amethyst

Hi! I’ve had my Baby Lock Jazz II for about a year. Today I started practice quilting on some spare material (trying to figure out what color thread I want to use). I have the machine set to the longest stitch and it’s just not very long. There’s not much difference between the shortest stitch and the longest stitch. What could be causing that?

Tartan

Are the feed dogs working to advance the fabric? Is the thread tension good coming from the spool and not caught on something? If you are using a walking foot, the hook needs to go over the needle bar. If there is drag on the material it will cause small stitches.

dunster

I'm assuming you're quilting with the feed dogs up. You might check the height of the presser foot. If your quilt sandwich is thick, the presser foot could be preventing the feed dogs from moving the fabric correctly. Also be sure your top tension is not too tight.

If the feed dogs are down, the stitch length setting doesn't mean anything. The length of the stitch is determined by how you move the fabric in coordination with how fast the needle is going up and down.

amethyst

Ok. Thanks. My feed dogs are up. My sandwich is pretty thick so maybe I need to adjust my presser foot. I’ll try that tomorrow. Thanks!

sewingpup

also make sure you don't have a lot of drag on the quilt....that will also make shorter stitches....I sometimes have trouble with that at the start doing a large quilt because so much is hanging over the front of the cabinet although I do try and support it all.

amethyst

Not a lot of drag. This is just a 12 x 12 sample piece. Also, I looked at my walking foot and I don’t know how to raise the presser foot so it’s not so tight. Any hints?

Tartan

I do not have your machine but if you are using an attachable walking foot, the little lever above the foot needs to go up over the needle bar when you attach the foot or it will not “ walk “.

amethyst

Thanks. I do have it attached correctly. Does that bar help to adjust the height of the foot? I’ve always been confused about what the point of the bar is. It seems to just rest on the top and not really DO anything.

dunster

Have you thoroughly cleaned the feed dog area? If that is not the issue, I would try some experiments. With a regular foot, do you have the same problem? Do you have the same problem when piecing (instead of a quilt sandwich)? Your manual shows how to adjust the presser foot. Does this setting also affect the walking foot?