DawnFurlong

I recently bought a second machine (Juki HZL-DX5). My primary machine has been an Elna 740 excellence, which has been a great machine. I have been trying to FMQ on the Juki. Feels a bit different than my Elna, but I'd like to have it as a back up for FMQing should I need it. However, I can't seem to get the tension right.

I am using a new needle (Schmetz quilting needle 75/11), Aurifil thread 50 wt in the top and bobbin, feed dogs down, Free Motion Quilting setting on the machine. If I go with auto tension, my stitches on top look nice and defined, but the stitches on the back somewhat seem to melt together. If I adjust to 1.5 on the top tension, the stitches on the back look better (more defined), but the stitches on the front don't look as nice.

Does this mean I might need to tweak the bobbin tension? What else should I be looking at? Hopefully my pictures show up correctly!