Blue Lily Quilting Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 I'm nearly finished quilting this quilt apart from the borders, they are some sort of cheap velveteen and my stitches are slipping in some parts. Any ideas to what is causing this problem.:mad: I have changed the needle cleaned and oiled the bobbin race air cleaned around the bobbin race but the problem is still there The centre quilted fine and no problems and of course I have to have this finished by tomorrow morning (Murphy's Law) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewlinzi Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 I discovered that Velvet quilted much better with Bottom Line thread... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyeQ Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 Oh that is weird. It just stops making a stitch then starts back up a few inches later? I wonder if turning your needle a bit to one side or the other would help. It seems like, maybe due to fluffy velveteen, the thread/needle/hook are not making contact when going a certain direction and can't make the stitch. That's the only thing I can think of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boni Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 I wonder if the thread twist is causing that? Or static electricity, hmmmmmm Re thread the top? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smorris Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 Hi Lesley Have you put a sandwich of fabric on the side, your usual cotton and batting and tested the stitches on that. (I noticed that the centre of the quilt didn't give you any problems but something could have changed since then) Although that slippery velveteen can be a bit tricky I don't think its causing the problems in this case. Are the stitches missing when you quilt in one direction? What size needle are you using? Is the needle in fully up? Have you tried turning the needle slightly? What thread? Are you having to run it looser than usual? Have you had a needle jam in the hook assembly lately? What batting are you using? Is the top thread running off the cone smoothly? Are you using CQ for this quilt Let us know and we can go from there. Sue in Australia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 I sometimes experience the same problem, I change needle size and now that Dawn Cavanaugh enlightened me a lot on these thread issues, I have less problems. The questions by Sue in Australia are very valid worth investigating. I am now making it a habit of having practice piece beside the actual quilt sandwich before I start the quilting and test drive the stitching and adjust if necessary before working on the quilt. Hope you get answers, I feel your pain, I've been there many times before. Corey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Lily Quilting Posted April 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 Originally posted by smorris Hi Lesley Have you put a sandwich of fabric on the side, your usual cotton and batting and tested the stitches on that. (I noticed that the centre of the quilt didn't give you any problems but something could have changed since then) Although that slippery velveteen can be a bit tricky I don't think its causing the problems in this case. Are the stitches missing when you quilt in one direction? What size needle are you using? Is the needle in fully up? Have you tried turning the needle slightly? What thread? Are you having to run it looser than usual? Have you had a needle jam in the hook assembly lately? What batting are you using? Is the top thread running off the cone smoothly? Are you using CQ for this quilt Let us know and we can go from there. Sue in Australia Hi Sue it is having the same problem in any direction using mr4 that came with the machine I don't have access to any others at the moment. bottom line thread, top and bottom I haven't jamed the hook assembly lately timing is fine polly/cotton batting thread from cone is running smooth and free yes using CQ for this pattern I also took the stabizer she had on the back of the velveteen off to see if that made a difference...No it didn't I have used velveteen before and not encoutered this problem, I'm assuming its from spotlight, it is strechy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smorris Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 OK, I'll be home all day today, so give me a call when its convenient for you. What happened on your test piece? In the meantime, change to another brand new needle, then manually rotate the thumbwheel down into the hook assembly and see how much of the eye of the needle is showing checking the illustration in your manual to make sure just enough of the eye is showing, check that the top thread is securely between the tension discs. Check the height of the hopping foot, in its lowest position it should be almost touching the throat plate - a business card should just slide between the foot and the throat plate. Check the the levelling bar height off the base of the machine. Is the problem occurring more often near the front rollers or the pick up roller? or in a particular spot along the length of the table. Quilt your test piece with the same pattern on CQ and then manually quilt small curves, larger curves, diagonal lines away from you and towards you and horizontal lines then give me a call and we can work whats happening. Talk later Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Lily Quilting Posted April 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 Thanks everyone, I won't be able to get to it now intill late this afternoon, I have a funeral to get ready for now I wanted it finished this morning but it will just have to wait, I may just do piano keys it it. I still have another border to unpick. I'll see how I feel this afternoon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBQLTN2 Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 Leslie Hope you get your problem worked out, nothing more frustrating than having to pick out quilting. BTW I cut out a purse tonight from the Vera Bradley paisley fabric. I havent had a chance to put it together but hopefully tomorrow evening if nothing comes up. used the paisley for the top and polka dots for the bottom, stripes for the lining and solid blue for pocket. Cant wait to finish and show pics. thanks again the pattern is a little different and really cute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnCavanaugh Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 Lesley, The needle's pulling away from the hook as you quilt those areas, especially because the fabric is stretchy and the thread is thin Bottom Line. My first piece of advice won't work because you only have 4.0 needles, but I would go up a size. This helps close the gap and reduce flex. That said, you may want to try the following: [*] slow the machine down so it isn't stitching as quickly (like putting an embroidery machine on half speed). This reduces flex. [*] Try tightening the timing by bringing the hook closer to the needle and reduce the gap/air space. [*] Turn the needle's eye just a little to the LEFT, as if it is aiming toward 6:35 on a clock instead of 6:30 (straight out toward you). This opens up the scarf slightly, giving the hook a chance to catch the thin thread before passing the needle. [*] from looking at your photo, it looks like the "skip" is happening when the machine is moving in a certain direction--if standing on the front of the machine, the needle is moving LEFT and AWAY from you. That's when the needle flex has the greatest impact and the strong Bottom Line is pulling the needle away from the hook. See if you can loosen both the bottom and top tension and still maintain a good stitch, to help reduce the impact. Let us know how it's going! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 Also, try rethreading the whole machine and use Sewers Aid on the thread and needle.. several rows up and down a cone if you live in an airid place. Both times we had that problem with the two machines, one generic and one APQS, it ended up being the timing. Hope thats not your problem, but even that isn't hard to fix once you do it. not even the first time. more nerve wracking then. Good luck, sorry for the funeral, it hurts to lose our family and friends.. RitaR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Lily Quilting Posted April 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 Hi everyone, sorry for the delay my computer decided to crash but my techi saved all my stuff, I stitched over the pattern twice and the second time no skipped stitches, I changed to a cotton thread. I finished attaching the binding 7pm friday night and she came to pick it up. I've had a dreadfull week she was very understanding and she knew it was a bear to deal with, I charged her accordingly(she had stitched beads on in between the top and border) Now I remember why I don't do rush jobs!!!when will I ever learn. She was most thrilled with it and couldn't have been more gushing it's for her daughters 21st Saturday night. I'll post a pic on my blog in a couple of days I have to find the CD with the camera info on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Lily Quilting Posted April 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 Hi everyone I just wanted you to know I've updated my blog with pictures of the quilt from Hell. Thank you all for your help and advise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 Hey Lesley, You did it!! I agree with you...Why do we take on quilts that we know will be a nightmare?...You did a gret job tackling the beast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 I am glad all is resolved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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