Thread: Viking Sapphire and Free Motion Quilting setup

Ok, so now that I've been successfully using my Viking Sapphire 830 for piecing and quilting with the walking foot, I'm trying to figure out why I'm not having any luck with free motion quilting. I've tried 3 different feet (2 with springs and 1 without) and followed the instructions in the book as far as setting it up, but I just can't get it right. After a few inches of stitching the top thread tightens up so much it snaps the needle. I've already broken 3 needles just by practicing. I unthread/rethread both the top and bottom. Have tried numerous thread weights in both the top and bottom. I even created a sample fabric sandwich and wrote on the fabric what I was using for threads so that I could compare all when done. It seems I can use any thread combination for straight/decorative stitching. But nothing is working for the free motion. So, I'm thinking that either I am not doing something right when I set it up, or there is a design flaw. It's kind of upsetting after spending nearly $1000 on a machine for quilting that doesn't want to quilt.

I was wondering if anyone with a Sapphire is having better luck with free motion than me and what you might be doing differently that I need to try. I am going back to the dealer on Friday, but in the meantime, any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hello Ladies,
I was troubleshooting about my feed dogs not remaining switched off and saw your problem, Katier825. Did you ever get the problem taken care of. Gosh, I hope so. Terrible waste of valuable dollars. I had quite a problem, back when, Joann's sent it off and the repair (free) made a world of difference. It took about two months to get it back. The feed dog problem though, kind of hard to free motion quilt. It seem to be working and then it started switching back on all by itself causing great difficulty to maneuver the fabric.

I have a Sapphire 850 and have Fmq about 15 or more quilts on it. Right now having problems with thread shredding. Originally bought 50$ spring foot. The bar sat over the needle screw and hammered til it eventually broke. I switched to the embroidery foot on free motion mode and it worked great. Paid over 100.00 to fix thread breaking, still doesn't work right. My feed dogs also had trouble creeping up. Manual says when you go into fmg mode they (feed dogs) will be automatically set. Mine never lowered except manually. When it works, great when not grrrrr. So frustrated.