Chain piecing Woes...
 

Why is it that when I am chain piecing and I put the first piece in, sometimes my machine will sew along like nothing and other time it acts like it's trying to EAT the first 1/4" of my material and it just gets all messed up? I have to take it out, remove all the balled up stitches and iron it down, then usually give it a lead fabric and yet, the next one will go through with no problem.

How do I avoid this?

Thanks, Watson

Look up Bonnie Hunter's "leaders and enders." These are little pieces of scrap fabric (or not) that you place under the presser foot to begin stitching. Then you stitch right off of this to sew your first piece together. I usually begin my stitching right in the middle of the piece so that I don't have this "swallowing up" issue.

When mine started to do that I discovered there was substantial lint in the feeddogs...cleaning eliminated the problem.

Sometimes this problem is due to a dull needle or the wrong type of needle. One of the advantages to chain piecing is to eliminate this problem. Also, chain piecing is made more difficult when starting on triangular corners.

Like GailG, I suggest using a leader piece, so in the event you never figure out a way to eliminate the issue at least the problem is on a scrap that you can just toss and not fret over! The leader scrap can be used lots of times, over and over until it becomes too oversewn with thread, then just start a new scrap.

Leaders & enders are the best option, IMHO. With a little pre planning, if you use Bonnie Hunter's method you get bonus quilts.
http://quiltville.com/leadersenders.shtml
The other options are to hold both the bobbin and top tail threads to the back of your foot as you start to stitch and/or invest in a straight stitch needle plate for your machine.

I bought a single hole face plate and that stopped the problem for me. Try putting the first piece a little further underneath the foot and backstitching a few stitches to the end. I tried leaders and didn't like doing that.

I was having a similar problem, took my machine in for servicing where they adjusted feed dogs, tension and all kinds of stuff - so if the other suggestions don't work, you might need to take it in.

I use leaders and enders as well but I noticed a new trend. I usually don't have this issue due to using leaders and enders but it started happening to me just the last few days. I realized I had a bobbin in with poor tension. When winding the bobbin, the thread had slipped out of one of the guides so the tension on the bobbin was not good, the thread wound on the bobbin was not nice and tight but spongy. I had wound the full bobbin and was loath to waste the thread so sewed a test strip with it. The tension was fine for sewing so I decided to use it and found I was getting the birds nest issue when chain piecing just as you describe. I am thinking it has something to do with my "spongy" wound bobbin. I am still to frugal (cheap!!) to give up on the bobbin and will continue to use it up but I am making sure I am putting some tension on my chain as I add each new unit. That is solving the issue for me. I am pretty sure once I use up this bobbin and load one that is wound correctly I will quit having the issue.

Feline fanatic - When that happened to me I put the "spongy" bobbin on the thread spindle and rewound the thread onto a new bobbin. Worked like a charm.

Well why didn't I think of that? Thanks indycat!!

I do this but also check my bobbing for any lint traps.

I use scraps of fabrics (as mentioned above) otherwise you need to hold on to your threads especially the bobbin thread until the first couple of stitches are made by your machine.

I put bobbins where the spool goes and use as top thread. I use up a lot of almost empty bobbins this way.

What Indycat said

Either use a leader or use a single stitch needle plate. Either should help.

I use scrap paper for leaders with my machines that only have zigzag plates. The machines that have straight stitch plates never seem to have the problem.

rob

I am odd man out here -- I absolutely hate chain piecing, as well as leaders and enders. I have tried this technique numerous times and I find it boring and tedious. For me quilting is more about enjoying the process as well as the end product.

Use a 90/14 Topstitch needle. Another thing I have discovered, if I starch my fabric before cutting, the starch keeps my fabric from getting down under the plate. Change your needle with every project, sometimes more often is needed. I have found the titanium 90/14 topstitch needles last longer. I never use leaders and enders when chaining..it isn't any different than the previous piece.

I've learned leaders work best for my machine... and starting the machine off at a slower speed rather than just putting my foot to the pedal.

