MoeMoe Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 I am practicing with panto's and find the top thread tension is consistent yet on the bottom there are areas where the bottom thread lies on the backing followed by nice even stitches. Overall both the top and bottom look good...then there will be a turn or two where it's not. I am not sure if this is a tension issue or that I am not keeping a consistent pace. I am using the SR mode. I know that I need to work on my foot placement to glide across the floor...possibly this is when it occurs. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks! Maureen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 Maureen, We had this same problem, probably a few months ago now, but I just can't remember the solution. Call Amy at APQS, she quickly told us what was wrong. it didn't take long to fix... at least I remember that part! :D:D ritar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 I am having that problem, too, both yesterday and this morning. I am going to clean out my bobbin area with WD40 and oil real well, and put in a new needle. I'll re-thread the top as well. Other than that...I don't know what to do. I have flat lining on the back and loopies on the top. Then the top is perfect and loopies on the back. Then all looks good, then railroad tracks on the top; then all is well. Then railroad tracks on the back. Over and over again. I know this is very frustrating! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 A tiny piece of lint in your bobbin case may be the culprit. As the thread passes through the lint may be intermittently catching the thread and causing it to tighten just enough to cause loops/flat lining. Clean the case well and check under the outside finger for lint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolinequilts Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 After you've exhausted all the normal adjustments (rethreading, clean bobbin & area, adjust tension, trying different thread paths in the 3-hole guide, slowing speed, shorter stitch lengths etc. etc.), then you might want to look at the height of your hopping foot. I had lots of tension issues before, but I checked my hopping foot and it was too high (two business cards could easily slide underneath when lowered to its lowest point). I made the adjustment so that only one card fits underneath with just a bit of pressure when I slide it. This made a world of difference for me. I had lots of flatlining and pokies before, but not too much anymore. Now just about any of my tension problems can be corrected by adjusting the top or bobbin tension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
francine Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 Check out Dawn Cavanaughs info, it is the best advice you can get on tension. The stitch quality is also affected by the direction you are sewing. If it is good when you sew in one direction and then loops etc in the other direction it could be that you are moving your machine faster than the scarf can catch the bobbin thread. CHECK OUT DAWNS VIDEO:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 My guess is that you still have the bobbin tension too tight. Remember that depending on the direction you're stitching your flex will change your stitch. If you are still getting flat spots that tells me that the back tension is still too tight or the top tension isn't tight enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoeMoe Posted March 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 Thank You All! I will watch Dawn's video. I had the pleasure of speaking with her last week and she is very helpful. I will also utilize all of the tips you folks provided. One thing I learned today in reading the Superior Thread brochure I received with my machine is that Superior So Fine Thread is recommended to be used in a 3.0 or 3.5 sized needle. I only have the 4.0 which came with my machine. I ordered a few pkgs of 3.5 in addition to another pkg of 4.0. I use a lot of Batiks in my quilt tops and understand the 3.5 needles should be used with them... (when the time comes that I feel comfortable enough to actually begin on those)... Other than a periodic flat line, everything seems to be going pretty well. I sincerely appreciate all of your help!!! Maureen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 I finally found a small, oily puff of fuz in my bobbin area after I cleaned the area with WD40. I was able to see it when I held a flash light and used a magnifying glass. It was small and I used a pair of tweezers to pluck it out. That tiny thing seems to have been my culprit, as my stitches have been fine ever since. Now I have three 12 inch sunburst motifs to pick out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcclannan Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 I just had to frog a whole row of really nice freehanding for the same reason. GRRRR! That is the unfun part of quilting. I have only myself to blame since I saw the problem near the beginning of the row but decided it was just a one time thing. When will I learn???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 Originally posted by sandradarlington I finally found a small, oily puff of fuz in my bobbin area after I cleaned the area with WD40. I was able to see it when I held a flash light and used a magnifying glass. It was small and I used a pair of tweezers to pluck it out. That tiny thing seems to have been my culprit, as my stitches have been fine ever since. Now I have three 12 inch sunburst motifs to pick out. Yes... our machines are "SOOO" sensitive, aren't they? One itty bitty chunck of goo will ruin everything!! Originally posted by jmcclannan I just had to frog a whole row of really nice freehanding for the same reason. GRRRR! That is the unfun part of quilting. I have only myself to blame since I saw the problem near the beginning of the row but decided it was just a one time thing. When will I learn???? I did that two weekends ago. I ignored the "funny" sound... and when I was finished, I discovered that I had to frog an entire row. Boy was I mad. I never learn my lessons.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharonG Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 I had a problem with uneven tension also, sometimes on the top and sometimes on the bottom. The culprit was thread and lint in two of the wheels. Now I'll check that area more often. Sharon Roos www.roseofsharonquilting.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowena Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 After going through most of the adjustments mentioned and still not getting the tension quite right, ended up having the bobbin tension too tight. I loosened the bobbin and top thread way back and started adjusting from there. Don't seem to have any tension issues with it at all now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 Good for you, Rowena. Tension issues can be so annoying!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted March 16, 2010 Report Share Posted March 16, 2010 I'm amazed at what a "new" needle can do for eliminating problems. Even made my machine sound better. Where's Dawns video on tension? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meg Posted March 16, 2010 Report Share Posted March 16, 2010 yes - can anyone give the link to dawns' tension video? i would love to watch it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolinequilts Posted March 16, 2010 Report Share Posted March 16, 2010 Here is a link to Dawn's site and at the side are the list of articles. Somewhere in there should be a pointer to her talk on Thread Tension. http://www.apqs.com/artists_dawnc_blog.php?id=5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjtinkle Posted March 16, 2010 Report Share Posted March 16, 2010 Speaking of tension, it's taken me a couple of weeks to get mine worked out, but I think I have it now with my favorite thread combos. The Milly seems to like a MUCH looser bobbin tension than my HQ16. I ran the HQ with a Towa tension of about 20. My Milly seems to like it around 15. I had a hard time wrapping my head around that for a bit. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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