Alyce Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Help, I dont know what to do any more. I quilted about 6 rows with the King Tut thread, with no problem. Then all of a sudden I noticed small birds nests on the back. I've tried re-threading the machine, cleaning the bobbin, cleaning and oiling the bobbin casing, a new bobbin, reducing the tension on the bobbin, reducing the tension on the top thread. I've even put in a new needle, just in case that was the problem. You name it, I've tried. Now,instead of having birds nests on the bottom, the top thread is breaking. It seems I went from one problem to another. I am quickly losing patience! AaaK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laststitchstudio Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Alyce, I feel for you. I know you said you cleaned your machine, but look inside the bobbin nest (remove bobbin). Look to the top of the nest where the hook is. Often a bit of lint gets stick there and it's hard to see and difficult to air spray out. If you manually move the flywheel while you are looking inside the the bobbin nest you might see the culprit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyce Posted September 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Thanks. I'll try that tomorrow. Too frustrated to look at it right now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmilner Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Hi Alyce, I searched this thread out for you as it talks about King Tut: http://www.apqs.com/quiltboard/viewthread.php?tid=29126&page=1#pid372068 Also, try putting your cone in a Ziploc bag and put it in your deepfreeze overnight. When you take it out tomorrow, the condensation that forms as it comes to room temperature will provide extra moisture and may help a bit with thread breakage. Sewer's Aid also helps. Good luck, Donna APQS Liberty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Try some sewers aid on the spool. Sounds like you have to back off the upper tension just a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyLake Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 King Tut is a heavy cotton thread. What type of thread are you using in the bobbin? Because KT is so heavy, it needs a bobbin thread strong enough to 'pull back.' Sew Fine would work. Bottom Line can work, but it is very thin, and it will be difficult to get a good stitch. Use of a thicker batt with KT will give the stitches a place to nestle. I've found that KT needs a very tight top tension. Quilt slowly and evenly with KT -- it will behave better. Let us know how it is going and if we can help you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyce Posted September 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. I'm off to work this morning, but will take my thread out of the freezer when I get home and see if that works. Also, what is Sewers Aid, and where do I get it? I've never heard of it? Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klwheeler Posted December 8, 2011 Report Share Posted December 8, 2011 I too had King Tut make small loops scattered about, one at a time on the back. I was using So Fine in the bobbin which I wound with the Turbo Winder. My needle was new and a 4.0 size. I was using Wool batting which has a loft, and no batiks, only cotton. So, I will get my handy tool out to pull those back inside. I love the quilt and it is mine, so I need to bite the bullet and fix it. Just wondering as this occasionally happens to me and it is rare, so I forget what to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyLake Posted December 8, 2011 Report Share Posted December 8, 2011 I use a Bottom Line prewound with King Tut, make the top tension very tight, and move the machine slowly and evenly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrwsma Posted December 9, 2011 Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 I really feel for Alyce. This weekend I was trying to finish up some quilting on a Christmas gift with King Tut above and Sew Fine below (which has actually worked perfectly in the past...but not yesterday). My thread issue was breakage on the King Tut in the needle, not the bird's nest...this week, that is. Cleaned the bobbin case, changed the needle, no luck. The 10 o'clock to 8 o'clock in the tension check spring was as it was "supposed to be". I adjusted the needle tension, no luck; returned the needle tension to what is was before, no luck; adjusted the bobbin tension, no luck; returned the bobbin tension to what is was before, no luck. Saw in the manual where it might "just be the thread" -- took the cone upstairs to the DSM, ran like a dream. Sew Fine in the needle and bobbin on George was satisfactory (but then I lose the lovely King Tut color variations...wasn't this why I bought George in the first place?, except when I moved in a different direction (Sew Fine in needle and bobbin produced a bobbin thread nearly straight) -- manual says sew right to left, down to up -- really?; adjusted bobbin tension again. I was growing weary. It's very frustrating for a "new" owner of any machine to have things work some days and not others. It seems the hoops I have to jump through to make this marriage with George work are tedious, at best. Put a cone in a bag in the freezer for it to work properly?!? Should it really be this difficult when, with a $1600 DSM machine quilting is relatively painless when compared to the price I paid for George? I think my George was born on a Friday; I've already replaced a relay and a circuit board. My machine has less than five hours on it, tops. I bought the machine for fun and artistic expression and I'm totally frustrated (can you tell?) I'm beginning to think this marriage was a mistake. I am envious when I read that there are owners out there that actually love their machines and seemingly have no problems. Where do I go from here? Laura in OH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted December 9, 2011 Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 Laura, I'm sorry you are having such a tough time getting aquainted with your George. I don't have a George and haven't ever quilted on one but APQS are good machines. I love my milli. I can tell you that I had trouble at first with getting my tension right. Give Dawn a call and she is fantastic at walking you through solutions! I