Just last night, I was having this very issue of my top thread shredding then breaking. I pulled out the bobbin case and ran my finger over every area of the hook assembly. I felt some rough spots and filed them down with an emery board type fingernail file. Problem solved. I have an Innova.

Ive got the Queen Quilter 18 which is the step-sister of the Tin Lizzie. My thread was also breaking constantly. As a last resort, prior to tossing the machine into the pool, I took a piece of dental floss and threaded my needle. I pulled up both ends of the floss nice and high while I screwed tight the needle in place. Shazam! All is well now. I go see the dentist tomorrow, but I don't think I'm gonna tell him how I actually use my dental floss.

Everyone has such good ideas for things to check. It's frustrating, though. We just want to be able to sew!! I have never heard of Glide thread. I now have it bookmarked - gonna have to check it out!

Glide is fabulous thread for quilting. Here's the website for it:
http://www.bobbincentral.com/quiltin...ead/glide.html

Their minimum order is $35 but, if you want to try out a spool first to make sure you like it, just email or call them.

I've not tried this brand yet. Thanks for the link. When I looked at their website I noticed that it has a note saying that it is "top" thread. What thread do most of you use in your bobbin?

I use Glide in the bobbin as well.

Theoretically, it's probably best to use a cotton thread with a polyester thread because the cotton provides a bit of "grip". At least, that's what I've read in terms of getting a consistent balanced stitch.

Edit: I went to the website, as I hadn't noticed that Glide was a top thread. I think they mean it's their top-selling thread.......

Another +1 for Glide. It is pretty and goes through my machine like butter.

Fair warning, Glide is polyester. But the idea that you have to sew cotton with cotton is a Superior-Bob debunked "wives tale".

The one issue: My bobbin winder HATES Glide. The thread slips out of the tension disk if I stop winding even for a second and sometimes even when I don't stop. My solution for the last quilt was to thread the bobbin winder very carefully and to just NOT stop winding, even to cut the thread "tail". In the future, I'll probably use Polycore or cotton in the bobbin.

Fil-tec also sells prewound bobbins, containing either their Polycore or Glide.

Pivkopem's spam post reported. Do NOT click the link in the post.

Try putting the thread on a thread holder away from the machine.