Neher-in-law5 Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 I am getting ready to quilt with King Tut on top and a prewound in the bobbin. During the tension setting process I needed to avoid the railroad tracks on the bottom. Got that working well, but now the top thread started to break with a curl at the end of the broken thread. It usually has retracted to just above the pigtail above the needle. This happens even when I am slowly stitching to see if it will break again, usually within an inch to inch and a half of starting. What should I be checking? The needle is the same and it worked well before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 Your top tension is too tight. To balance it, loosen the bobbin tension and do a comparable loosening of the top until you stop the breakage. Normal Towa-tested tension for that combo for me is 12, where 18 is my usual sweet-spot. That's just a number, but you can see how much looser the tension is for King Tut. My tension chart says for Tut and pre-wounds--"bobbins at 12 and top thread "too tight". I hope you can get it to work for you--Tut is so pretty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neher-in-law5 Posted January 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 Thanks, I'll keep working on it. One of the frustrating things is that I had just used King Tut on the last quilt and it worked fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busy Quilting Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 Madelyn is this a different King Tut thread? Has it been stored differently, older? Is it breaking in the same colour each time? The darker colours of King Tut are "weaker" than the light due to more dye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 Originally posted by Neher-in-law5 Thanks, I'll keep working on it. One of the frustrating things is that I had just used King Tut on the last quilt and it worked fine. Try re-threading completely. There may be a catch-point you are unaware of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 Sometimes when things don't work well for me I add a few drips of Sewers' Aid to the thread and that helps. Loosen both the top as well as the bobbin a little wee tiny bit Maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neher-in-law5 Posted January 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 It is one that I have used before, so I did get it to work, then it started breaking again. so I changed the needle and at least finished the row. I"ll see what tomorrow brings. Time to go work on the income needles. Thanks for all the advise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs.A Posted January 6, 2012 Report Share Posted January 6, 2012 We're on the edge of our seats, Madelyn. Did you get the King Tut to run again? I'm in the camp of 'forgettaboutit' when it comes to King Tut but I did give it another try just this week and managed to sew about 25 minutes before it began breaking. For me, that's some kind of record! Once it started breaking, however, I couldn't sew more than about 4 inches before the next break. Love all the other Superior threads but that one...no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neher-in-law5 Posted January 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2012 Yes, I got it to work. I did a 20 inch "Minnesota" block in cc's and 5 rows of 3 inch sashing today with no breaks. Once I get the tension set it usually keeps working. On my George I have added some fishing guides so I run all my threads through them and then usually only one or two holes on the original guides. I hardly ever do the wrap on the 3 hole guides. I had Tut wrapped when I first tried it but now I have it through one hole in the first guide and woven in the top and bottom holes of the second guide. He seems to be happy with that arrangement. I have four guides added, one back by the thread loop on the side by the operation lights, one between the G and E of George and two above the needle. I does cut down on the whipping of the thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs.A Posted January 6, 2012 Report Share Posted January 6, 2012 Thanks, Madelyn, for sharing that photo of your additional thread guides and congrats on getting that darn King Tut to run successfully! This looks like something I might like to try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neher-in-law5 Posted January 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2012 Mrs. A I got the fishing pole guides at Cabela's (or any other supplier). The one I have are the ceramic insert style, they were between .50 to $1.00 apiece. Really not pricey at all. Others have said on this forum that the ones with ceramic inserts last longer without getting grooves in them than the less expensive ones. Hope you can get Tut to work for you sometime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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