Thank you all so much...i am definitely going to check out the bobbin assortment idea as this is a very diversely colored project and i could use the colors for sure.
I THINK i figured out my problem - on the part i'm doing now i did freezer paper / starch to prepare the pieces. The batiks reacted differently with the starch than with regular cotton - the edges are MUCH stiffer - and so the threads don't seem to "bury" themselves like they normally do. I dampened and re-pressed them which seems to have removed some of the starch - and the process is going much better.
Again THANK YOU ALL for your suggestions / tips !!