Originally Posted by
kkranig
Thank you. The machine I have was a Black Friday special that I paid $30 or $40 for. I thought I saw somewhere that it was a discontinued model. I have looked through the manual online as I cannot find where mine went. The specific problems I have been having are:
1. Thread breaking - this could be due to me not pulling the thread out and holding on to it when I start to sew.
2. Thread getting bunched up or putting a big wad of thread on the bottom of the fabric. - Could this be a tension issue?
3. Fabric puckering as I sew - not sure what would cause this...tension again?
4. I also have trouble with controlling the foot pedal. I push soft and it doesn’t go, then I push harder and it takes off. - this I’m sure is operator error and I just need to find that groove
It has been years since I even had it out, so not sure where my tension or stitch length or width were set at. Or more important...where they should be set at.
N.J. - I don’t know what you mean by throat size. I would need to buy a walking foot for the quilting correct?
1) When is the thread breaking? While you're sewing a seam, or right at the start?
2) Thread getting bunched up: If this is happening at the start of a seam, this is probably because you're not holding onto both thread tails at the start.
3) Fabric puckering as you sew: Are you holding the fabric tightly when you sew? Does your machine have the ability to change the presser foot tension? (could be too tight)
4) Controlling the foot pedal: Yes, this is part of the "getting used to it" part, but I've heard that some folks were able to put a block of wood under the part that you press down so that it stops you from pressing it all the way down. There's usually a little tiny lip around the top of the foot pedal, so you'd have to figure out how to prop the block without everything sliding around. Your machine may or may not have a little slider where you can set the maximum speed of the needle - one of my machines cannot do this, and the other can. It's usually on the front of the machine above where the needle is.
"Throat size" or "Harp" of the machine is the distance from the needle to the base of the machine directly to the right. The amount of space you have inside the inner curve of the machine because that's where you would be bunching up a quilt if you were quilting it. My primary machine has a throat of 6.5in and I've quilted a few Queen and King sized quilts on it! It can be done! The shape of the throat is also important for greatest volume of space. Some Brother machines are very circular shaped there which makes it harder, while my Janome is quite square so there is more room.
eta: Forgot to say Welcome to the Board!! There are so many wonderful folks here with so much information and an abundance of creativity and talent. This is a fabulous journey you're starting and I'm so excited for you! You don't "have" to buy a walking foot for quilting, though it is helpful for stitching in the ditch and quilting straight(ish) lines. Usually you can find a generic one quite affordably. You would need an embroidery foot/darning foot/FMQ foot (there are a variety, but generics are also quite affordable) if you wanted to try your hand at free motion quilting. I quilted my first quilt with no walking foot and I did wish that I had one. You just need to know if your machine is a low shank or high shank, but the manual probably will tell you that? If not, you can bust out a ruler and measure!