meg Posted August 23, 2010 Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 i am sewing along and all of the sudden, my needle breaks into 3 pieces. i didnt hit anything, was just freewheeling along - wasnt even on a seam and it just broke. should i put in another and try again? i did notice that it was real hot wheni brushed up against earlier - but would that break it? any ideas???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meg Posted August 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 ok- i decided to just try a new needle and see what happened. it seems fine. what could have caused this? i would really like to know. i also noticed that there are many metal shards all over the top of the quilt - almost like the needle shattered??? has anyone else had this happen? i am always reading all the posts and dont recall seeing anything like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witha'K'quilting Posted August 23, 2010 Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 what brand/type of needle ar you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustSewSimple Posted August 23, 2010 Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 Could have been just a faulty needle - it just got all tuckered out 'sall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meg Posted August 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 i got them from bonnie - no name on them but they say 1955-01-MR3.5 Set/R 134 135X5 797 DPX5 (100/16) 546 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witha'K'quilting Posted August 23, 2010 Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 sounds like the same needles i use...could be it became overheated and worn?...or bad needle?...no real ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meg Posted August 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 brand new at the start of this quilt - quilt not even sensely quilted - curious to say the least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blair8904 Posted August 23, 2010 Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 My Cute Rocket Scientist is on a business trip, but he may have some thoughts on the metal fatigue issues. My first thought was how fast were you going to get the needle that hot? Left to right or right to left? A mystery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meg Posted August 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 great new pic barbara! i wasnt going that fast, which made me think about how hot it was. about an hour later - it broke. its the strangest thing..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witha'K'quilting Posted August 23, 2010 Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 were you quilting through polyester batting by chance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meg Posted August 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 qd blend...i think its 70/30. is this relevant??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyAboutQuilting Posted August 23, 2010 Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 Oh wow Meg, I don't have any ideas as to why that happened but I bet it really scared you! Did it damage the quilt at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joy Posted August 23, 2010 Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 The needle may have worked it self loose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meg Posted August 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 hmmmm = you might be onto something joy. i had just changed the needle. maybe it was loose and i didnt realize it. thankfully - no damage to my quilt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witha'K'quilting Posted August 23, 2010 Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 by joy..eorge...she might be right. that would have caused play in the needle and could have caused it to break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BethDurand Posted August 23, 2010 Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 If a loose needle was the cause, I strongly recommend changing the needle set screw to right side hole if you are right handed. I find that I can get mine nice and tight with my right hand, but I had my needle fall out when I still had the screw on the left side. Let us know how things turn out please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted August 23, 2010 Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 Good ideas from everyone. I had a needle break so insidiously, I didn't know it, it kept stitching just fine, but, breaking the threads in the QoV. I had to patch it, notify the owner and June at QoV. The needle actually broke BETWEEN the eye and the tip... eye was still complete to handle the thread. I about died on the spot. RitaR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meg Posted August 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2010 that must've been it - it makes total sense that the needle came loose. i had just changed the needle at the start of the quilt. the screw was on the left and i am right-handed. i probably hadnt tightened it enough. i replaced it and everything seems fine - altho i did just run over there to make sure it is good and tight. i finished the quilt with the new needle no problem. thanks everybody - i feel better now. rita - how unlucky can you get to have it break between the eye and the tip? scary! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted August 24, 2010 Report Share Posted August 24, 2010 Meg, That would have scared me to death. LOL I'll bet you check your screw constantly now to make sure your needle is tight. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blair8904 Posted August 26, 2010 Report Share Posted August 26, 2010 Meg, posed this question to CRS (cute rocket scientist). He had two thoughts: 1. The the needle was ever so slightly bent and was just barely rubbing on another piece of metal during stitching, causing the tip to heat up. The difference in the heat gradient between the tip and the top increased the metal stress beyond it ability to hold together, so it shattered. 2. That the needle didn't get the proper heat treatment when it was manufactured, so couldn't take the stress. Bottom line; you got a bad needle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meg Posted August 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2010 thanks barb for asking - and thank CRS for me, too, please, will ya? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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