Am I trying to torture myself? bobbin/thread colour

[Sheagatzi]

I have bobbin as a dark brown - 80wt decobob  and top thread is 50 - cream.  I know. I know.  WHY!!!  I'm seriously almost delirious trying to get the top tension perfect -  still little brown pokeys when I do stops starts and corners.  grrr.     I'm going to most likely switch to cream thread in the bobbin, but are there any extra suggestions for me to try?     

 

I have a dark brown and cream quilt which will be custom quilted.   I guess I will just do brown top/brown bobbin and  cream top/cream bobbin.   

 

Maybe my quilt sandwich is too tight?    I'm still trying to figure out what is adequate tightness for a sandwich.  

 

[ffq-lar]

I would try for a more matching weight for the top and bobbin threads if you possibly can.

If you have bobbin thread pulling to the top then the top thread is too tight/ the bobbin is too loose.

You might try starting at the beginning. Adjust your top thread first. Thread the machine and at the needle, pull on the thread towards the back of the machine. Adjust looser or tighter until a pull on the thread through the needle results in a deflection of the tension spring comparable to 8 o'clock as you look straight on the tension assembly. At rest the spring ideally is at 10 o'clock. The thread should pull smoothly and not curl or kink when you let go of it. That's your sweet spot for almost every thread you might want to use, except for invisible and heavy weights like King Tut. An addition of Sewer's Aid will make life easier--apply before you test the top thread as it will affect the tension a bit.

After you're in a good spot on top, (and if you have a Towa Gauge) set your bobbin at 17 or 18 (or 170-180 on the newer gauges) and do a test stitch out. Adjust if need be. 

 

Batting with a bit of thickness or a bit of poly can be a real lifesaver if you want to stitch with contrasting colored threads, since the stitch is buried in the loft. Many times what we think is pokies is actually just the opposite thread smiling through the needle holes.

 

As for the tightness of the sandwich--tighten it well then back off a bit. You don't want sag, but too tight can cause some unwanted needle flex and missed stitches.

Good luck and I hope you resolve the problem.

[Sheagatzi]

Linda - thanks for that tip about same weight top and bottom thread....I was under the impression that having a thinner thread in the bobbin would be better?  Going to try that.   I'm trying to 'perfect' my tension.  It's pretty good.. but not quite good enough with the two different colours. 

 

I just received my towa gauge and it has helped alot. One less thing to really worry about :-)

[DawnCavanaugh]

Andrea,

Another reason you can get pulling thread in the corners is due to "needle whiplash", caused by the needle flexing in and out of the corners as you move in and out of the point.

Try slowing down, try going up one needle size, and as Linda suggested, loosen the quilt sandwich. Also loosen the top tension slightly and then tighten the bobbin tension. You're batting thickness can also determine whether or not the two high contrast threads will be successful in this quilt. I'm sure if you see the thread pulling in the corners you definitely have a mismatch in tension. However, just be sure that you're not being fooled in the rest of the areas by the size of the needle hole that is left behind. Your tension can actually be quite good if the thread is balanced inside the hole, but you still see the dot of color inside the hole itself.

Also try the weaving technique through the three hole thread guide instead of wrapping it to help reduce the amount of twist on the thread as you enter and exit every design point. Hope that helps!

[Sheagatzi]

oooh, good point about slowing down.   ahem.   maybe my little test swatches  MIGHT be a bit formula 500'ish.