Needles

[thequiltqueen]

I just want to maybe save someone else the grief I have been through over the past 2 weeks.

I have been experiencing continuous thread breakage, skipped stitches, and much frustration. I was beginning to wonder why in the world I ever bought this darned machine in the first place. I had to psych myself up every time before I could actually do any quilting because it was a constant battle between me and the machine. I wondered why my very first quilts had such nice stitches even though my technique was lacking, but now that I had some "style" my stitches were UGLY and inconsistent.

Anyway.....I did discover I had a bad spool of thead. Replaced the thread. Still experienced skipped stitches. Changed the needle. More skipped stitches, and some thread breakage but not as frequent. I watched the maintenance video and did everything I was told to do. Got to the part about timing....I dreaded this part. The first step is to check the position of the needle at it's lowest point. It seemed OK to me, but as I was comparing the size of the eye of the needle in my machine to a package of new needles I noticed that the new needles were 3.5 rather than 4.0. Hmmmm. My local dealer had sold me this pack of needles and (I am embarrassed to admit) I guess I never really paid any attention.

Long story short....(I know, too late for that!) I put in one of the 4.0 needles and she sews like a dream! This is only the 2nd needle out of this pack, and the 3.5's are almost gone. I know the 1st needle out of the pack is the first needle I ever put in the machine and that is why my first stitches were so pretty.

Looking forward to more pretty stitches. I just HAD to tell someone!!!!

The moral of the story: Size DOES matter!

[quiltaholi_518]

Deanna, I am wondering if anyone can reply and explain this. I was told that you match the needle to the thread, so were you sewing with heavier thread? I guess I am surprised a needle can make such a difference, I wouldn't think it should.

Caron

[Teresa]

Funny this should come up I was thinking about needle sizes last night... I usually change my needles to the thread, if I run into issues than I move up a size... What sizes are you ladies normally running?

I use anywhere from a 2.5 to a 4.0... Always a Singer MRneedle

Deanne, I feel your pain that's how I ended up trying so many needle sizes that and batiks, I don't want to see the holes...

[LynnQuilts]

I am by no means an expert, but I believe the matching the needle to the thread mainly applies to DSM's. Our machines are bigger; our machines' needles are bigger; I think they will take most any thread. Our machines are set up to run with a certain size of needle, and although you may be able to use other sizes, I think they will run best with what they are set up to use. There are also other brands of needles that have small, but important , differences and will not run well in our machines. The best bet is to stick with the Singer 4.0's!

[thequiltqueen]

Yes, if anyone can explain this, PLEASE do! All I know is that my manual says to use 4.0 needles, and in the beginning I was able to practice using cheap old serger thread and still had beautiful stitches. Then later on, I was unable to use this very same thread, or any thread, including Superior So Fine (my new thread of choice) without problems. The UGLY stitches appeared to be tension problems that no amount of adjusting could correct. Suddenly last night, with ONLY the change to the 4.0 needle everything is beautiful again. I don't know, maybe my Millenium is more sensitive than others??? LOL

[AnuGram]

Speaking of needles:

I put in a new (4.0) needle in the other day and was having the worst problems with thread breaking every 3 inches, skipped stitches, bobbin thread not picking up. THinking it was a thread problem, I tried all kinds of things for about an hour, then adjusted the needle a few times thinking maybe it wasn't in perfectly straight. Nothing was working. I really was ready to throw in the towel.

Then I decided to change to a new needle. Same size, from same package. Guess what? It worked fine.

Learned a good lesson. My sanity is worth far more than the cost of one needle!!

Sara

[northernquilter]

I switch between 3.5 and 4.0 needles. I haven't had any problems as long as I stick with the MR needles. Sometimes I need to turn the needle eye slightly towards the left to get a good stitch, but that is the only adjustment I've ever made. I have had my Millennium for about 4 years now and have never had to time it. I use mostly 35 wt threads but can use fine threads in the bottom and top without any extra breakage. If I find I am getting breakage or skipped stitches I move up or down a needle size and the problem seems to go away. If I'm using certain threads, I will loosen the top tension slightly before trying anything else. I usually get about 5 or 6 quilts out of one needle. When I started, I was told I should get about 40 hours out of a needle, and I usually do unless the quilt batting is one of those brillo pads.

Bonnie

Bonnie

[sue in Australia]

Hi everyone

I am sure Mark or Connie will answer this one but this is how I understand size and length of needle.

MR4s are fitted to all new machines because they are able to stand a little more harsh, jerky use particularly from new machine owners than say 3.5s - although this is not such an issue when using a sr machine.

The machines are timed in the factory to be able to stitch well in the range 3.5 (maybe 3) to 5 - but MR4 is preferred. Timing is how close the hook touches the scarf of the needle with a thinner needle that space will be slightly more than with MR4s. and so the stitch will not be formed quite as tightly.

The length of the needle is crucial too. To the naked eye different brands of can appear the same length and diameter but if they are off very very slightly this can have bad effects on the stitching.

I find that I use an MR4 for all threads even metallic. I do have some MR5s on hand since once I ran over something in the middle of a quilt and knocked the timing out bad enough that it wouldn't stitch. I replaced the needle with an MR5 and it got me through to the end of the quilt. I think I had moved the hook back slightly when I ran over something and increasing the size diameter of the needle closed the gap. A tmeporary fix.

Best wishes

Sue in Australia

[quilts2much]

ok i thought i would post here and see if i can get a answer .

I am going to try and use RA metallic thread on my millie. i was wondering if there are any tricks to running this thread like needles tension etc.

Please help!

By the way this is my first time posting.

Barbara:mad:o

[Charlene]

Hi,

I primarily use the Singer MR 3.5 needle. Just feel like it makes a nice stitch. When having trouble with the needle, sometimes I just need to turn the eye abit more to the left.

Remember, sometimes you can get bad needles and sometimes from the same package. Changing needles can sometimes correct the problem.

Charlene

[John Mitchell]

Needles seem to always cause confusion. We only use MR needles normally 3.5 but sometimes 4.0. the MR needles have a very pronounced scarf. This gives the hook a better chance to pick up the thread. Hook timing has two areas of concern 1st rotation (timing) 2nd proximity to the scarf on the needle (the closer the better). The hook should pass throught the scarf just below the middle of the scarf in the space from the 1/2 way point to about 1/3 way up from the bottom on the scarf this is assuming that the needle bar height is correct. When a machine is timed to a 4.0 it should use a 3.5 to 4.5 with no problems. A 3.5 is more flexable and it can be flexed into the hook is flexed enough although this is not normally a problem. For more information on needles see the Superior Threads web site www.superiorthreads.com click on education then needles. This site has a lot of great information on threads, tension, needles and tons of other stuff.

[diane Bevans]

This is an interesting conversation as not too long ago my dealerwas telling us the timing on the machines are really timed for a 4.0 needle which is what they come with. I know from experience my machine behaves better in a 4.0, so I don't change needles out much. But I do change after each quilt, I feel its a small expense of doing business.