quilter1959 Posted August 1, 2013 Report Share Posted August 1, 2013 I am a newbie to APQS. I have been quilting on a Kenquilt for 16+ years and felt very confident that I could just switch over to Lucey. I bought a demo Lucey. Worked a couple of practice pieces, then quilted a laptop (batik), a cheater quilt with cotton batting, and then a flannel quilt with wool batting, all using Star cotton thread. Stitches were not perfect but acceptable. Felt confident enough (ugh!! ) to put a customer quilt on the machine. I quilted about halfway through then started having problems with stitch quality . I now think I have the tension totally screwed up . I've read everything I can on the forum and tried several things but no satisfaction. Wish I had never touched the tension knob or started a customer quilt. Bout ready to put my old machine back up. I am so very frustrated. Can any one help please? First two pics are of front of practice piece. other one is the back. Help me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busy Quilting Posted August 1, 2013 Report Share Posted August 1, 2013 Cotton thread needs to be a lot tighter on the machine than what you think it should be. Firstly I have a lot of success with cotton by threading it through the 3 hole guide above the tension disc in Down, Up, Down, rather than wrapping it around the holes. look at the screw in the centre of your tension dial, the inner part would usually start almost level with the outside. One of the first things I recommend when customers get a new machine is to make a mark on the tension dial at the upper point. You then have a reference when later you change the tension. Our tension changes are usually made in quarter turns not minutes! I have no knowledge of Star cotton thread and assume you were using it on your Kenquilt. Is it very fluffy/linty on the thread when you look at a single strand. If so you will need to frequently clean the bobbin area thoroughly. You will also need to oil it after each clean. Your sample is also the dreaded white on white fabric. Tiny bits of the white colouring stick to the thread and get taken down to the hook area. Start with a thorough cleaning, WD 40 and compressed air. Then Oil. Also check their is no fluff under the tension finger of the bobbin case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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