Thread: Ball Point Needles & FMQ

The janome needles are made by ORGAN. The oRGAN 90 / 14 topstitch is recommended for fmq. I use it for piecing too. SUPERIOR THREADS has the ORGAN needles. I get the titanium...they last longer.

KLO, thanks for that info. Today I cleaned my machine (took out bobbin case) and NOW I definitely am having tension issues that I've never had before. Even pieced some scraps and my bobbin thread is coming to the top. I'm probably going to take my machine in tomorrow for a "look see". I've re-threaded the needle and bobbin multiple times, put in a new sharp needle, and even took the cover plate off several times to ensure I had put the bobbin case in correctly. Today, the top stitches look straight but the back stitches don't.

I do not know why your stitches do not line up on the front. I think you need to tighten your top tension a little to pull the bobbin thread up into the quilt a little more. I have heard that machines that do a lot of decorative stitches do not line up as well as straight stitch machines. My Vikings and brother have always lined up...so not so true! I think that Juki's are straight only. Is this true? I would clean and oil and adjust...then try try again. Is there a Juki group on yahoo, sometimes those groups have lots of info. Good luck.

Originally Posted by Reba'squilts

I do not know why your stitches do not line up on the front. I think you need to tighten your top tension a little to pull the bobbin thread up into the quilt a little more. I have heard that machines that do a lot of decorative stitches do not line up as well as straight stitch machines. My Vikings and brother have always lined up...so not so true! I think that Juki's are straight only. Is this true? I would clean and oil and adjust...then try try again. Is there a Juki group on yahoo, sometimes those groups have lots of info. Good luck.

Some Juki's are just straight stitch. I have the F600 which has decorative, buttonholes, etc.

I took my machine in and he just put the tension setting to normal ... the stitches were fine. I did that last night but I didn't think the stitches looked right. Maybe I confused my machine by making so many adjustments and after a good nights rest it worked fine. LOL

AND, as everyone advised, I'm sticking with "sharp" needles. Thank you.

I just read more of of this ongoing thread! Forget what I said....call the guy!!! Still good luck!

I will add to the chorus of Don't use s ball point needle for regular quilting. Use on knits only. When you wash your quilt, the holes will shrink and be less noticeable, so I wouldn't fret about the holes in your quilt. Others have given you good advice about your tension, etc. Good luck in solving your problem.

The ball point needles are usually used for T-shhirt quilts and knit fabrics. I have used them for that purpose and it works really well. The ball point needle is designed to separate fibers without cutting them. I use size 16 or 18 sharp needles to quilt on cotton. Your stitches are fine. If you wait for a while and let the fabric relax, the holes start to close up. If it bothers you, switch to a smaller needle.

FMQ use 90/14 topstitch needle.....i get mine a superior threads. You stitches look like you need to speed up you machine or slow down your hand movement.....doing curves is a practice thing. I had eyelashes until i changed to the 90/14 needle and slowed down....yours ĺooks fine.