Originally Posted by Peckish

I agree, that machine is a workhorse, I had mine on a frame for a while and it ran like a dream. What size needle are you using? I found that I got better results when I went up to a size 16 or 18 topstitch. The size helps with the skipping, and the topstitch needle has a larger eye and longer scarf, which puts less stress and friction on the thread.