Going in circles
 

I'm trying to learn to quilt with my regular sewing machine. I was trying to make circles but the thread on the bottom keeps getting long loops sometimes. Not always so I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I adjusted the tension. I'm wondering if on those places if I am going too fast? Anyone have any advice? I'm strictly self taught and have been hand quilting until now. Thanks.

Read online manuel if you don't have it. Watch youtube videos on tension. Lots to help you understand tension..including bobbin holder! Good luck!
Ell

I would adjust my speed before I adjusted my tension. I never fool with tension. I have gotten eyelashes if I go to fast around a curve. But I am using very plain mechanical machines.

When you are doing free motion- you should drop feed dogs (some people who can't drop them put their stitch to 0) but the reason you get "eyelashes" is because it takes practice to get the speed of the machine with the speed you make the circles or curves. IT TAKES PRACTICE and lots of it. Watching You Tube is an excellent idea and there are many. Then makes sandwiches from scraps and start practicing. I've been doing free motion on a Viking for years and got really good at it......then I bought a new Janome with an 11 inch throat and I felt like I had never done it before, eyelashes everywhere. This new machine sews so much faster I had to learn the speed and movement all over. You will get it, just practice.

Eyelashes can be caused from not moving your hands fast enough to go along with the machine or vice versa. It just takes practice to get used to what speed to move and what speed to go on your machine. Kind of what its like to learn to drive a stick shift. Its all about balancing the two.

Follow these instructions very carefully.
Find a drawing pin and using tape put it on the sewing machine ( let's make a 6inch circle) 3 inches from the needle and level with needle on the right side ie in the throat ,space area.
Now find where the centre of your circle will be on the fabric and feed quilt under foot and centre onto the drAwing pin.
Foot down feet dogs up and press foot pedal keep one hand on the drawing pin to stop fabric coming off and just guide the fabric and stop if it gets off line.
It easier without batting at first. You can also use all those fancy stitches on the machine. To make an8inch circle move the pin leaving 4 inches between needle and pin.
You can buy this part for your machine £90 or try my expensive method .

Try to remember that you MUST lower the pressure foot even if you aren't using one. Lowering the pressure foot engages the upper tension system.
Forty years ago I did a wall hanging using the free motion quilting method although the term "free motion quilting" did not exist at the time. My very OLD Singer did not have any special tricks except stop and go. I covered the feed dogs with a piece of stiff clear plastic (like are fixed to a cardboard) with small hole for the needle. No pressure foot. Used an embroidery hoop to hold the fabric taught and moved it by hand. Also used this system to do monograms before I got a machine with embroidery system.

Thank you all for all your help. I'm not one to practice but guess I better get to it. Eyelashes. I didn't know what those long stitches were called. Thanks.

Make the circles by doing half circles, then do the other half. I can make great circles using my walking foot doing half circles at a time. I've watched many machine quilters at shows quilt circles and most do the half circle method to get nice circles freehand. Once the circle is sewn it's easy to fill in or do echoing.