quilter which is the tin lizzie before they had the lizzie stitch. I have never had any problems with my machine. I have had it for 3 years and it has always
worked great. I think more people have had problems with the machines with the lizzie stitch. I use metro embroderiy
thread and never have to adjust tension. It is also reasonably priced. Hope you can fix your problem soon.

khquilter

I just thought of something. Have you oiled your machine lately? It seems like you have to oil it alot.

dunster

If the thread is coming off the tension knob really tight, there must be something wrong with the thread path up to that point. Is it plenty loose before it goes into the tension disk? Is it actually caught in the tension disk? I don't have a TL, so can't give specific help. Usually if something is wrong right after I change the thread it's because there's something wrong with the thread path.

Mom3

Bumping my nose in here even though I don't have a TL........

On the Singer's I have, threading MUST be done with the presser foot in the UP position.

Shari

QuiltnNan

i read a tip once... sometimes the thread can catch on a foot that is not smooth. do you have another you can try?

PaperPrincess

Make sure the presser foot is up, then try pulling the thread thru. If it still is really tight, make sure that the thread is going between the tension disks, not in back (next to the machine) or in front (next to the tension knob) of them. Although it's hard to do, I once threaded mine with the thread going in back of the disks. If it's threaded correctly thru the disks, then tug on the thread just before going thru the tension disks. Sometimes it's caught up somewhere closer to the spool.
I rarely thread the machine any more. I cut the thread at the spool, tie the new thread on and then slowly pull it thru to the needle.
Knock on wood, I've had great success with my TL. It will sew with any thread and the tension is easy to adjust.

Joset

I threaded my long arm three times one time because i didnt have it right
coming through the disc.(tension) and of course my long arm machine only uses one
kind 0f thread. did you change the brand of the thread is this different then
the kind you used before. i have a 1600p janome on my quilting table . but
they are fussy. and yes lots of oil.

Gramie bj

check your oil, when was the last time you changed your needle? I find I need to change mine for every quilt, check for lint between your tenisen disk's. Is your new thread the same brand and weight? I have found that some brands the color seams to affect the way a machine will accept it- blks can be a ruffer feel than say cream or white or even dark brown. These problems happen to everyone and on every machine. once you learn how your machine likes to be treated it becomes second nature to keep her running smoothly. Good luck

AudreyB

I had trouble with the thread breaking, then found out that my needle wasn't in straight. It was off just enough that the thread was breaking quite often. After I turned my needle so that the eye was straight out, it worked a lot better.

It's frustrating when it doesn't work well. Hope you find your solution soon.