Can't think of anything else.

Sewed 4" blocks together. Ironed them. Came immediately back to machine - sewed another 4" block together and when I lifted it from the machine my fingertips felt the bobbin loops they were so prominent!!

What the heck ....??

turned machine off, waited 10 seconds, turned it back on - still the same.

Adjusted tension from 5 to 6. Still icky. Removed bobbin, cleaned machine, oiled machine, replaced bobbin. Tension back at 5, still icky.

So I started sewing a bunch of "samples" to bring to my dealer and marked them 4, 5, 6, 7 - and all samples were lousy. I then set it to 3 for another lousy sample and the loops were ginormous (> 1/4"!!). Set it back to 5 and sewed another sample and ... it was good. Sewed several more samples and they were good. Set tension to 3 again and the loops were big but not ginormous like last time. Back to 5. Normal.

So did my machine just have indigestion or what?


Machine is Janome 6600.

My bit is a tiny piece of lint or thread got caught in the bobbin area or between the upper tension discs. It was probably too small to find when cleaning, but continued use of the machine finally dislodged it. Changing the tension back and forth might have helped. My theory anyway.........

Hey we all have bad moods, right?? Maybe your girl was having one :D:D

PMS (rofl)

My Pfaff is about 10 years old and it did the tension fit too. I tried everything, even read the instructions! Nothing helped so it went to the shop. It took a new bobbin assembly and it cost a bunch but it works like a new one now! Worth the cost. I always warn the dealer when I buy a new machine that I will sew anything I can get under the foot and if that machine can't handle it they will be seeing a mad Irish woman at their door. Several have been honest enough to tell me I didn't want their machines. HA! This Pfaff has been a dandy, a real workhorse and really worth the cost.

Been there...done that. This must be the weekend for "heartburn" for Janome 6600. Mine did the exact same thing yesterday...what a pain ripping out those stitches.

My bet is lint in upper tension disks (or an extra piece of thread). When I have things like this happen to me, I always clean the bobbin area, change needle and re-thread top.

As a general rule when the problem is on the bottom of the fabric, the solution is in the top thread path. The exception is the drop in bobbin machines, the problem can be on the bottom and it can be the bobbin thread. Did you make sure the bobbin thread is in the little tension slot? Try sewing with two different colors of thread, that way you can tell which one is the problem.