angie090978

I just bought a superquilter frame and put my janome 6600 on it...I have done 3 passes and have broken 5 needles...Just can't figure out what i'm doing wrong.
The thread is threaded properly, the tension is good. I may have the tension on the quilt to tight??

MzMcKee

Feed down?, Quilt tension tight, but not too tight? Quilt less than a finger from the bed of the machine (too high and it causes issues, too low and it drags on the machine bed)... What speed are you running your machine, could it be too slow and your moving the machine at the time it's in a needle down causing it to pull against the fabric... I'm just trying to think of different things..

Let us know how its going..

CoyoteQuilts

Moving machine to fast...... And did you put your pressure foot down? You need to run your machine (pressure foot fast) and move your hands slow. What happens is you are moving your machine when the needle is either coming out of or going into the sandwich and then pulling the needle to the side and it hits the plate and snaps. Also make sure your thread isn't being twisted around anything. Mine would twist around the end of the post when in the horizontal position and catch, when I put it on the vertical post this stopped.

Ask me how I know........ :roll:

MzMcKee

One other thought. What foot are you using? I believe you need to use a quilting/darning also called a hopping foot. When the needle is down it holds the fabric in place for the stitch, but when the needle moves to the up position the foot hops up to allow the fabric to move and not drag.

littlehud

I had the same problem when I started with my Juki on a frame. I was moving too fast. When I slowed down all was well.

cheryl222

Maybe it doesn't like the thread you are using. I had to try more than one kind before I found the brand my machine liked.

BKrenning

Did you remember to drop the feed dogs? Quilt too tight will also cause the need to bind & break. I have also had my darning foot wiggle loose and the needle would hit it, causing it to break. Normally the thread will rub on the foot and break before the needle hits it but sometimes if you are going too fast, the needle will hit the foot all of a sudden. My Elna 7200--very similar to your Janome--has a hole through the darning foot now because of that. Also, I never quilted with anything less than a size 14 needle and normally used an 18 to get through the seams without breaking a needle.

angie090978

Thank you all for the advice. I went and bought some 14 and 16 needles...loosened the tension on the quilt and cranked up the needle speed , also slowed down moving the machine.
So far so good...

Thank you all!!

quiltingfan

Happy quilting !!!!