jgriinke

My guess is that you used way too much spray basting. I don't have a problem with gumming up the needle. I try to use
enough, without too much. Sometimes it's hard to figure that out.

tutt

Thanks for the responses. I don't spray baste, I pin baste, but I will change my needle and see if that helps.

RedGarnet222

The problem is there are a few things that will cause this. Moving the fabric too fast can cause this. But also pulling on the fabric so the stitch isn't formed properly can to. You can change the needle to the proper sized one for free motion and clean all of the lint out of the bobbin case and under the needle plate. If that doesn't work, I found sometimes the bobbin thread is the culpret. Or that you don't have the right bobbin in there. Mine comes with two and it is useful to thread it through the little spring loop. Change bobbins with another thread. Bernina's are famous for not liking some threads like coats and clark.

rusty quilter

Funny you should write this today. I have a Bernina 820 and am having the same problem today! It is so frustrating to have spent a fortune on a machine that does not live up to it's name. I have done all of the troubleshooting as well, and it just happens about every 7 or 8 inches. I am even more frustrated that I cannot use monofiliment thread with this machine because the tension gets all screwed up...Okay...I am done complaining--back to the fmq

tsnana2000

I have had that happen on my Bernina 440QE try changing the needle and rethreading the machine. Hope this helps.

Tartan

If it's only a few spots, I have marked the skip with a pin and come back and fix them by hand later. I put one strand of the same coloured thread in a hand needle. I pop the knot on the end into the fabric and carefully come up on one side of the long stitch. I then go down on the other side of the long stitch being careful to come out on the backside of the quilt right next to the long stitch there. I then go to the other side of the thread and insert the needle beside the long stitch thread and either bury the knot or proceed to the next stitch. Basically I make it look like the stitch would have looked if they were connected by the machine. This is only practical if you only have a few spots to fix and it really bugs you.

Doreen

Change the needle! Ask me how I know!

pippi65

I'm with everyone about try changing the needle. That's the first thing I do when that happens. My friend had borrowed a machine from me for quite a while and called me up frantic...I think I've broken your machine. I asked her if she had changed the needle and she said no...it has the same needle in it that you gave it to me with!! Good Luck with finishing it up. Let us know if that was the problem.

katydidkg

My Bernina 150QE had this problem last week. And doesn't it always happen when you're working on a project for a gift ? I cleaned the lint out under the needle plate, changed to a new needle ( a quilting needle) and that solved the problem.

thepolyparrot

Hope it's all straightened up today!

I forgot to mention the second thing I always check - the size of the needle. If the needle is too large for the thread, the thread doesn't receive enough friction as the needle ascends to form a loop that the hook can catch. Skipped stitch.

So if you're using a 50 or 60 wt thread but you've got the size 14 jeans needle in the machine from your last project, the jeans part is okay because it's a sharp needle, but the size of the needle is too large for the diameter of the thread. Go with a 10 or 11 or 12 and see if that doesn't help.