Rachelcb80

Interesting info, thanks Nursie! I knew a new spring was part of the update but I didn't know why. That makes a lot of sense. Wednesday I decided to stop ignoring my BSR and I put it back on my machine. I had just a little area left inside the pinwheels to quilt. It skipped a couple times but not as badly as it had before. Then Wednesday and Thursday I quilted the borders on my quilt and it never skipped one time. It never would skip on a fabric sandwich though and that's basically what my borders were. Anyways, I went in yesterday to my dealers store and talked with them. I told her I'd like to try it out on my next quilt and see if it did any better. If it continues to skip they'll do a once over on my machine and most likely replace the BSR. It's under warranty for a long time so I'm covered for awhile.

I feel a lot better about the whole thing after talking with my dealer. She really seemed to care and had actually tried calling me the day before. (I think she had the wrong number though because she said it was just music playing and playing. I don't have that on my phone.) I can tell they will do their best to make sure everything works right so I'm not as frantic about it all as I was a few days ago. :)

nursie76

Sooooo glad to hear that your BSR was behaving and little better, but really relieved that your dealer will work with you. The 440 is really a great machine, and I want you to be able to fully enjoy it.
Have a great weekend.

Jim's Gem

You have given me something to think about. I have had problems in the past with skipped stitches as well. Have done all the "regular" stuff, change needles, rethread, clean etc. I am going to try using it this afternoon and see how it does. Maybe I need to take mine to the dealer and get a new screw as well. I am not under warranty so I wonder how much I will be charged for an update and new screw.

nursie76

Actually in the Bernina BSR it is a spring. ;-)

Jim's Gem

Thanks nursie. I used it today and yes it is skipping a few stitches here and there. It is my Downey quilts for kids quilt and so I'm not really concerned right now. Next week, though, I may call my local dealer and ask about an update and a spring fix!

nursie76

I think that is a good idea and I hope it fixes the problem for you. I talked with my dealer yesterday and made arrangements for them to service it and do the update when I go in for the Embroidery club at the beginning of March. They will loan me one of their machines and have it done before I leave.
Good luck!

Sara

I purchased a Bernina 630 2 1/2 years ago, and have had nothing but problems with it skipping stitches just like you all are describing. I can use the BSR for thousands of stitches of sewing, and it will work perfectly, then all of a sudden it will begin skipping, and then all of a sudden it will begin working correctly again. I never have skipped stitches when sewing with any other foot, only the BSR. I have had it back to my dealer 5 times and they always say they cannot figure out what's wrong. I have done some resesarch concerning causes of skipped stitches on any machine, and one of the things that will commonly cause skipping is improper stitch formation which can be caused by the presser foot tension being set too light. If the fabric is allowed to "tent" up when the needle comes up out of the fabric it can cause the bobbin thread to not catch properly to form the stitch. My fabric sometimes does tent up. I have also occasionally heard a "ping" sound when the needle comes up out of the fabric when sewing as if the thread tried to catch but didn't. The manual and all training I've had says to put the presser foot dial at 0 when using the BSR. I decided to send Bernina an e-mail and ask them about this setting, and just got an e-mail back saying that the manual is wrong, and that the presser foot tension dial should be left at 47. I'm wondering what those who are having this problem are putting your presser foot tension setting to? The suggestion from the dealer that there is a spring that needs replacing seems to be something to have my dealer try. It is there now waiting to be looked at, so I'll pass this on to them in hopes that it might work.

Rachel

I've had this issue too. I have a Bernina 730. Try the Isacord thread. My machine seems to like it the most. It's about $6 for a 1000m spool and can be purchased at your Bernina dealer. There are places to buy online too, much cheaper, but shipping is pricy. Once in awhile I still skip stitches (one, but never 5-6) but blamed that on me jerking or moving too fast. When I got my machine (I bought it used and it was shipped to me) it would skip stitches on a normal zig zag. It'd make the stitches on the left but not the right, of the other way around. ended up the needle was out of alignment to the bobbin. Kind of an odd thing, but you might have them check if you continue to have issues.

nursie76

Sara, what you are saying makes sense and fits in with what my dealer was telling me...about the foot/material bouncing and not allowing the stitch to be made. There fore a stronger spring also makes sense. Now that I think about it, my BSR did skip a stitch , only 1 once in a while while I was quilting at Christmas, but never gave it a thought, chalked it up to my inexperience. Also, I always tried to remember to set my presser foot pressure to 0, but most times forgot, so perhaps that is why I didn't have more problems. I have made arrangements to take my machine in to have the stronger spring and the update done while I use their machine for my embroidery club. Then I will be able to take her home with me. It is time for her yearly check up anyway.
Great research and info. Thanks for passing it along.

nursie76

Nina (my machine) likes Isacord too. I love all the colors for embroidery! I get the embroidery thread at my dealers for $4.39, way cheaper than online for me, especially when you add shipping. I did get some partial spools on Ebay to get a good selection as I am just starting to build my embroidery thread collection.