Rachelcb80

I actually just got my machine back today from my dealers. They wanted to give it an overall checking just to make sure nothing else was the issue. Everything checked out except my needle height. Apparently it was off, but only by 3/10 of a mm. Not enough that they thought it should make a difference.

I've been using Mettler thread but I bought some King Tut the other day, and I think I'll try Isacord after reading this. I have some Bottom Line on the way for my bobbin as well.

Like Sara's, my machine is 100% with every foot but the BSR, and the BSR was only an issue on the pinwheel part of my quilt. I quilted the whole border without skipping a single stitch. The Bernina is such a nice machine, FMQ'ing (without the BSR) is fairly easy on it, but the BSR is like cruise control on a car. It's nice to sit back and not think about what you're doing. LoL So I hope I can have it work consistently for me. Sounds like Bernina might need to look into a possible design issue though.

Good to know about the foot pressure. I've been setting it at 0 like the manual said, but I will try setting it higher and see if that helps.

Thanks for sharing ladies!

Lisa T

I had a lot of problems with my Bernina 430 skipping stitches while I was quilting. I ended up switching to a denim needle and that helped a lot. I don't have the BSR, but mine did skip stitches when I was using the walking foot and just quilting.

I also found an area where I wasn't cleaning the lint. The little metal plate where the needle goes up and down (that has the seam markings on it) will pop up if you push on the corner and there was a HUGE amount of lint under there.

This is an interesting thread!

Sara

I can't imagine that Bernina doesn't know that the BSR has so many problems. I'm pretty unhappy that they are ignoring it. And to have an instruction in their manual that they are now saying is wrong is rediculous. I noticed that the instruction video they give with their machines also specifically says to set the presser foot tension to 0.

Jim's Gem

I just used mine Saturday and Sunday and forgot to adjust the presser foot. It actually sewed better than I remember it doing previously. I think I still had a few skipped stitches though.

Sara

I just got a call from my dealer, which is where my 630 has been for the last week. The tech. said that she changed the spring in the BSR attachment, which is what another poster said her tech. did. I didn't tell my tech. about reading that the BSR spring was possibly a problem. This tells me that Bernina knows that their BSR has major design flaws. My tech. also found that the seats for some screws in the front of the machine had cracked leaving the screws loose. They had to order parts so I won't get it back for at least a week. When I do I'll let you all know if any of this makes any difference. I also passed on to them the message that I got from Bernina saying that the manual was wrong and that the presser foot setting should be 47 and not 0. I haven't talked to the owner yet about it to see what she says, but the tech. seemed very surprised. What a wonderful tool the internet is!!

CRH

I was having a bit of a problem with inconsistent stitches with my 730E BSR, and found that adjusting the presser foot pressure solved it. The manual says pressure is to be minimal, but it works better having more pressure applied like Sara said. You may have to check with your dealer which pressure setting is best for your model.

(I was at a class and another, more experienced!! free motion quilter was using the same model I had, and I checked her settings, was how I found how to solve the problem.)

Good luck, because when it works right, it is fun to use!!

skate

I have had this exact problem, and honestly, I'm happy to see I'm not the only one. I needed to finish a quilt for a Christmas craft show, with noone able to help me with the BSR. I just did manual free motion quilting the old fashioned way because I was under time pressure, The result was pretty great, and I don't feel much need for bsr anymore.

That being said, I wrote an e-mail to Benina USA and the reply was that it might have to do with the spring in the actual foot being too soft. My dealer hasn't changed it for me because they say it works fine for them at the shop. (Of course they probably use it for 2 minutes, to my 3 or 4 hours...), but maybe this little note would help.

Sara

One of the techs. at my shop told me the same thing and said it was my fault because it didn't skip when she used it. I then contacted the owner directly and have gotten a different attitude. I saved every sample I had that showed the skipped stitches so I had proof. If they still say you are doing something wrong, set up the machine at their shop and sew in front of them and ask them what you are not doing correclty. When they say "nothing" you can then ask them to please continue to resolve the problem. They will be changing the spring on mine so I'll see if that helps. Improper stitch formation can also be the problem, so they also need to check the timing. Be sure that the shop updates your software and firmware when needed because that can also be an issue with the BSR. I was able to use the BSR perfectly for thousands of stitches, and then all of a sudden it would skip for a while, and then work fine again, so it's not something that can replicated with a few minutes of testing. This is a widespread problem with the Bernina BSR, and your dealer needs to be held accountable for fixing it. It's common for techs. who don't know how to fix a problem to just say it has to be something you are doing wrong. Having a meeting with the store owner using your "no nonsense" tone of voice might be needed. I also printed off all of the notes from people having the same problem and took them to my dealer so she knew that I knew that this is not a problem unique to only me. I also was very open with them that I was in frequent contact with Bernina directly. I also got a note recently from Bernina that said that the manual was incorrect in telling you to set the presser foot pressure to "0". They said that it needs to be left at the default which is 47. I just e-mailed them and asked them if the manual was correct and got that response, so you might want to do the same thing so you have that e-mail in hand too.

nursie76

Just took my Bernina in for it's 40,000 mile check up and they updated the software and added the stronger spring to my BSR, didn't give me any hassle at all. They also verified that the presser foot pressure should be kept at 47.

GwenS

I have had this exact same problemwith my Bernina 640 skipping stitches. Talk about frustrating! I wonder if it could be because I used a basting spray on the quilt, which I didn't use on my practice samples? I just got my machine back from the dealer, and that is 80 miles away in the city--not an easy trip for me. It worked great for a while and then started skipping again. You just never know if it is going to work or not work.