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changed thread color and tension got too tight


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And here I've been thinking lately that "gee, my machine has been running so smoothly.  I can't remember the last time I called APQS for help."

 

Always on a Friday evening, right?

 

So, the problem started when I changed thread COLOR, not type.  It's Invisifil, which I've been using successfully on this quilt for over a week now.  I changed from pink to red thread, and all of a sudden the tension of the top thread was way too tight.  I could feel it just trying to pull it through to thread the needle.  The tightness seems to be coming from the tension mechanism.  

 

I loosened the tension knob two turns and it felt better.  But after I stitched and looked at the back, I saw that the top thread is pulling out the back in long segments, and getting stitched over.  It's not pretty and not what I've come to expect from Millie.

 

Since I can't get help until Monday (at least I don't think they work weekends, I'll try calling in the morning in case I"m wrong about that).....does anyone have an idea what the problem is likely to be?

 

I rethreaded the top and bobbin, blew air between the tension disks, inspected the disks and found nothing unusual.  Cleaned and oiled the bobbin case.  Cleaned the needle plate.  Changed top thread to a different color, brown.  I haven't tried returning to the lighter colors.  Could it really be the color?  Guess I'll try that next.

 

Thanks for any ideas you share.

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Did you unthread all the way to the cone? Sometimes the thread gets inadvertently wrapped twice around a pigtail or the tension spindle center. I've even had top thread fling out and seat itself behind the needle screw and cause tension and breakage issues. Even with a color change, the tension should only need to be slightly tweaked to get to a sweet spot. When you pulled on the thread through the needle was it really hard to pull? Go backwards from there to find where the catching spot is. Pull through each pigtail separately and through the tension assembly. Hoping you've found the problem and are happily quilting again. :)

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It's working and I can't say what made the difference.  When I pull a new thread through the thread path, it's knotted to the old thread.  I think I got too fast and careless pulling that knot through the tension assembly.  

 

At the moment, I'm being cautious and checking the back frequently for signs of trouble.  It still seems that the darker threads are much tighter than the lighter ones.  

 

I'll post again if I really figure it out.

 

Thanks for all the ideas, I explored each of them!

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