Originally Posted by Norene B
I was told with my Juki to always quilt from left to right and not go backwards. I don't know why but that is the way I do it.
I've heard you have to do this with sewing machines that have been converted to quilting machines...the needle gets deflected away from the hook and the hook can't grab the thread from the needle to make the stitch. Makes it a bit more difficult to quilt. A machine that is designed to quilt only doesn't have this problem, probably built differently in the hook area, so quilting in any direction is easier. You may be able to adjust the timing of the machine to help with this. Also, if you go very slowly when going backwards, the needle may not deflect so much and you can get the hook to grab the thread to make the stitch.