Free Motion quilting and fabric movement or lack of!!!
 

I need help. I have done FMQ on a Janome in the past with average success. I got a new Janome and tried to do some FMQ with it last night. Now I did drop the feed dogs, adjusted my tension but the problem is..... the fabric wouldn't "flow" it acted like it was stuck in the feed dogs. Usually it is so loose you have to control the movement with your hands. Last night I was pulling the fabric to where I wanted it to go.. I appreciate any and all thoughts..

Did you put the darning/hopping/free motion foot on the machine? Some machines (life Pfaff) have a different position that you use for embroidery/free motion quilting when you lower the presser foot. Or is there a way to lossen the presser foot tension?

One thought I have is, do you have the correct FMQ foot on your machine? It needs to set a bit above the plate (when you have the presser foot down), so the fabric can move smoothly under the foot as you are sewing a design. Also, your needle may be pulling the fabric down as you sew and you feel a catch each time it drags the fabric into the needle plate. A single hole needle plate helps with that problem if you have one, rather that one that is used for a zigzag stitch.

I was using my open foot darning foot that I used on my other Janome.

It likely is the correct one, but there is a low shank FMotion foot and one that is for a high shank. I think that is correct, but I stand corrected if someone knows otherwise. The model of your machine determines which foot works. Although, I am not sure you could get the wrong foot to attach to the wrong size shank.

Is the little thin metal bar on the foot sitting ABOVE the horizontal needle bar? It must to operate correctly.

Did you check online if that foot was compatible, just because you used it on your first janome doesn't mean its compatible with your second. Machines can have different parts.

I would definitely check your presser foot pressure. I know on my 8900 that made all the difference in my FMQ...

Is your machine electronic and if it is it set to the correct mode?

I don't quilt on a Janome anymore but I can tell you my quilt not moving horror story... I have a Juki 2000 that I mainly use for piecing. If I'm doing any small projects I sometimes will use the Juki. The rest get done with my Lizzie sit down. Anywhoooo... Someone in my guild wanted to try out my Juki for quilting. I had never done it. We put the hopping foot on... dropped the dogs... went to quilt and the quilt would not move at all. It was miserable fighting it. Turns out the hopping foot didn't hop. The dealer sent me a new foot and I had the same problem. I contacted tech at the company. Turns out the oil that was used in transporting the foot from China solidified - and was a known problem. It was suggested that I use some wd40 to loosen it up and then take a hammer and tap on it to get it unstuck. I'm glad the tech guy sent me a new hopping foot because when hubby tapped the foot with the hammer, it broke. So my problem was the actual foot.

If it isn't your foot, have you considered getting something to make your machine's table area super slick? There are products out there to make your machine bed slicker - there are sprays, a paste/polishes and the supreme sliders. I hope you get it worked out :)