hockeymom444 Posted January 2, 2014 Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 Hello everyone. I am having a terrible time with my tension lately and I could really use some suggestions. I have had my Lucey for a little over a year now, and in that time, I've had on again, off again tension issues. Right now, what happens is that I can stitch along for a few stitches and it looks fine....then.....all the stitiches look like they are one long stitch. It's not "skipping"...it looks like all the stitches are there.....but they just look like one long stitch. So, I thought maybe my top tension was too tight....so I loosened it. THEN....I get loops and train tracks on the back. So, I tighten the bobbin tension......then it seems ok for a few stitiches, then the same thing happens again. I am so frustrated! I am using Stitch regulation when this happens. I have attached a picture....it all just looks terrible to me at this point!! I am willing to take ANY and ALL suggestions on things to try!!! Thanks Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreadWaggle Posted January 2, 2014 Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 Hi Chris, When I have tension issues, I start out by making sure my machine is threaded correctly. Make sure the thread is all the way inside the tension discs. Once I have double checked that I start with my bobbin. Take a very fine pine and slide it under the finger and make sure there is no lint under it. Then I make sure my bobbin is set the way I like it. I use Jamie Wallen's method... put the bobbin in my left hand, pull the thread with my right and I want the bobbin to come up onto it's side but not leave my hand. Once the bobbin is right I tighten my top tension until I can see my bobbin tension railroading on the top and then loosen it just enough to drop the bobbin tension under the top of the quilt. From the looks of your stitches, my first gut reaction is to check the thread path. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted January 2, 2014 Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 If you have intermittent tight stitches on top which make several stitches look like one long stitch, the top thread is catching on something somewhere. Check first at the cone. Is there a rough spot where the thread can catch and the let go? If you're using a thread net, is the net smooth without snags or holes and is the top edge soft? I make sure the net is below the shoulder of the cone--sometimes I pull the net half-way down the cone and tuck the extra inside the cone. Are your guides smooth where the thread passes? Do you have a rough screw where the thread can catch or rub? Put a piece of painter's tape over screws around the tensioner . If you can, stitch a bit while watching what that top thread does. Is it flinging out every now and then? Hoping you can solve the problem soon. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaSteller Posted January 2, 2014 Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 That's a bobbin thread tension problem there. Your bobbin is not unspooling the thread with even tension. Either wind another bobbin or, my best recommendation would be to buy some Magna-Glide bobbins from Fil-Tec. I never liked pre-wound bobbins until I tried the ones from Fil-Tec with the magnetic core in them. They are a bit more expensive, but the time and thread they save you in ripping out bad stitches is more than worth the extra money. I tried my first Magna-Glide bobbin in 2008 and have not wound a bobbin since. Actually, in cleaning out my studio, I think I am going to sell my bobbin winder. It just sits there collecting dust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockeymom444 Posted January 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 Thank you for the responses. Angela, I have tried re-threading a couple of times...but will try again. Can you also tell me what you mean by railroading??? Linda, I don't have any net over the thread, but I will check to see if the thread is catching on anything.......I have not done that.... Linda...I was using a Magna-glide bobbin!!! That's another reason I am soooo frustrated!!! I've had those bobbins for a little while now...do they go bad????? I'm not at home right now....but I will try all of these things when I get there. Can you think of anything else???!!!! Please!!!??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted January 2, 2014 Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 Can you think of anything else???!!!! Please!!!??? If you've tried all of the above, just curious how often you clean your bobbin assembly with WD40 and oil. I always say a clean machine is a happy machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted January 2, 2014 Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 Change to a new needle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b.glass Posted January 2, 2014 Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 Mine was resolved by changing the bobbin case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisae Posted January 2, 2014 Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 Did you remove the backlash spring from your bobbin case? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewingpup Posted January 2, 2014 Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 I was having tension problems.....turns out my top thread had slipped out of one of the guides near the spring on the tension assembly.....stitches just fine now...so really look at the thread path....I had checked it a few times and didn't see it.....take out the manual and look at each step......is my advice....also....does the problem only happen in stitch regulated mode? Does it happen in manual mode? if it only happens in stitch regulated....maybe the encoders are the problem ....newbie to...so just picking my own brain here Lin oh...try a different bobbin too....maybe the bobbin for some reason is messed up.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimerickson Posted January 3, 2014 Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 Chris: Don't take offense, but do you have the bobbin in the case properly (thread coming off the bottom og the bobbin, bobbin turning clockwise when you pull the thread). I fix Singer 221's and 301's, and it is amazing how often experienced sewers put the bobbins in backwards. When they're in backwards they will sew intermittently, but not well. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjtinkle Posted January 3, 2014 Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 The bobbins on the Singer 221's and 301's go in the opposite way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimerickson Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 Yes, the Featherweights and 301's bobbins turn counter clockwise. The only rotary bobbin machines that I know of that rotate that way. All the others rotate clockwise. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tella Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 I nearly went crazy before Christmas with the same problem...nearly took the machine apart...but nothing....Finally, I changed the needle and ...VOILA....perfect stitches....and the needle was not old but maybe defective.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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