Originally Posted by wishfulthinking

I started free motion quilting on my old Kenmore & just loved it. Did a couple of quilts with feathers & felt like I did a decent job. I just knew that if I had a little more throat space and needle down I'd be a whiz. So, I got a Janome 6600 about a year & half ago and love the space, the needle down, etc., but my free motion stitches just aren't that great and I feel like I've tried everything. On my current frustrating project I'm using Superior Bottom Line in both the needle and bobbin. I have the blue dot bobbin case and I'm using a Superior Topstitch 90/14 needle. I can see little dots of bobbin thread on top and get some eyelashing on the back around the curves. And if I'm not seeing bobbin thread on top I'm seeing needle thread on the bottom. No such thing as balanced stitches. It hardly seems to matter where I set the top tension or whether the feed dogs are up or down. And I know to slow down going around those curves. Actually, what has started working best is to leave the machine on Mode 1 with a 3.5 stitch length and drop the feed dogs. The stitches look better that way, but still not perfect. I just feel like I was doing better work when I started out on the Kenmore using Coats & Clark & whatever needle I'd had in my machine for the past six months. All my attempts to improve seem to have set me back....skill wise as well as money!

Thanks for listening!

Originally Posted by wishfulthinking

I started free motion quilting on my old Kenmore & just loved it. Did a couple of quilts with feathers & felt like I did a decent job. I just knew that if I had a little more throat space and needle down I'd be a whiz. So, I got a Janome 6600 about a year & half ago and love the space, the needle down, etc., but my free motion stitches just aren't that great and I feel like I've tried everything. On my current frustrating project I'm using Superior Bottom Line in both the needle and bobbin. I have the blue dot bobbin case and I'm using a Superior Topstitch 90/14 needle. I can see little dots of bobbin thread on top and get some eyelashing on the back around the curves. And if I'm not seeing bobbin thread on top I'm seeing needle thread on the bottom. No such thing as balanced stitches. It hardly seems to matter where I set the top tension or whether the feed dogs are up or down. And I know to slow down going around those curves. Actually, what has started working best is to leave the machine on Mode 1 with a 3.5 stitch length and drop the feed dogs. The stitches look better that way, but still not perfect. I just feel like I was doing better work when I started out on the Kenmore using Coats & Clark & whatever needle I'd had in my machine for the past six months. All my attempts to improve seem to have set me back....skill wise as well as money!

Thanks for listening!

Originally Posted by C.

Sorry to hear you are having problems with the 6600. I have had my 6600 for six years and it fmg beautifully. I use every type of thread possible. I use a lightweight 60 or 70 poly for my bobbin thread and it is fantastic. I have to tell you that I had the blue dot bobbin case and tried it just twice. IT IS AWFUL!!! I now NEVER use any bobbin case but the original. I always use a topstitch needle, mostly size 80/12 unless I am sewing very heavy fabrics on my quilt. The 6600 is an absolute dream and is my work horse machine. So try not using the blue dot bobbin case and see what a difference it makes. I always adjust my top tension for every project on scraps of the project. Good luck to you.

Originally Posted by wishfulthinking

Switched to an 80/12 needle and at first though it was a little improved, but no, not really. So I moved my thread and bobbin over to the Kenmore. My top stitches are beautiful. Took a little jiggering with the top tension. I went from 4 down to 1 1/2 on that and no more bottom thread dots on top. Absolutely no eye lashing on the bottom regardless of the top tension. I may try to finish this quilt on the Kenmore. I'll have to move things around and get some tables situated to support the weight of the quilt but that can be done. I'm just so tired of fighting with the Janome and so disappointed. Guess I thought it would be a dream come true. More like a nightmare! May call the dealer in the morning & talk to them; maybe they can help me sort things out with the Janome.