When i do free motion machine quilting, I have trouble with the thread breaking. Does any of you know why this happens and the possible solutions for it?

Thank you,
Priscilla

Whenever I've had problems with my thread breaking it's usually one of three things...

1. wrong needle for the type/size thread I'm using
2. top tension setting is too high
3. needle has gotten dull

Make sure that you put a fresh needle in your machine whenever you finishe a fairly large project

Try different types of needles and needle sizes with the type/size of thread you're using as well as the fabric/batting you're working on

Check your stitches closely to make sure there is no bobbin thread coming up to the top of your work, or top thread showing on the back which would indicate that the top or bobbin tension is too tight.

try completely unthreading and starting over to be sure the top thread is not hanging up on something. I've had it get caught in the notch of the spool and break, if that's it, turn the spool around so the notch is at the back. The thread will pull away from the notch not toward it.

Hi all,
I'm fairly new to machine quilting. I recently bought an Elna machine and have mostly tried quilting in straight lines. But I wanted to try free motion quilting, so I dropped the feed dogs and removed the presser foot. The top of the quilt line looked okay, but underneath was a mess. The thread didn't break, but I got a bunch of big loops and knots. I didn't change the tension because it had been working so well at those settings. Is that where I went wrong? Do I need to change the tension when switch to free style quilting?

Thanks so much,
Tanya

I suspect you may have forgotten to lower the needle bar. Even though you don't have a foot on it, it needs to be lowered to keep the tension correct.

There might be an issue with thread rot or it might old or weak.

The Free Motion Quilting Project has a great post on this:

http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.c...-or-speed.html