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Help - stitches not right


connieb

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I have a 2010 Lenni - It is making birds nests of top thread on the back of the quilt and then on the top sometimes it looks like a skipped stitch, sometimes it looks like a birds nest of top thread on the top, and sometimes the top thread plain old breaks. I've been trouble shooting and have figured out that it only happens when I am (from the freehand side) going straight back or at an angle of to the back and left. I'm using Glide thread on top and Magna bobbins, I have tried a couple of different cones and also Lava thread on the top as that is the quilt this started with. Different bobbins but the same type. I am now playing on a piece of muslin trying to figure out what is wrong. So far I have: checked that the encoder wheels for the stitch regulator are still set properly (they are). I have run a nylon through the pigtails and can't find any burrs. I have tried 3 different needles. I have re threaded the machine a few times. I've cleaned the machine. I've tightened the top thread to where it was so tight it broke and then loosened it to good stitches. By the way the stitches when quilting towards me or left to right or right to left look great and I have no problems. My hopping foot was wiggling left/right so I tried to tighten it and in that process reset the height, it still wiggles a little. I can't tighten it enough so that it doesn't wiggle. There's no slack front to back. The hook assembly does not seem loose. I DO NOT know what else to do. I'm scared to put on a customers quilt. I don't want to spend lots of time ripping because of this. Thank you all.

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Connie--check your needle depth. Skipped stitches usually mean the hook is missing the bobbin thread. If you've hit some heavy seams or jammed a needle, the eye of the needle may be too high. Look in your manual for how to check and adjust the needle depth. Good luck!

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Connie: Check the spacing between the needle and the hook. It sounds like it might be excessive. Try the largest needle you have (5.0 if you have one) and see if that helps. If so, you've got excessive clearance. If you haven't rotated the needle a bit off 6 o'clock try that as well. Examine your bobbin case carefully. There might be someting causing inconsistent tension on your bobbin thread. Let us know what you find. Good luck. Jim

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OK so re-timing the machine is bothering me so much that I kinda started over.  Rethreaded the machine, cleaned the bobbin case, and started cleaning the hook assembly and found a piece of top thread stuck in there.  How the heck did I not get it out the first time or see it when I was checking for burrs I'll never know.  I have now quilted a 36" row and am not having any birds nest of top thread on the back.  Do you guys think I fixed the problem without re-timing? or am I just setting myself up to be disappointed with more nasty stuff coming my way soon.  Needle depth looked right on to me.  Hmmm.

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Connie,

 

Absolutely a thread caught in the hook assembly can cause that problem. It would prevent the hook from traveling properly around the bobbin basket or could affect the thread loop behind the needle with each stitch. It sounds like you may have found the culprit! (And don't worry, if you ever DO need to re-time, you can always call us and we'll hold your hand through the process. You really can do it:).

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Thanks Dawn  and everyone I'm not out of the woods yet.  Everything is fine, then I advance to play on the next row.  I do a basting stitch up the left side (from front to back) and it birds nests top thread on the back.  That is the only place it does it though in three rows.  I do straight lines, diagonals, hooks, curls, practice my feathers and that is the only place.  No skipped stitches but tension isn't perfect.  Hmmm  Could I have the hopping foot adjusted wrong?

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I'm no longer getting skipped stitches.  I am however still getting sporadic loops of top thread on the back of the quilt when quilting the left first inch or two from the front to the back in a straight line.  I readjusted the hopping foot and that seems to have stopped the birds nest issue and it happening in the body of the quilting area.  I've also changed to a brand knew bobbin case.  I can not get my tension to look great either.  I'm about ready to send her in for a check up in Iowa.

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