emt2004

Help! I was trying to quilt this morning and my top thread is showing on the back, light blue thread on top, red on back. Is this a tension problem? Thanks so much for your help, Michele

nanna-up-north

It sounds like a tension problem.... too tight on the top thread or too loose on the bottom. Are you using a regular sewing machine or a long arm?

feline fanatic

Actually the opposite is true. If your top thread is showing on the bottom that means your top tension is too loose or your bobbin is too tight. The top thread is losing the tug of war and the bobbin is pulling it through so you see the pokies. You need to try tightening your top tension and see if that helps. If it does not, you need to loosen your bobbin tension a bit. Do only one at a time and in small increments until the problem is solved.

Here is a link to a great graphic that Superior threads puts out about tension. It is applicable to both domestic and LA.

http://www.superiorthreads.com/educa...ad-tug-of-war/

ManiacQuilter2

If you are stitching in the ditch, then it may be a tension problem, but when doing FMQ, I always matched my threads as closely as possible because you can't always get the stitch length as perfect as the sewing machine can. Hope this makes sense,

dunster

Yes, it is a tension problem, but many of the top-notch professional longarmers have stated that they never ever use different colored threads on top and bottom, because keeping the tension so exactly balanced throughout a whole quilt can be very difficult.

If your thread is only showing through a little bit, it could be that you're actually seeing the opposite thread through the holes in the quilt, and after washing, when those holes close up, you will be fine.

tesspug

"losing the tug of war". That is too funny. Love the image.