embroidery question
 

I am working on my quilted wallhanging, I am embroidering blocks, and was having tension issues and thread breakage off and on, then I slowed down the speed and it embroidered beautifully and tension was perfect, my question for the seasoned embroiderers is do you always have to keep it on the slowest speed for best results. I didn't have it at the highest speed to begin with

what kind of thread are you using? some types of thread are stronger than others... thus slowing down will help with breakage.

Always use the slow key on the Pfaffs. It takes longer, but less frustration in the end.
I can use the foot pedal also - and have used up old metallic thread since I can slow the stitching way down by using the pedal.

Your needle may not be the right size, your thread could be old.

Since I have 2 machines, I can always use the other one for a different project.

Do you have the right size needle?

I've had various brands of embroidery machines over the last 10 or 12 years. One of the first things i was told, was slow it down. The more complex/stitch intensive the design is, the slower I make it. So I leave it at a high speed for red work, then go down from there. I think it really makes a difference.

Thanks for the replies. I used different size needles it didn't seem to make a difference until I slowed the machine down. I am also using polyester thread, my second stitch out came out nicer when I slowed everything down. It just seem like everything takes so long slower

I didn't realize that stand alone embroidery machines had different speeds. Neither of my two do that I am aware of. I have a Bernina Deco the original one and a Brother PE780D. I like to have a seperate sewing and embroidery machine so that I can do work on both at the same time. When I have trouble with thread breaking it is usually because it gets hung up while feeding. I prefer being able to use a spool of thread that is upright but my Brother feeds with the thread horizantal.

I have the Brother PE770 and it has two speeds. I do not use the lower speed very much, but for larger and intricate designs it is a very good feature. I also might use it with metallic threads. I always put all my top threads on my separate thread holder, which stands next to machine.The threads seem to come off the spool more even, at least for me.

I very rarely have to slow my machine down. Before I load a design onto my machine I pull it into my software program and add jump stitches, and reduce the density and any underlying stitches that aren't needed. I do slow it down when doing FSL or a really dense design if I'm having problems; which is rare. I have the Viking Diamond Deluxe and had the Ruby before that and I've rarely had any thread breakage or tension problems. I've never changed my tension settings because my machines take care of that for me.