can tell you when I run King Tut on my milli I only go through two holes of the pigtail before the tension disk. Not sure if the George is the same but you might want to consider it. If the thread is breaking at the needle then you probably need to loosen the upper tension more. By only going through 2 holes that will losen it up. I don't pay to much attention what direction I'm stitching. LOL that would be too much thinking for me. I can usually manage to get my tension balanced enough so that I don't have any issues. Also make sure you check you bobbin case and use a needle to slide under the finger (gently) to make sure there is no fuzz stuck in there. Hang in there you will get this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb2bie Posted December 9, 2011 Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 Alyce & Laura, I feel your pain!!! I have spent the last 2 days fighting tension on my Mille. Now I'm not a newbie!!! I've been quilting for over 13 years, a lot, not 1 quilt a year!! My Mille is the 2rd brand of machine I've owned. I had tried EVERYTHING!!! I decided to slow down and go step by step like I tell my newbies to do!!! When I grabbed my top thread to pull it thru, I grabbed the bobbin thread too. When I pulled I was getting a lot of resistance!!!!! HHHUUUUUMMM!!! I took out the bobbin and it was very tight. It is the 3rd bobbin of the exact same color of prewound Bottom LIne from the same box. But it wasn't unwinding nicely at all. I changed to another identical bobbin and guess what!!!! Yes my tension is back to beautiful again!!!! I've been working on this poor bug jar quilt and ripping out so much I wasn't sure what I was going to do. It's custom quilting with a zillion thread changes so I'd even changed the top thread from a heavier thread to bottom line on top earlier with no problems at all. I should have tho't of the bobbin but even us oldies forget the list of things to check!!! I've also had a whole package of needles be defective. I can't remember the details because this was several years ago but I changed the needle as directed by the tech and he was really puzzled when that didn't fix the problem. I finally discovered the problem with the needles when I was just pushing the needle in my hand thru the quilt sandwich and was met with lots of resistance. It turned out they weren't very sharp at all. So, Laura, hang in there with George. This marriage can be saved!!! Alyce, hang in there too. One way to work with your tension is to make the top thread as loose as possible then start tightening it. Do both of you have your tension button marked in some way to know where "up" is? Marking a spot on the dial with a Sharpie or a fine mark (with a tooth pick) of red nail polish will help you know how much you've turned it! Another weird thing to check is kind of pull your tension disks apart and make sure there isn't any lint in there and then make sure they are gripping your thread. You don't have to unthread the whole machine to do this, just loosen it a little to check, then tighten it up along the thread path. When I first started, I kept a diary about threads that I tried and what I had to do to my tension. Granted there weren't as many threads and my first machine didn't like much except poly wrapped cotton!!! Now days, with so many wonderful choices, it will help to take notes. Eventually you will not need to refer to the notes. This is usually the case for me. Since I always use Bottom Line prewounds so the bottom tension isn't usually an issue at all. BTW, you are right, you shouldn't have to put thread in the freezer or fridge. I do use Sewer's Aid at times, usually with metallics or emboidery thread. Sewer's Aid is sold at JoAnne's in the notions. It is a little bottle, like eye drops, sold on a card. It's a silicone product and doesn't leave any residue or discoloration. Sorry this is so long but I don't want you to feel alone!!! If you want to call me tomorrow or anytime, my number is listed in my signature. I enjoy helping people solve their machine problems!!! (APQS is closed tomorrow so they won't be able to help you toubleshoot.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrwsma Posted December 9, 2011 Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 Thanks, Heidi and Debbie; I'll keep plugging along. George is much like the little girl with the curl right in the middle of her forehead...when he's good, he's very, very good; but when he's bad, he's horrid! I appreciate your help and experienced insight. Laura in OH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawaii Posted December 17, 2011 Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 Over the years, everytime I go to a quilt show, I would stock up on beautiful rolls of King Tut variegated, all shades of the rainbow. BUT never had any luck, getting it to stitch properly on my machine (Freedom SR). I was ready to donate or throw all my King Tut thread out the window after YEARS of frustrating breakage - sew, break, rethread, sew, break, ets. Thought it was a thread issue. Well today, I pulled out the KT, wound some bobbins with KT and gave it another try. Sure enough, sew then snap and then I decided to loosen up my top tension to maximum and wala - sewing like a hot knife through butter - no breakage, no loops - perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyLake Posted December 17, 2011 Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 Alyce and Laura, King Tut is one of the more challenging threads to quilt with. I could not use it for the first year that I had my machine (millennium). Go easy on yourself and your machine by using thinner, easier to use threads for the first few months, until you and your machine develop a rhythm. Then take your King Tut out again and try it. Don't throw it -- it is a great thread. In my book, quilting is easier with solid threads, thinner threads (especially in the bobbin), or same thread top and bobbin. Harder threads are thicker, nubbier, variegated, or different threads top and bobbin. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay Anderson Posted December 17, 2011 Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 I had the same problems this week with this thread. Nothing worked untill I soaked the spool in silicone! Hope you find a soulition! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.