There's a difference between leaders and enders and a scrap piece (often called a spider) for starting and stopping. Leaders and enders are meant to become parts of another quilt. You basically have the pieces of a, say four patch for a secondary project at the ready. Then you start and stop your chain on those as you are working on chaining your main project parts together. Bonnie Hunter uses this method and this efficiency surely contributes to her amazing output.

I am not so organized. I like the idea but I'm usually too excited about what I'm doing to mess with being this organized. So I just grab a small scrap, fold it a time or two and it becomes my spider. I use three or four of these over and over, just snipping them off the chain for reuse. If you do this, you'll soon see why it's called a spider. I am sure I have pitched a thousand or more of these lifesaving "critters" into the trash over the years.

explain the last sentence as you understand it.
so, from I gather, you construct each block completely, then on to the next one? Just wondering

I used to use a leader or "spider," as someone called it, but found that if I simply hold the thread tails snugly behind the machine, I never have to mess with another piece of fabric and snipping it off. If I had a scrap quilt planned, I might go back to the leaders and enders, however. But even starting a leader on a diagonal would mean holding those thread tails at the start. Each machine sews a little differently. I could get away with just beginning at the fabric edge with my old Kenmore.

I usually keep a piece of doubled fabric next to my sewing machine. I start sewing in the middle of this leader and then the first piece of my quilt chains together without any problems. I also hold onto both of my threads until the first few stitches are made.

When a poorly wound bobbin happens to me, I use it on the spool pin and either rewind to a new bobbin or use it as the top thread. Just a suggestion.

A straight stitch plate, one small hole, can help significantly cut down on this problem. You can also use older machines that have but one small hole for the needle to go through. Now with all we expect the machines to do the openings in the plate are bigger. I bought a straight stitch plate with a small whole for my janome 6500. It was about $40 but it did cut down on the eating of fabric when piecing.

I kind of switch back and forth. Being a sewer first, I am still used to back stitching which isn't conducive to chain piecing, plus I often do applique or samplers and it doesn't work there either as each block is different. Recently when I did a huge churn dash quilt of 198 squares I had to remind myself to chain piece and it did speed up the process and I didn't get so bored with doing the same block over and over.

I thought it was the top thread which was most likely to become the "nest". If you use threads of a little different color, you will see which thread makes the nest.

I do this EVERY TIME I start a seam. It's a no fail method!

Besides using leaders, small bits of fabric that you stitch first, then stitch your pieces; I would also recommend what I have been told in the past, that you use a one hole face plate, as it helps keep the machine from "eating" fabric.

Exactly! My old Kenmore never "ate" the beginning of a piece of fabric either. Guess my new machine is just hungrier than my old Kenmore was.

Watson

I have a scrap piece of fabric doubled over and use it to start my seams. When it is too thready to use, I toss it and pick another piece. No more eating bits.

One thing I have found that causes that problem consistently with my Janome is starting off my stitching too fast. If I take those first few stitches fairly slowly, I have far less issues with the pieces jamming and snarling up at the beginning.

Didn't know this was an option. Interesting.

I agree with all those who suggest leaders & enders. Has saved me a lot of frustration.

Years ago I was reading a quilt article by a famous quilter, can't spell her name, not Bonnie Hunter, and she said that a student in one of her classes showed her how she kept a piece of fabric under her needle at all times. I started doing that by making another quilt that is simple along side the more complicated quilt. I have had no more problems and now I make numerous more quilts.

I also use a leader piece. I keep a few little scraps next to machine and use at start and end of chain. Also, when I'm done I keep a piece under down presser foot. Years ago, a machine repair person told me to keep presser foot in down position when not in use and to keep fabric in machine. This puts less stress on parts.

This was happening to me very often. In addition to the above suggestions, I can add this one. A Pfaff or Viking Opal can sew "on air". That is, the bobbin won't jam if you don't start right on the fabric. My Brother Dream Machune will jam if I start on air, which is why I give up quilting on it! Check out a Pfaff Quilt Expression. I recently purchased one because of this very problem. I don't mind chain-piecing, but at least it will not jam if I miss the beginning of the seam, or start a new seam.

I sgree with onebyone. Single hole plate fixed this for me.