Missydo

I am new to quilting. I think I am coming along well with free motion quilting on my quilt rack, however, I am running into issues and I can't seem to resolve them myself. I keep breaking , the top thread as well as more than the occasional needle. I have tried adjusting the tension but am not having much success. I can sew on scrap material and it works fine, but when I try to work on the quilt rack it goes back to breaking the thread. Any suggestions? Getting frustrated.

PaperPrincess

Welcome to the board, Missy. How about a bit more info? Frame name/type? Which foot are you using? (I'm assuming feed dogs are disengaged) What kind of thread (brand & weight) and what kind of batting. I know it's a lot of info, but you'll get a more specific answer!
Off hand breaking needles makes me think you are moving the machine too fast...
Are you running the machine at full speed?

sewbizgirl

I have that machine and love it. I use it for all my machine quilting. Not sure what a quilt rack is... Do you mean a frame?

bakermom

i would say the weight of the quilt is pulling and causing the needle to break. That's happened to me even though I'm careful to have the quilt supported as much as possible.

Prism99

The following video is good for setting tension on all machines used for quilting on a frame:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1mRhcquZTM

Basically you want to set your bobbin tension first, then set the top tension to match. You mentioned sewing on a scrap, then having the thread break when you sew on the frame. I think that sewing on a frame requires different tension settings than sewing without a frame.

What size needle are you using? And what type? You probably want to be using the largest size needle your machine will take (maybe a size 16?) and it should be a sharp needle (not universal). Some machines do better with a topstitch needle.

carslo

I use a size 18 when FMQ, it works the best for me and I loose the bobbin tension just a tad. Good luck!