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Member since 7/23/07
Posts: 7276
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Posted on: 7/28/09 1:10 PM ET
I thought one of my machines had gone wonky and was getting prepared to take it in to the shop, but now I am finding they all are acting a bit weird. The tensions are way off and don't seem to be fixable. Any stitch I try comes out by pulling the bobbin thread. For 2 machines the top thread goes through to the bottom and on one it is the other way around. Are they telling me it is too hot to work? It is 27 C here today our usual is 20-21 for a nice summer day.
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http://bgballroom.wordpress.com to follow the progress on my next ballgown.
  
Member since 1/22/08
Posts: 728
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Posted on: 7/28/09 1:16 PM ET
In reply to tourist
I too am in BC (the Lower Mainland) and if you are here, our humidity is in the 90's at times and has been hovering around 70%. Where I am, the temp (mid 30's) with the humidex is 40 C (104 F). This will definitely affect the thread.

I broke down yesterday and bought an air conditioner/dehumidifier. I am finding that the dehumidifier alone is making a huge difference in our home. I feel like life might be worth living after all! I might even have the strength to sew.

Dawn
  
Member since 7/23/07
Posts: 7276
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Posted on: 7/28/09 1:39 PM ET
In reply to Time4me
Dawn - you must be out the valley a bit where it gets so much hotter than by the water. I'm fairly close to you and it is pretty sticky! We turned down the hot tub so it is at swimming pool temp. Very nice to take a cooling dip before bed.

I have cranked up the thread tension on my machine and it looks a bit better. Hmmmm...I have been using non-matching threads so I can diagnose the problem. Maybe identical threads will act in similar ways and balance each other out?
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http://bgballroom.wordpress.com to follow the progress on my next ballgown.
  
Member since 2/9/04
Posts: 18027
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Posted on: 7/28/09 2:39 PM ET
In reply to tourist
I've never heard of that before, but I guess it's possible. The temp in our home ranges from 26.7C/80F in summer to 20C/68F in winter and humidity below 20% in winter and up to 50% (indoors) in summer. My machines never have a problem with that range. Hope this helps.
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iPad's auto-correct is my enema.
  
Member since 7/23/07
Posts: 7276
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Posted on: 7/28/09 9:53 PM ET
Crazy, I know! I didn't believe it until I tried all 3 machines. And the serger was not quite 100% either. I had to bump the needle tension up to 9 (it is usually a comfy and never-changing 3) on my Janome to get a decent stitch. So my "full" day of sewing was a cranky day of sewing. Though I did complete one project and do a tiny alteration/mending job (by hand).

I will be very interested to see how it goes when we cool back down to glacial Canadian temps!
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http://bgballroom.wordpress.com to follow the progress on my next ballgown.
  
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