Hello I need help!!!
 

Hello: I am new to the quilting board. I am so hoping I can get some help. I was gifted the use of a Inspira frame with Q-bot and a Pfaff Hobby1200. I already own a Husqvara Mega Quilter, which I purchased to machine quilt.
My problem is I have no idea what settings I should use for the quilt on the frame. I can get it to make about 10 stitches and then it skips 10 and then starts up again.
I have looked on - line and can't find any videos, and no one in my area has one.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

First of all let me welcome your to the QB from SE Michigan! I am sure there are LA'er here that can help you out with some solid information. Unfortunately I am not one of them. I hope to see a lot of you here. There are many sources and people that have stills that are right up your alley. Again welcome to the QB!

Welcome from South Louisiana. I don't know anything about your machine, so am no help. When in doubt, contact the folks who make them. http://www.pfaff.com/en-US/Support-and-Updates/Support

Welcome to the boards. It's so great to have new members & I hope you will stick around after your question is answered & show us what you are making.
This manual might help you. Page 14 of the manual shows the stitch length dial. Maybe all you need to do is change the length but it sounds like it may be something different. Page 37 of the manual talks about the machine skipping stitches. This may help you.

http://www.pfaff.com/SiteMedia/PFAFF...-manual-EN.pdf

Thank you! I didn't have the manual.

I am hoping there is someone out there that has the same set up. This is a great place for quilters. I am so lucky I found it.

Does it happen in one direction or another, and have you tried different places on the frame? Or is it all the time no matter what you do (circle, straight, etc.)?

My friend's long arm set up was rather fussy, the machine needed to be leveled and even though it was pretty much a brand new house, we couldn't get one leg to be correct without a piece of cardboard under it. The slight slope before we got the cardboard was enough to skip stitches if we were going that direction -- we could start that direction with no problems but not head into it.

Have you checked the rails and sensors? That sounds more likely to me that there is a ball of fluff or something that is going around and causing some sort of sensing issue.

edit: The other easy test if it is sensors is does it happen when you are unregulated? If there is a difference between being entirely freehand and having your stitch regulator going, that tells a lot!

Hello: I am not sure if it is level. It happens both ways. I will take off the scrap quilt that I have on it and try and level it. Thank you so much.

In addition to checking/adjusting the level, have a close look at the four encoders - if one of them is not consistently making contact with the carriage/rails, it can skip stitches. So can having an uneven surface on your quilt, or having your foot too high...or having threads wrapped around the wheels.... those are a few things I can think of right away.

Welcome from Michigan!:)

Welcome to the board and let us know how this works out.

Make sure the frame is level and square. Not wonky in anyway. Also, how high is your quilt sandwich from the bed of the machine?
I have a similar set up. Are you using the correct needles and is the machine threaded correctly?
I can take a pic of mine with the settings later.
Kirsten

I can't help you with your problem, but I can welcome you to the board! So welcome from Southern Indiana!

Welcome from Maine. I have a Husqvarna Mega Quilter on a Grace frame, and what your explaining happened to me. I would be stitching along, then a big skip with no stitches, then it would resume stitching. It was my encoder wheels. I cleaned them really well with rubbing alcohol and qtips and it solved my problem. I hope this helps and it's that simple for you. Happy quilting.

Welcome to the board from NE Ohio.

Help
 

Thank you for all your help with things to check. What I am going to do is take the frame apart and start over. Make sure it is set up correct. I don't think it is! I will let you all know what happens. Sue

Thanks for coming back to us, I always hope that the problems get fixed. But when you take it apart, make sure to clean those rails and encoders well.

Another issue with my friend's frame is that her daughter helped take it apart and move it and they didn't realize (because it was professionally set up the first time) that there were supports in-between the two lengths of rails and they twisted the metal enough to matter right smack dab in the middle of the machine. We put it back together again with the warped ends on the outer edges which helped tremendously.

Any tiny little variation matters! Use a level (I have a big 3-4 foot one) which is how we found that slight dip (it was on carpet and not noticeable by feel) and make sure that everything that can be tightened is tight and fits properly.