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 :)

Thank you to everyone for your suggestions.. Since it was Halloween last night I didn't get a chance to try anything. Tonight I am going to adjust the pressure foot tension and if that isn't the problem I will load up and go the dealer!!! Love this QB for all the help. I will let you know how it all goes.. Again thanks for the help

I have a Janome 6600 and the fmq foot I have has an adjustment on it, does yours? If it's too close to the fabric, I t. will definitely grab while you're trying to quilt. I sometimes put the feed dogs down, and sometimes I leave them up, depending on thread. I don't think the foot that came with my machine had the adjustment, but the extra set I bought does.

I have a 7700 and 6600, which I've done tons of fmq'ing on. Definitely adjust the pressure on your presser foot (I take mine all the way up to 0 or 1, depending on the machine. Another problem could be your thread. Make sure you can pull both top and bottom through easily, while you have the presser foot up. When my quilts don't want to move, it's usually because the pesky bobbin thread has looped around something. Also, I use a thread stand, no matter what type of thread I'm using. This works really great to help feed the top thread through, but I do have to be careful that the bulk of my quilt doesn't accidentally lie on the thread spool (small table issues). Good luck!

I haven't had this problem "yet", but I'm interested to know what the problem is when you find it. Please post your solution.

It would be helpful to know the model you are using. The darning feet for the Janome have a screw that adjusts the height of the foot itself. When I first put mine on I had to raise the foot by turning the screw, otherwise it was very difficult to move.