I think it may be the machine that one is using. When I can't make things work right (have cleaned, rethreaded, redone everything!) and call my wonderful repairman, his first question is "What is your machine?" and his second question is "What thread are you using?" What works on a Baby Lock may not work on a Janome, etc. My machine will NOT let me use C&C, which is all my mother used on her Montgomery Ward machine for 30 years. My thread is expensive, but so is my peace of mind and time.