breaking embroidery thread while machine embroidery
 

help. I am interested in embroidering scriptures on pillowcases, however, my thread breaks constantly. I've changed needles and thread but it still happens. I have a Brother Innovis machine. Any tips? thanks

My sewing center ladies told me to put the thread in a mug a few feet away from the machine to give it time to unwind & relax. if you have one of those stand alone spool stands, even better.

Are you using embroidery needles? They do make a difference.

It could also be the design. Have you stitched it out previously? Does it seem particularly dense? How old is your thread and has it been exposed to sunlight or heat to a great extent? Have you completely rethreaded top and bottom?

Hope you figure it out soon!

Wow, my first reaction to this was - change the needle. I find that is the cause of my thread breaking. Sorry that didn't work for you. Are you using the correct bobbin for the machine? I find that too makes a difference. I tried using a bobbin I have for another machine, but the Brother 400SE machine did NOT like that and the thread kept messing up. Went back to the correct bobbin and it works great.
Also, if you are trying to use thread on a cone, it can sometimes become to taut and breaks the thread. I bought one of those winder things that I can transfer my thread from cone to a spool... no more problems.
Good luck finding what is causing it - let us know, it might help others of us.

there can't be any tension on the thread do you have a thread cone holder?? I use embroidery needles and either rayon or poly embroidery thread.

I have the innovis 700E ll and this is what happend to my machine.
There is this little white hook you see right next to the arrow and the number 4 and the thread was all the time running over it. You dont see that if your machine is closed but there is only one screw in the back you have to loosen that you can pull the cover to the left.

With the time the thread was forming a cut into this little thing and got stuck there and of course broke all at the time. I should bring the machine to have it fixed (most probably one just can take it off ) but if I have to embroider something right now I open the cover and make sure the thread is going behind the metal part left to the arrow - and it runs fine!
Hope this helps...........was about to throw my machine out of the window till I found out about this in another forum
Granny

Have you tried slowing down the speed?

Do you have a embroidery needle in the machine? I have a Brother and when using a universal needle the thread breaks alot, switching to an embroidery needle eliminated it. I even piece with it too.

i will definately check on that. i'm new to all of this. i have differnet threads, needles, bobbins, etc for quilting, sewing and embroidering. i never thought to look at the needle. i was only looking at the size of the needle. thanks! denise

thanks so much. i will stock up!!!!! :)

Granny took pictures of her machine open and her thread was getting caught. scroll down to see her pictures. i will try that. i will also RUN to the fabric store tomorrow to get Embroidery needles. I appreciate all the responses that i received. thanks so much. Sewing ladies are the best!!!! denise

i so use the spool holder. that did help some, but not completely. i will try several of the tips i've received! thanks denise

Change the stabilizer that you are using. Brother works well with tear away stabilizer. It solved my problem once and never happened again.

thanks. i will try all of these tips. i bought the needles and a different of thread. i have the tear away stabelizer. do you have a fav brand and weight?

Use a needle with a bigger eye in it. I use a top stitching needle in my machine, has a really big eye, my thread rarely breaks.

i really think this was my problem too. why in the world is that little piece of plastic there anyway? :)

So you solved your problem? Did you bring it to the dealer and had it removed? I havent done anything yet - I embroider with the machine open!?

Greetings from my holiday in Sri Lanka
Granny

i use a ripper and pass the thread over the little piece of plastic and it works fine! still can't figure why that plastic point is there? any tips on good thread for bobbins, embroidery, quilting and piecing? it gets so confusing when you have a machine that does it all! thanks.

Make sure to have your embroidery machine tensions set properly. Having the tension too high pulls too tight on your thread, leading it to break. Test and adjust the tension on your machine regularly and as needed. Machine your machine for burrs, or any knicks or scratches on any of the metal parts of the machine.

One thing no one mentioned is to make sure your bobbin area is clean. I always clean out that area, its's amazing how much lint accumulates there.

For me I find that a good quality thread is the best solution. I have all kinds of different thread holders and hundreds of different threads and the better the thread, I mostly use Sulky for embroidery, I also find that for some reason Black threads are more likely to break than any other color. I have no explanation for this but no matter the brand I find this same problem.

I do not ever use universal needles for any type of sewing, embroidery, etc. I learned years ago thst the universal needle is in between a sharp and a ball point. So I’ve changed to sharps, embroidery or Microtex for all my sewing - embroidery needles for machine e,broidery but I haven’t done any for several years. Microtex work great.

Sandy in Mooresville,mNC

I use Microtex also. They work so much better.

This saw my first thought. Most all of the books say to slow it down. You also need to make sure the thread isn't catching on anything and that the thread is not old. If you can pull on it and it breaks off in your hands, throw it out. The needle needs to have a deep scarf (groove) to accommodate the many , many times it passes through the fabric to make the design. The fabric thread count could be at fault too. If the weave of the fabric is too tight it can cause the thread to shred. You could try a top stitching or micro tec needle to see if that works better. The scarf is larger on that one to accommodate the larger top stitching thread.

I also heard that they have to use lots of dye on the black thread, which weakens the thread.

Thread kept breaking.
I had the same thing happening to me. I changed needles, tension, etc. I don't remember why I changed the foot, but as I was putting it away I felt a little burr on it. Whoa, The needle must have hit the foot causing a small nick. I ended up using a metal finger nail file to file it down. So far, so good. Syl

I've had this happen a few times & low & behold-- thread got wound behind the cap on spool. I use a spool holder (have black, white, red on it) to right of machine...

The OP probably has it figured out by now, this thread is 11 years old.... 😉

Even a tiny piece of lint in the bobbin housing will mess up your stitches. My machine is a Brother PE770.
Photos below show where extra attention is needed. Even the tiniest piece of lint can cause the stitches to be messed up. I use a magnifying glass and fine tipped tweezers to clean this area of the bobbin.

This is a good thread to keep current.

you should slow down the speed and it will be working perfectly.