I'm currently making doll clothes for DGD. Quilting had to be moved to the back of the line for a while. Today while working on cotton knit fabric, when starting a seam, the needle pushed the fabric down inside the throat plate instead of advancing it. I tried using a starter piece and finally got it to sew with a lot of pulling on the fabric. These require only quarter in seams. It would sew on a larger piece of doubled same fabric. I am using a ball point needle which I thought was for knits. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I have several patterns that call for knit fabric.

I found this link that says to use a walking foot.
http://www.essortment.com/fabric-sew...ics-45184.html

I would also use a single hole throat plate if your machine has one.

Try using a "leader" - a scrap a fabric that you put through the needle (and over the throat plate) just before your good fabric goes through. I've a success with this after suffering with the same problem.

If your needle is for knits, it has a ball tip instead of a sharp tip.

I agree with damaquilts!

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I have some experimenting to do tomorrow.

You could also try sewing through thin paper (such as tissue paper). Of course, afterwards you have to pull the paper off; a swipe along the seam with a moistened fingertip can make the paper easier to pull off. You might need the paper underneath only at the beginning of the seam.

those are all great ideas! possibly your needle needs changing too?

Hi Sue,

I would make sure that you are using the correct type of needle for your fabric. Some knit fabrics require a different needle than sewing with cotton. Also if you're (cotton) needle was ready to be changed that could be a problem as well.

The other thing to try is to use a "leader" a small bit of fabric that you start sewing on, then push the new fabric right up next to the edge of the leader fabric and you should be ok.

Also are you careful about pulling up your bobbin thread and holding onto both the top and bobbin threads as you start to sew? This is also a good practice to develop.

Please keep us updated as to what you find worked to solve your problem as it may help another quilter in the future.

Good luck with your quilting projects.

Pam M


Also

Hi all- here's an update on project. I was able to finish the little t-shirt by placing pieces of a coffee filter under the seams. It pulls out fairly easily when finished. I'm not real proud of the way it turned out because it would still stretch as I sewed, turns out a little wavy.
Seeing DGD this coming week-end and she won't notice I'm sure and they will have matching outfits.
Pam, I haven't heard about holding the threads when starting to sew, so will defintely gave that a try. Also went to LQS yesterday and bought the smallest ball point needle that they had. I was using one but may have been too large. I will update again after trying these ideas on next project. I found the web-site for knits helpful, also. Thanks again for the advice.