Quilt group talk - what are your tension bugaboos?
#21
19 years in I.T. taught me that.
Last edited by QuiltnNan; 01-31-2019 at 03:41 PM. Reason: shouting/all caps
#22
A wide zig zag often requires both tensions to be lowered somewhat. Think of it this way - a wide zz is asking for a fairly generous helping of thread in the same time and space that a single straight stitch would normally be pretty frugal. If the Wide ZZ needs, let's say 3 times the thread, it can't be fighting terribly hard to get it or the stitch will be malformed. Tunneling is a sign of this - it simply can't pull enough thread to lay flat on the fabric. Solve tunneling with looser tensions - often both top and bottom - depending on the machine and thread. The other thing that helps a wide zig zag is stabilization - just like with a decorative stitch. Decorative stitches btw are a lot like embroidery - it's OK to have the threads lock on the back of the work - typically you'd match your threads and it wouldn't be seen anyway. This way less puckering happens and if you haven't matched your threads, the top thread is the only one that shows.
#23
#24
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Victorian Sweatshop Forum
Posts: 1,271
I am going to cut and paste this entire string into a Word document. There is so much useful information here Tammi. Thank you so much!!
I wish I could attend your class. There is a lot I could learn about tension issues.
I wish I could attend your class. There is a lot I could learn about tension issues.
#25
Power Poster
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Somewhere
Posts: 15,506
Very informative!
I am very interested in a topic like when is a tension problem NOT really a tension problem. What about the foot pressure adjustment - I've seen people mess around with that... I had a 401 with a spring in the bobbin area adjustment problem. Then there is lint... Bad bobbins. Burrs... All kinds of not tension things can come up
I am very interested in a topic like when is a tension problem NOT really a tension problem. What about the foot pressure adjustment - I've seen people mess around with that... I had a 401 with a spring in the bobbin area adjustment problem. Then there is lint... Bad bobbins. Burrs... All kinds of not tension things can come up
#26
Very informative!
I am very interested in a topic like when is a tension problem NOT really a tension problem. What about the foot pressure adjustment - I've seen people mess around with that... I had a 401 with a spring in the bobbin area adjustment problem. Then there is lint... Bad bobbins. Burrs... All kinds of not tension things can come up
I am very interested in a topic like when is a tension problem NOT really a tension problem. What about the foot pressure adjustment - I've seen people mess around with that... I had a 401 with a spring in the bobbin area adjustment problem. Then there is lint... Bad bobbins. Burrs... All kinds of not tension things can come up
Presser foot presser - if it's too light, the fabric won't feed right - usually stitches will be uneven and will vary between too loose and too tight. If it's too heavy, stitches will probably be too short and likely too loose.
In fact feed problems in general can look like a tension problem.
Technically, a mis-threaded machine or a spool that's catching the thread isn't a "true" tension problem itself but causes a tension problem.
Sergers - lettuce leaf edges sort of look like tension but are actually about feed and can be fixed with setting differential feed differently or if the serger doesn't have DF, sometimes changing the presser foot pressure can fix it.
The clearance adjustments in the 401 style bobbin areas? Definitely. Those look like upper tension problems too. Same with the 99/66 style machines. That's where this post came from a couple of years ago: http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...g-t195869.html
Speaking of bobbins - bad bobbins are definitely an issue but the wrong sized bobbin can do it too. For instance an L bobbin does fit where a class 15 will go and in some cases (especially the horizontal bobbin cases) will work but you may find tension is variable with it. ETA: And a 15 bobbin where an L bobbin belongs will cause all manner of calamity.
Most of the time I find burrs it's because of the symptom of thread shredding but yes, it can cause things that look like tension problems. Of course thread shedding can come from really tight tension too especially when coupled with too small a needle for the thread.
Lint. Yes, a very common reason for many many problems in a machine - under lubrication when the lint wicks oil and to some degree grease away from where it belongs, Skipped stitches when it deflects the thread loop. I don't know if I've ever noticed tension problems because of it but that's probably because the first thing I do is clean out the bobbin area and rebuild both tensioners before I even test sew. There's no reason it wouldn't cause tension problems though.
Last edited by ArchaicArcane; 01-27-2016 at 12:14 PM.
#27
Bad needles - burrs inside the eye will cause thread to shred and break but sometimes it just snags hard enough to tighten top tension.
Wrong needle for the job will often cause tension problems - too small an eye will cause the upper tension to be too tight. A needle that is wrong for the work can cause extra friction - inhibiting the loop from forming.
Wrong needle for the job will often cause tension problems - too small an eye will cause the upper tension to be too tight. A needle that is wrong for the work can cause extra friction - inhibiting the loop from forming.
#28
Power Poster
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Somewhere
Posts: 15,506
Some where on QB is a discussion of the spool holders, the direction thread flows or not and how that can affect the tension. I had one machine yesterday that wanted a little red felt pad... The thread spool was spinning too much and thread was wrapping around the spindle - havoc with the tension.
Last edited by miriam; 01-27-2016 at 01:18 PM.
#29
Some where on QB is a discussion of the spool holders, the direction thread flows or not and how that can affect the tension. I had one machine yesterday that wanted a little red felt pad... The thread spool was spinning too much and thread was wrapping around the spindle - havoc with the tension.
The other thing that I find eliminates a lot of problems are thread stands with cross wound threads on machines that only have vertical pins. It's quieter too. I think it's 2 things here - 1. The thread wants to come off the top of the spool with "no" resistance. Yanking a spool around in circles causes some inconsistency and extra drag. Also, the thread stand puts the spool a little further away which gives the thread a little time to "relax" before hitting the tensioner. I know that my embroidery machine became WAY easier to manage once I took the thread off the machine and onto a thread holder.
#30
Banned
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: San Lorenzo, CA
Posts: 5,361
You know that they had a solution for this in the early days of sewing... and it really works well!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]541267[/ATTACH]
Yes, that is a weight on the top of the spool of thread. It is original to the machine
[ATTACH=CONFIG]541267[/ATTACH]
Yes, that is a weight on the top of the spool of thread. It is original to the machine
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Janice McC
Member Swaps and Round/Row Robins
2112
06-07-2017 12:46 PM
carson quilter
Offline Events, Announcements, Discussions
1
12-22-2011 11:29 PM