Help from Fibre Artists using George!!

[Harpy]

HELP!!

I\'ve posted a message on the "General Chat", but thought I might catch a few George machine users with this...

So you know my situation: I have broken 2 needles in my first day of stitching!!

1. I have a new George - only used a small bit so far, did some bobbin stitching and then just a little on my current textured art piece.

2. I\'m very experienced with a DSM. I show nationally, have won awards, blah, blah. So what I\'m getting at is I\'m not \'forcing\' the fabric to do anything I shouldn\'t - as far as speed vs. hand movement.

3. What needle? The ones they say I must use.

4. The machine runs fine with no thread.

5. The machine seems fine with regular layers of muslin, batting, muslin. Although now I seem to be having some trouble with thread breakage - I\'m sure I\'ve damaged the hook somehow...

SO-O-O-O

I am wondering if there are any others out there, that use the George machine for things like I do? I work with muliple layers of textured materials - painted fusible, tyvek etc., kozo, melted synthetics....

I have had 2 needles break, in the first day. What am I doing wrong? I\'m so afraid now to try using it, for fear I\'ll damage the machine.

Any one out there with ideas???

[DawnCavanaugh]

Harpy,

Sounds like your creative juices are flowing and now there\'s a dam in the way!

George comes with a 4.0 needle, but we have needles in sizes 4.5 and 5.0 as well. The standard 4.0 probably will not handle stitching through Tyvek and other heavy-duty materials. You\'ll encounter too much "flex" in the needle as you move the materials, resulting in the needle hitting the hook mechanism and then breaking.

I\'d go up to a 5.0 for what you are doing. You can order them by calling the toll-free number (800-426-7233) and asking for Linda.

As for the thread breaking now--you probably have a burr on the hook after breaking a couple of needles. Remove the needle and needle plate, and inspect the hook carefully. One of the appendixes in your George manual will cover which areas to concentrate on for your search. Buff the burrs off the hook.

Also be sure the hopping foot is set high enough for the textured work that you are doing. When we set its height at the factory, it is positioned so that when the needle is lowered to its lowest position, a business card will slide under the foot. (This is to accommodate a traditional quilter\'s preference for thin batting.)

Since you are working on materials that may be thicker, you may want to raise the foot slightly, probably 2-3 business card thicknesses. Again, one of the appendixes in the manual will talk you through this easy adjustment. (Just put the foot back into position if you sew on a traditional quilt sandwich.)

If you don\'t have these appendixes, let us know and we can possibly email them to you.

Hope this gets you back on track!

[Harpy]

Hey Dawn - Thanks for all your helpful suggestions!

I had to contact Amy at APQS to ask about raising the foot, before I began doing any of my sewing - that accomplished, I managed to sew a fair bit of my "weird stuff" before the 1st needle broke.

Yup - I\'m pretty sure I\'ve got a nic in the hook, and I\'m trying to solve that. I suppose that\'s pretty minor, compared to what else is/might be wrong.

So, a larger, heavier needle, huh? I suppose that makes an even bigger hole in the fabrics... and I was already annoyed at the size of the hole with the size 4 needle. Sigh.

And, yes, my creative juices are always flowing, actually (lucky me!), but right now have the time to flow with them... and I\'ve run into a brick wall, a dam, as you say. Waiting for postage of a pack of needles, during the Xmas season, to arrive way out where I am (Newfoundland, Canada) will mean I can\'t do anything until January. Double sigh.

I will trudge on, however. Not ready to give up yet!

I\'ll keep you posted on my situation.

Harpy