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Moderated by Sharon1952
Posted on: 5/16/15 11:13 PM ET
I got the low down, dirty, thread shredding blues...Oh yeah!
I am trying to machine quilt my tumbler quilt & my machine just isn't cooperating. I have changed out the needle to a 90/14 top stitch, rethreaded multiple times, and lowered the tension. I have cleaned out the bobbin area and talked ever so sweetly to her. It's my spare Pfaff Expression 150 and after reading about all the tension issues with other expressions, I best take her in for a well baby check up...
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I am trying to machine quilt my tumbler quilt & my machine just isn't cooperating. I have changed out the needle to a 90/14 top stitch, rethreaded multiple times, and lowered the tension. I have cleaned out the bobbin area and talked ever so sweetly to her. It's my spare Pfaff Expression 150 and after reading about all the tension issues with other expressions, I best take her in for a well baby check up...

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Actions speak louder than words.
Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. -Albert Einstein
50 yard stash/dash 2 metres
Kwik Sew 4032 men’s jacket
Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. -Albert Einstein
50 yard stash/dash 2 metres
Kwik Sew 4032 men’s jacket
Posted on: 5/16/15 11:31 PM ET
Did you try adjusting the bobbin tension? Also, what kind of thread are you using? There is a class on craftsy that I am taking now. It is by Cindy Needham.. It is not the whole cloth quilt one but the other one.
She has a whole chapter about thread and tension. She shows you how to adjust bobbin tension.
To make a long story short. If the thread is old, or not winding off the spool properly, it could cause issues. If you are using a heavier weight of thread from what you are use to using, it could cause issues. She uses a 100/16 top stitch needle.
Sometimes quilting batik fabric can make the tension act differently.
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She has a whole chapter about thread and tension. She shows you how to adjust bobbin tension.
To make a long story short. If the thread is old, or not winding off the spool properly, it could cause issues. If you are using a heavier weight of thread from what you are use to using, it could cause issues. She uses a 100/16 top stitch needle.
Sometimes quilting batik fabric can make the tension act differently.
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Rebecca Pitts
Bernina 350
Singer Featherweight
Singer 9960
Babylock Imagine
Babylock Destiny
Juki tl2010Q
Bernina 350
Singer Featherweight
Singer 9960
Babylock Imagine
Babylock Destiny
Juki tl2010Q
Posted on: 5/16/15 11:37 PM ET
In reply to rebe
Hi Rebe. I'm using Superior King Tut 50 wt thread that I bought today from a busy quilt shop. Superior recommends using a 90/14 top stitch needle...When I pulled the thread through the needle just to see how much tension there was on the upper thread (presser foot was lifted and tension dial turned down) there was quite a bit of resistance.
I also changed from horizontal to vertical spool position with no change. I'm thinking a trip to the local, friendly Pfaff store is in order and I will happily do a upper thread shearing user error "walk of shame" if need be...
-- Edited on 5/16/15 at 11:40 PM --
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I also changed from horizontal to vertical spool position with no change. I'm thinking a trip to the local, friendly Pfaff store is in order and I will happily do a upper thread shearing user error "walk of shame" if need be...
-- Edited on 5/16/15 at 11:40 PM --
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Actions speak louder than words.
Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. -Albert Einstein
50 yard stash/dash 2 metres
Kwik Sew 4032 men’s jacket
Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. -Albert Einstein
50 yard stash/dash 2 metres
Kwik Sew 4032 men’s jacket
Posted on: 5/16/15 11:40 PM ET
HAHAHA.. .you are sooo funny!
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Rebecca Pitts
Bernina 350
Singer Featherweight
Singer 9960
Babylock Imagine
Babylock Destiny
Juki tl2010Q
Bernina 350
Singer Featherweight
Singer 9960
Babylock Imagine
Babylock Destiny
Juki tl2010Q
Posted on: 5/17/15 4:20 AM ET
Take a look at this video by Dr. Bob of Superior Threads.
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People never care how much you know until they know how much you care.
Posted on: 5/17/15 8:24 AM ET
I had the same problem, I switched to a jean's needle 14 and it solved my problem. Not sure if it was the batting, but it worked. Took me hours and a lot of thread to get it adjusted, but once I switched to the jean's needle it fixed the problem. If you do change your bobbin tension, maybe order a separate bobbin shuttle just for fmq.
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Patty
Posted on: 5/17/15 8:29 AM ET
In reply to kevinsews
I love Dr Bob and did position the spool on the vertical thread holder but alas I can't get NO satisfaction...NO satisfaction! Sorry Mick Jagger
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Actions speak louder than words.
Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. -Albert Einstein
50 yard stash/dash 2 metres
Kwik Sew 4032 men’s jacket
Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. -Albert Einstein
50 yard stash/dash 2 metres
Kwik Sew 4032 men’s jacket
Posted on: 5/17/15 8:32 AM ET
In reply to PattyGee
Thanks for the tip I will try the Jeans needle...
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Actions speak louder than words.
Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. -Albert Einstein
50 yard stash/dash 2 metres
Kwik Sew 4032 men’s jacket
Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. -Albert Einstein
50 yard stash/dash 2 metres
Kwik Sew 4032 men’s jacket
Posted on: 5/17/15 12:02 PM ET
In reply to sammyowner
Do you have a separate thread stand from the machine? If there's a lot of tension on the top thread with foot up, something's causing it. Either the thread is wide in diameter preventing it from feeding of the horizontal spool or it's big and bulky for the vertical spool pin (it has to spin in order for thread to feed off.)
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Janome10001, Babylock ESG3, Brother ULT 2001, White 634D serger, Pfaff 1472, Singer featherweight, Singer 14T957Dc, Bernina FunLock 009DCC coverlock, Brother PQ1500S, Janome CP900.
Posted on: 5/17/15 12:30 PM ET
In reply to sammyowner
FWIW, if you are doing everything right, it might be the machine. 20+ years ago, when I started FMQing on my Bernina 1130, it was a tension nightmare with birdnests underneath, etc. Normal sewing had not been a problem.
I finally brought my machine to the dealer, set it up, and showed them the problem. THEN I took my needle, my thread, my quilt, my bobbin, and set up one of their floor models, which behaved perfectly. That's what it took to convince the dealer it was not USER ERROR. He replaced the upper tension system, the problem went away.
So once you've ruled out 'user error' and faulty bobbins, needles, thread, etc., take it to your dealer and try the same thing I did.
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I finally brought my machine to the dealer, set it up, and showed them the problem. THEN I took my needle, my thread, my quilt, my bobbin, and set up one of their floor models, which behaved perfectly. That's what it took to convince the dealer it was not USER ERROR. He replaced the upper tension system, the problem went away.
So once you've ruled out 'user error' and faulty bobbins, needles, thread, etc., take it to your dealer and try the same thing I did.
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iPad's auto-correct is my enema.
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