FMQ faster is usually easier. It's easier to control hands and feet if the feet just have it matted to the floor instead of regulating both.
I honestly think the -2 and the -3 are not that different. You lose a tiny bit of harp space to the motor on the belted version. Big deal. The gear driven motor is nice but not enough better to pooh pooh the belted one. My first FMQd quilt was done on a 15-90 - belted too.
You could try something like Dave's gauge - it might be usable without removing from the machine with modifications.
http://featherweightrx.blogspot.ca/2...guage-and.html I don't know what's wrong with 1oz or 28grams. It's a unit of measurement, a uniform amount of resistance that's pretty tried and true...? I used my kitchen scale and filled a ziplock baggie with wheat berries.
Assuming that your presser foot was down on that first one, it still sounds to me like you have some fine tuning on your tension. Something is causing variability in either the thread path or the tensioner itself. Did you set the thread take up spring? There's a note in one of the video comments where we discussed it. You were watching the videos with sound on, right? I burble info out as it occurs to me and it doesn't always correspond to what my hands are doing. The "Fast Tension Test" will tell you a lot about your top tension. You'll be a tension pro by the end of this.
Originally Posted by
Mickey2
Yes, only loops when I free motion, not normal sewing, and tension is more in the 4-5 range then, but still I tend to tighten tension.
Can you get your hands on another darning foot? I wonder if this one is somehow pushing the presser bar up enough to activate the release pin. Alternatively, can I see how you're installing that darning foot? From the needle clamp side especially.