On my practice block I am using the walking foot and trying to SID-first time ever. My problem: Harriet Hargrave says to aim for 8-12 spi. My stitch length is 2.5 but the stitches are so tiny. I changed the stitch length and kept moving it to 4.0 to get a larger stitch that I liked. Now on the backing I have loops every so often. Does this mean the top tension is off? I hate to mess with the tension because the machine just came back from being serviced and I just know I will goof it up again. Should I adjust the top tension though in order to eliminate the loops? TIA

cotton thread on top and bottom and size 14 needle

Tension need adjusting if you have loops.

sometimes you get the loops when you don't put your pressure foot down..and that's an easy mistake to make when working with thick fabrics/sandwiches...it's still a tension issue, but due to pressure foot not being down.

Are you allowing the walking foot to move your quilt? All you have to do is guide it, don't try to pull or push.

Did you thread your machine with the pressure foot down? When using a walking foot it is hard to tell if the foot is up or down sometimes. Make sure the upper thread is between your tension disks and re-thread your bobbin.

First step is to always re-thread, then adjust tension.

I agree. Re-thread your machine & adjust the top tension.

I had a machine at one time that would do the loop thing even when the pressure foot was down if whatever I was working on was too thick. It seemed to have an internal sensor that would limit pressure settings. Once past the mechanical limit it then thought the pressure foot was not in the down position. Could this be the problem? You might want to test a few not nice things as an experiment. I find that when I experiment I need to make sure I recreate conditions so piece some scraps together to make sure you have the same thicknesse, etc.

When I do anything with curves, I need to turn up the # for my tension 5-7. This has helped with my eyelashes.

I increased the stitch length to 3.5. That seemed to do the trick. I am bookmarking all of your informative replies. Thanks so much for the help!