When I'm moving the needle up and down without fabric, it seems to be ok. It's very possible that there's too much play between the fabric and needle plate! When the needle goes into the fabric, there's an unusual "pop" like it's really breaking into the material. I'm not sure how to cure this. It's pretty close to the needle plate, and if I lower the rollers anymore, the roller will be laying on the machine. But the fabric is not laying on it, it's hovering 1/4 of an inch (or less) above it. And of course, the quilting foot doesn't hold it down so I think this might be contributing to the problem, but I don't know how to fix it.
Originally Posted by
LindaM
Not sure which frame you're using - is it possible that there is too much play between the fabric and the needle plate? I have to be sure to adjust the height of my take-up roller so there's just a finger-width between the fabric and the bed of the machine. Have to move my roller up as I get more of the quilt on the take-up roller.
With too much space between the fabric and machine bed, depending on the speed you're going, you may be bending the needle just enough to break it.
And then, there's the story of my first machine on the frame - a Pfaff GrandQuilter - the plate covering the feed dogs was misaligned just enough to catch the edge of the needle each stitch. Ended up breaking a dozen needles before I saw the mangled feed dog cover ...