Anniquilter Posted February 9, 2012 Report Share Posted February 9, 2012 I am quilting a pieced, well washed (ie seams giving way) top from Bali.It is made from regular cotton not the typical tight weave bali fabric we are used to. It consists of many 4" QSTs. Didn't intend to be doing this but my DH & I gave an IOU of a quilt of her choice to a very close friend for a significant birthday. She brought this hemmed top back from Bali years ago and has been using it as a throw. Please could I turn it into a finished quilt instead of making her something new...... I knew it was going to be a b*%$h - all those seams coming together every 4". I've been doing TTs around each square and trying to avoid where the 8 seams come together. Even so I broke a needle. No disaster I thought. The broken bit of the needle is here on top of the quilt - I managed to stop quickly so the quilt is not damaged. Load another needle and be more careful. 8 squares later I broke another - the broken part of the needle, badly bent, is lying on top of the quilt - no signs of damage to the needle plate, bobbin, case etc. Loaded a 3rd needle and tried again. It broke. At this point I realized I should have checked the needle bar, the timing etc. Duh! The needle bar needed adjusting so I did that. Had a good look at the timing using a loupe, a good light and the eyes of a 23 year old! - everything seems to be exactly where it should be. Cleaned and oiled everything and loaded another needle - a 4.5 this time - and tried again. Quilted along happily for about 5 minutes. Then, while it was stitching OK, it started to make a hammering noise with each stitch. Checked needle bar and the hopping foot (it almost sounded as if the hopping foot was hitting the needle plate but it is 3 business cards off the needle plate in the down position, right where I usually have it. Checked out the bobbin and bobbin case again and the timing and all seems to be OK. What else should I be checking? All advice gratefully accepted - I am sure there is something obvious I've forgotten to check. Frustrated in VT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted February 9, 2012 Report Share Posted February 9, 2012 Anne, You have your hopping foot higher than I have mine. Mine is probably 2 business cards. Did you try a bigger needle? Sounds like a lot of seams. Did you check to make sure there is nothing in the sandwich at that point that might be causing the breaking? I've never broken that many needles in a row. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnCavanaugh Posted February 9, 2012 Report Share Posted February 9, 2012 Anne, You are doing all the right things. One thing to check that often gets overlooked when you've gone through everything is to make sure that you've got both needle plate screws tightened down and both washers in place under the plate. If they were only snugged up while you were changing things, one could have worked loose. To eliminate a problem mechanically with the machine, try lowering the foot back into position for a single business card (this is the standard location we set at the factory--three business cards is traditionally reserved for really, really thick batting), then move off to the side and stitch on a practice piece. This will eliminate the quilt top issues and can help you concentrate on sounds and issues related to the machine vs. the quilt. Put in a new needle to test as well. If the foot is too high (regardless of the bulky seams) then it allows the fabric to pull the needle in every direction, bending it and deflecting it until it strikes the hook assembly or breaks. The hammering you hear could be caused by the fact that the needle is now dull after striking the hook. Let us know how it's going! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.