I purchased a DVD about FMQ for newbies. In it, the instructor said that you never want to FMQ with a full bobbin; you always want it about 3/4 full. I must have missed her rationale for this statement, although she seemed to elude to the fact that a full bobbin causes tension difficulties.

As a newbie, and someone who desires to learn FMQ, I am curious as to whether others follow this rule or not. Any opinions?

i've never heard about this

I know nothing of this either...however...I realized you may have coined a new "quilter's" phrase. You know how they say, "she's not playing with a full deck." or "She's lost her marbles." Well, "She's not FMQ'ing with a full bobbin." sounds like it would work for us quilters. I know somedays I certainly don't have a full bobbin up there!!!

LOL!! I think most days I am operating with a half full bobbin!

Interesting... Im still learning on the FMQ my expierience is that the quality of thread and making sure my bobbin thread winds on evenly and smooth are two important factors. Practice Practice Practice..though I think is really the key. I have recently purchased some cotton bandanas to use as practice toppers and am following the designs already in the print.. thinking I will turn them in to some fun throw pillows ...Im always needing a pillow to throw at my husbands corny jokes. :thumbup:

I agree.. lol... love the play on words :thumbup:

Bizarre! I ALWAYS fill my bobbin to the top before FMQing because I hate it to run out half way then I have ends to sew in. I think my FMQ is OK, anyway, I don't have tension issues - only when I'm down to the last few inches in the bobbin. Perhaps this is just a quirk of her machine? But I LOVE the 'new' expression 'she's not FMQing with a full bobbin'! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Maybe it has something to do with her machine - I like to have as much thread on the bobbin as I can get and have never had any tension issues - just operator problems!

I've never heard that. I don't have any tension problems. I have a Janome 4800 and it's going strong. I try to get it serviced yearly, but in reality it's probably every 2 years or so. She's a wonderful machine and I feel guilty because I haven't named her.
Sue

this sounds like a good idea!

I like your phrase LOL :D I never heard of only a partial bobbin either.

I wonder why she says to only fill it 3/4 full?

Like someone else says, I want mine FULL - each bobbin is only about half an hour of steady sewing and it seems to run out too fast, as it is.

Maybe it is a tension issue that she's trying to get around? What kind of machine is she using, can you tell?

I use Bottom Line from Superior Threads - it balances beautifully with all thicknesses of quilting threads - 30 down to 60 I use, and metallics and rayons, plus it's so fine you can get miles of it on the bobbin so it's lasts for ages. :D

Me either!

I know that my machine is not happy with the last 10-15% of the bobbin. It starts rattling around. Might be her machine is not happy with the first part. Sounds to me like it is specific to her machine.

Too funny! I'm definitely not FMQ'ing w/a full bobbin!!!

I've never heard of it before. Never had a problem using a full bobbin. OMG, did I break the rules??? LOL

I've heard of this when filling the bobbin with monofil. I've tried a full bobbin and one 3/4 and the 3/4 full one works better on my Bernina.

Older machines do not have an automatic bobbin stop, so it is possible to overfill those bobbins. That thread just goes to waste if you have to pull it off to get the bobbin in the case, so I'd rather have my bobbin a little under than over. That said, I get as much thread as I can comfortably fit on my bobbin, and I load up about 20 of them before I start.

True - I learned to sew on an old Singer and it was possible to overfill bobbins if you were not paying attention, and it caused problems.

well others already said it but i figured she meant over full, most of the auto winders I've seen don't put as much as they could and I don't like that either
I don't want to be accused of "not having a full bobbin!"

I think most of us on here are 'not the full bobbin' but I'm happy to be in such good company! :lol: :lol: :lol: :D

This may be the reason.... I recall that she was speaking about monofil thread at the time. I will listen to that part again and see if I can clarify this issue.

That's what i was thinking, too. maybe her bobbins don't wind evenly and this compensates for it. I've found most problems come down to operator error, not"my machine doesn't like" issues.

Oh Susie- I have one too. a MC4800 that is. love it. although it's doing a whoosing sound now. just had it serviced. it skips on zig zag if too thick an area too. but i've had it for a few years now and love it.

Cool idea!!! Okay, I'll add bandanas to my Hobby Lobby list and watch for a sale! (Hob Lob has lots of different colors and patterns.)

It's a new one on me!

That would make sense - invisible thread has a mind of its own and will want to unwind. If you wind the bobbin full, you could get a bobbin case full of loose loops.

Walmart has some nice big ones in the ladies handbag section for $1.00 Nice color selection also..at our Walmart.

One of the things I have found when FMQ with fabric similar to the bandana fabric is to do just as you do. By sewing around the design rather than through it just gives a more appealing FMQ IMHO. And boy that's a good idea.
Agree with everything else you've said, too.

I fill mine all the way and never had any problems.

ROFLMBO

I want my bobbins to last as long as possible!

I'd rather start with a full bobbin, I don't like to run out too soon.

I was doing some machine SID quilting yesterday on a small piece and I had a full bobbin in the machine. My top thread broke several times. After the bobbin got down a bit it stopped happening.
I didn't think anything of it at the time but perhaps that person is right about tension problems with a full bobbin when quilting on the machine.
Just a thought on my part.

what is FMQ?

What is FMQ

FMQ = Free Motion Quilting

I FMQ with a Viking Mega Quilter and it will only fill the bobbin about 3/4 full. I have had a problem with my Pfaff and a full bobbin when I FMQ. It means changing the bobbin a lot, but there is no time lost with the bobbin thread jamming the machine.

I also have never heard of this...the more thread the better...less stopping

My Pfaff doesn't stitch well with a full bobbin, but works better since I added a bobbin washer. The thread slips offthe bobbin when it's full, resulting in a poor stitch.