Lori

My 2nd day as a member of the group and I am already looking for some help :?
I have had my machine for about 2 years and have done a lot of quilting using an embroidery foot and feed dog cover plate. Now when I try to do free motion quilting, the thread keeps breaking (shredding). I have tried regular needles, quilting needles and denim needles. I have tried to change the tension and slow down. The repair man told me it is when you go forward that puts tension on the thread. I cannot think of anything else to try. Any suggestions?
Thank you!
Lori

Catherine

old or cheap thread will do that.

kathy

can you pull the thread ? raise the presser foot and gently pull on it, if you can't pull it pretty easily it sounds like it's hung up somewhere, take the spool off the machine and start over, sometimes it gets a kink in it or we think we did it right and (I hate to say this) we didn't.

lin

I've found that when that happens to me, it's usually the type of needle I'm using with the thread I've chosen. As Kathy suggested, check your tensions (both top and bobbin) to make sure that they're feeding evenly and smoothly. What type of thread are you using? If it's a 50 wt or higher, try a microtex sharp 70/10. If it's a heavier weight, then a quilting needle or a top stitch needle 18(110) might work better. I've found that when using regular Coats and Clark cotton covered poly thread, a universal 90/14 or 80/12 actually works well.

This same thing just happened to me when I started on that queen quilt I was basting, and I didn't take the time to do a practice swatch (BAD lin). I was in a hurry to start, so I had a few stitches to take out. (served me right! LOL) I still had my regular Juki needle in the machine, and I'm using a 60 wt thread, so I changed to the microtex and now I'm having no problem. Over time, I've gotten a pretty good sense of what needle will work with the threads I most commonly use, but that's no excuse for me to have not done a practice swatch. If I had done one, I would have known immediately that I hadn't changed out the needle.

I had a lot of fun practicing with different threads and different needles. I made a little chart as I went along and marked down which needles I had used to get the best results with any given thread. This can really be a help to you. Also, when doing a practice swatch before getting to the actual quilt, its best to use the same weight fabric (if not the actual fabric(s) used in the quilt) and a small piece of the batting you'll be using. It's probably most important to at least make sure you're using the same batting in your sample. Different batting weights can come into play as to how the needle reacts. Good luck. Don't give up. I'm so glad I didn't. :)

nanatn

lori try turning your stitch lenth to 00 you will control the stiches this worked for me

Lori

Kathy, The thread pulls fine and works well on a regular foot, it is just the embroidery foot and free motion quilting.

Nanatn - I will change the stitch length. I never thought about that since I am free motion quilting, but it is worth a try.

Lin - Thanks for your advice on the needles. I have tried several, but since I am using Coats and Clark I went ahead and picked up some new 90/14 and 80/12...maybe I have some old needles?? Also, good idea about making notes of what works because I had this problem a few months ago and finally got it to work...now I cannot remember what I did other than different and new needles.

God Bless!
Lori

Lori

I tried new 90/14 and 80/12 needles. I tried setting my stitch length down and up, etc...making notes with each change. I tried a denim needle and different size quilting needles. I then decided to change my needle position. It defaults to the left position when I turn on my machine, but I always move it to the middle position, so I tried it in the left postion and viola...it worked. I quilted until I ran our of bobbin thread :lol:
I am e-mailing out of excitement, but hope this may help others if they come across the same problem. Maybe something is out of wack in center position??
Anyhow, thank you all so much for the helpful hints. If anything, it got me in here trying different things and I will keep all of the suggestions in mind if I have trouble again. I also loved the idea of keeping notes. That is a must now!
God Bless!
Lori

lin

That's such good news Lori. I'm so glad you were able to figure out what worked for you!!! It should be a fun experience, and when things go wrong, it just takes all the joy out of it. Now maybe you can get excited about it again, and get some things f*****ed! :lol:

The instructions that came with my machine said to make sure the stitch length was set to 0 when I use it to quilt. I thought that wasn't necessary if the feed dogs were down, but evidentally it makes a difference.

I loved that you quilted until the bobbin ran out. :lol: Classic!

Lori

Well, I am so happy about it all. I was ready to send it to be fixed. I have learned more than I know this time. Try, try and try again is what I have learned. At first I thought my machine was completely messed up. It would not pick up the bobbin thread and would not sew at ALL. Before I took it in, I thought I would sit down and give it one more try, when I noticed that it was simply not threaded correctly. The whole time I thought it was the bobbin and I was messing with it, I never took a minute to re-thread the machine. A tiny little overlook and I thought my machine was broke. Then this..it just gets better.
I am so glad I have joined this group. I really appreciate all your help!
Lori

ania755

:D Thank you for the question and thank you for the answers and solutions........I knew I could count on you ladies...... :D you really are the best.....