Tension questions

[Hockeyrabbit]

Hi All-

 

I have a quick question about tension - well QUESTIONS! HA! If the bobbin thread is lying on top of the fabric, that means that the top is too loose..right? If the bobbin thread is pulling through top, that means the top is too tight..right??

 

Do I adjust bobbin casing at all or leave that alone and work with the top first? I noticed I had little pokies on bottom and also in some spots I could see thread just lying on top of fabric.

 

Thanks for your help! JC

[cblevins]

You are correct. If the bobbin thread, lays on the backing you need to tighten top tension.  Dave Jones gave my Millie a spa treatment and gave me a short lesson on tension.

 

If you have a Towa gauge, adjust your bobbin case correctly and then work with your top tension until it suits you. If you don't have the gauge do the "creep" test on your bobbin.  I hope this helps.

[srichardson]

Here is a little reading for you!

 

http://www.apqs.com/adjust-tension/

[cblevins]

This is some great info!

 

 

http://www.apqs.com/adjust-tension/

[cblevins]

Sue...typing at the same time!!!!

[srichardson]

Sue...typing at the same time!!!!

 

 

LOL!

[bettyjane]

Ahhh... so I'm asking for my first advice from all of you pros: I have a Milly and I am fairly new taking in customer quilts. I have a custom quilt to do for judging. It is mostly solid black with bright colored stack and whacks set into it. I experimented with batting and threads. I tried black 80/20 but it was too dark under the white areas of the stack and whack. I liked 80/20 white better than warm and natural so I went with that. I want to make sure I don't get white beardingon the solid black. My practice pieces look fine as far as bearding.

 

I am having a terrible time getting thread tension right. I like the loftier 80/20 but still end up with tension that goes back and forth, top to bottom as I go around in swirls. I tried King Tut, So fine, Glide, Bottom line.... prewounds and wound my own. I changed the needle a couple times, rethreaded several times, cleaned and oiled the bobbin case. I also get one loose stitch on top, on the outer curve of a loop even though the tension was pretty good elsewhere- that is mostly with the Glide. I have a 4.0 needle, don't have a 3.5 to try so am ordering some. I checked and smoothed burrs on the last quilt because I was starting to have trouble but that was Quilters Dream - Request loft- the customer gave me to use,  which I found to be too thin, especially for the custom quilting I was doing. I do not have silicone spray - would that help and where can I get it? The fabric on this quilt seems like very good quality but heavy/thick fibers - maybe treated with something and not washed? Any suggestions??? It's the first quilt I will submit for judging.

[Bonnie H]

Do you have the option of 2 layers of batting? Either 2 layers of the hobbs 80/20 or a layer of cotton with wool on top will give a nice definition and does wonders for tension issues. Its something you might want to practice with first as using rulers on two battings is a little more challenging than just one layer of batting but the results are worth the effort I think.

[Crazy4Quilting]

I find with magna glide classic bobbins I am able to use black bobbin and white top thread without either showing on the other side. I love those bobbins.

 

http://www.bobbincentral.com/

 

Carol S.

[MelissaNH]

Hi JC!  I just took a class with Jamie Wallen and he had three things to do to get your tension just right.  They work on any machine.  he has a video on youtube that explains it...

. 

 

You set the bobbin first by laying it in your hand open side up, and pulling smoothly on the thread.  The bobbin case should tip on it's side but not leave your hand (unless you're using a pre-wound bobbin, then it might leave, but just a little) as you are pulling the thread.  Adjust as necessary.  I had to back mine off a half turn!  then you pull thread and make sure there is no tug tug.  Then you put it in your machine, and pull the thread to the top through the quilt.  as you pull out about a foot in length, check again for the tug tug tug.  I should be smooth.  If it's not, the bobbin or case could be warped.  now on to the top... Set the top so that the tension pulls the bobbin to the top to see pokies.  when you do, back it off 1/4 turn or so, so that you can just see them near the surface but not out.  when you take the quilt off the frame, the thread relaxes a bit and the 'pokies' will be seated in the top third of the sandwich.

 

I had been having an issue with "railroad tracks" on the back of the quilt but only in certain directions (front to back, right to left.. both as you are standing on the non-panto side of the machine).  I went home, did these things he described and the issue was gone!  I was flabbergasted as I had been fighting with it for a while.  Those things in addition to magna-glide bobbins and no more problems!  When you use magna-glide, be sure to take the check spring out of the bobbin case.  I hope this helps you.  Melissa

[MelissaNH]

wow, look at that.  I didn't know the link would put the video right in the post.  hope that was ok.

[bettyjane]

Thank you! I do remember watching Jamie's video and will try all of that. I will order magna glides too. I haven

t tried 2 layers yet - but I see a lot of show quilters do that so I will try on one of my own first.

[bettyjane]

Do you use 3.5 needles for So Fine thread?

[bettyjane]

Okay - so now I see that the backing fabric has Joann Fabrics label on the selvage... it feels stiff and a little coarse. Maybe this is why the thread won't pull up into the batting evenly?

[Quilting Heidi]

Try steaming the fabric and see if that helps.  Stiff fabric can cause some issues but the steam can "loosen" it up a bit.  You may have to loosen your bobbin and tighten the upper tension more than normal.

[DawnCavanaugh]

Betty Jane,

 

When you've got tension changing when you move in different angles and directions, you're experiencing "directional tension". Lots of factors contribute to that, but it's also a perfectly normal consequence of all machine quilting (including domestic sewing machines.) Directional tension happens when the needle bends in the wrong direction to meet the needle properly and form a stitch. (You'll see it mostly when you stand at the needle and move the machine to your left or away from yourself.) So, once you know that little bit of trivia, then you can surmise that anything that increases the needle's tendency to bend will affect your tension and the ability to balance it all the time:

 

1. How fast you move (slow down)

2. How big your needle is (go up a size, not down...bigger/thicker/coarser threads require a stiffer needle with a larger eye to reduce thread pull and drag)

3. What length your stitches are (shoot for a middle-of-the-road setting between 10-12 and see how it goes)

4. How tight you have your quilt sandwich (taut fabric makes the needle bend more. Loosen it up a bit.)

5. How thick your batting is (the Request you mentioned for your previous quilt was definitely a tough one...select something with at least a little loft to give the needle a fighting chance to find the center of the batting)

6. How tight you have your tension (both top and bottom). When both are "tight" they fight each other for domination. The bobbin should be pretty loose anyway, but if they're both rather taut then they each pull the needle hard to get their way.

7. Direction you're quilting (can't be helped, we all go the "wrong way" at some point.) Just be aware that it may be the problem.

8. Thread thickness/composition (cotton thread is generally weaker, but pulls on the needle harder.)

 

Here's another video that may help:

 

[bettyjane]

I will be doing a of of fill, directional moving on this quilt. I did try a larger needle - a 4.5 but it was too big for the So Fine or Glide thread. I did try loosening tension as much as I could. It seems like no matter what I do - the So FIne thread sits on the back of the quilt. I can try the steaming. Thanks for all of your help!