Nancy, I've never used the bight control and I do get skipped stitches with the 319's if sewing on something with too small a needle. What size were you using? I'd go with a larger needle and see if that helps. I don't thing the bite area does anything...or at least that I've ever noticed. I've gotten skipped stitches with some of my various other vintage machines for the same reason. I have much better results with a bigger needle in these, especially when I'm sewing through 5 layers of fabric when putting on a binding.