Originally Posted by
patti p
Hi there I just did a Jelly roll race in some pastels and thought I would give a go on some free motion this is my first time, I have practiced on some fat quarters and all seemed to go fine , so when I tried it on this quilt top I am getting a lot of bird nests on the back, where I have to stop and cut it out and re thread,bobbin, top all of it. I have tried to change the needle, I have the same thread in the top and bottom, I have cleaned the machine (I have a singer h74) fairly new, I manage to go about a foot or so and it will mess up AGAIN! I am getting frustrated, I switched from a plastic bobbin to metal, no change. I just ordered some bobbin washers, I hope that will do the trick? Does ANYONE have any other advice I could try.? It sews like a dream while piecing. It only does this while FMQ,
Are your bobbins the correct size for your machine. You would be amazed by a few millimeters difference. I made the mistake of thinking all Singer Bobbins were made alike with one of my machines. Wow, the birdsnests were incredible to behold -as was the mess inside the bobbin case.
I've also found that the difference in weight of a sample piece versus the entire quilt really changes the dynamic of moving the quilt around as well as highlights tension issues.
Cheers, K