cathyh Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Help!! I finally have time to work on this quilt and having some ugly stitch problems! I feel like I have seen this problem before but can't find it. My stitches are very uneven and crooked when going up (towards the back) and less so to the left. Thread is Fil-tec Harmony 40wt/3ply cotton variegated, bobbin is Filtec magna-glide. I have attached a picture..... Tension was off(bobbin was showing on top) sporadically, but changing from flat weave to spiral weave in the tension 3 hole guide seemed to help Also I feel like my SR is not working that well, doing cc's and the stitches are small on the ends, getting large in the middle, this may be my technique or the batik fabric. And when I stitch on my practice piece (kona cotton) there does not seem to be much difference between 7 and 11 spi. Any help much appreciated!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busy Quilting Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Cathy to check if there is a problem with the Stitch length, on a large scrap sandwich stitch a 5" square and finish it off by stitching the diagonals too starting 1/2" inside the outer square. Write on the fabric which direction you did each line too. Mark off inch spaces on the lines and count the stitches between them. This will also give you a good sample to check the direction of the "off" stitches, plus tell whether your SR is being problematic. Wonky stitches that thread seems a lot thicker at that point, or is it the colour of the thread? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnCavanaugh Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Cathy, Do you have a larger needle you can use? Harmony is a thicker thread and it's pulling your needle slightly out of alignment with the hook. Here are more things to try when you get those "walking stitches": 1. Check the hopping foot height. Make sure you can only slide a business card underneath when you lower the needle by hand to its lowest point (off any fabric.) Make sure the foot height feels consistent by sliding the card under from different angles. If the foot is a little crooked (this can happen over time from using rulers or hitting bulky seams) then it isn't compressing the fabric evenly when you move backward. (It's like doing the "moon walk" ) 2. Turn the needle slightly to the left to improve the stitch appearance with the heavy thread. 3. As for your stitch regulator, the thread should not make any difference to it. Try a different type of thread on your practice piece and check the stitch length. Also, make sure your Quilt Glide is off (if you have it). It's really only helpful with tiny background quilting, and can cause your stitches to change length as you move slowly (and it engages) and then you move quickly (and it disengages.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathyh Posted July 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Dawn, my hopping foot is definitely a little higher in the front. How do I adjust this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meg Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Cathy.... My hopping foot got out of whack somehow a few months back. I called Amy and she had me use a screwdriver to pry it back into level. It was scary for me to do, but it worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathyh Posted July 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Meg, that does sound scary, although I am sure I am not strong enough to break it.LOL. Dawn, should I call Amy tomorrow, or do you have some instructions you can send me? The needle change to 4.5 helped, but stitches are still too wonky to continue, seems worse when i am stitching patchwork. But thebigger needle definitely helped with the stitch length. I am still going to do the 5" square test, thought, thanks Lyn for that tip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnCavanaugh Posted July 15, 2013 Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 Cathy, Go ahead and use a screwdriver to push the front of the foot down. Remove the needle (and you may want to swing the needle plate out of the way a bit to give you clearance). Then insert a screwdriver into the foot ring, with the tip toward the back of the foot and the handle toward the front. Press down a bit on the handle to bend the front of the foot down slightly. Try not to use too much force, just take your time and check it after you've made your first attempt. Turn that needle slightly, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathyh Posted July 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2013 I have finally gotten a chance to get back to my machine. I used the screwdriver to level out my hopping foot and the wonky stitches are gone. I am still having SR problems I think. With the stitch length set to 7, I am getting 9-11 stitches per inch. It looks like the diagonal stitches are very inconsistent. I need to do this with different fabric though so the stitches all show up. This weekend I will get to it. Thanks for the help, Lyn, Meg, and Dawn!! I will post a picture when I have a good 5" sample. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnCavanaugh Posted July 18, 2013 Report Share Posted July 18, 2013 Hi Cathy, That's good news! We'll definitely want to get that sample stitched so that we can determine how to calibrate your machine correctly. When you have time to stitch that out and then give us a call, we can walk you through the adjustments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathyh Posted July 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 Okay, I finally got the sample square done to check stitch length. At 7 I get pretty consistent 9 stitches per inch, in all directions excepts diagonal, where I get 10-11. Here are the pictures- I used that red/white/blue variegated cotton from FilTec for the first square. I changed thread and just stitched some up and down lines with different stitch length settings. All are off, but are seeming to get better the shorter the length. I am mainly interested in getting the longer stitch length corrected. I sew mostly at 9 or 10 and one stitch off , who can tell! But when I want that longer stitch, I just can't get it. Is there a fix for this besides replacing the stitch regulator itself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnCavanaugh Posted July 21, 2013 Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 Cathy, You don't need to replace the regulator, we should only need to recalibrate it. Call us on Monday and Amy can help. You'll want to be near the machine at the time so she can have you make adjustments and then repeat the stitch out sequence to see how things are changing. After 10 a.m. CST is a good time to call, since first thing in the a.m. we often have spa appointment drop-offs to handle at the first part of the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathyh Posted July 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2013 Thanks Dawn, that is good news that it can be re-calibrated. I won't be able to call until Wednesday, will that be okay with Amy's schedule? I can definitely wait until after 10am CT that day to call. The other days I am at work by 8:30am PT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathyh Posted July 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2013 I hooked up by phone with Amy at APQS today and she very patiently walked me through re-calibration of my SR. Stitches look great! THANKS so much, Amy!! And THANKS to APQS for your great staff and this forum!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnCavanaugh Posted July 25, 2013 Report Share Posted July 25, 2013 Cathy, That's great news! We knew you could do it. Thanks for being a loyal APQS customer. We appreciate you, too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busy Quilting Posted July 25, 2013 Report Share Posted July 25, 2013 Cathy, It may have seemed daunting by name but our machines don't mind if we tinker with them, with the right instructions. Glad my stitch out instructions sent you in the right direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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