longarm quilting
 

I am trying to do a pantograpgh and this quilt has applique I am having some top thread breaking issues anyone have any ideas. The applique was done seam a steam 2 . I am using cotton thread aurifil 50 and bottomline in the bobbin. Hopefully someone will have some suggestions. Thanks in advance.

I would suggest using a Glide foot (looks like a clear bowl) it will help your needle and foot move over your applique better and hopefully avoid any snagging that may be causing thread breakage. otherwise, just go slowly. Is the thread breaking when you are going in one direction specifically, is it any time you are moving from the regular piecing to the applique? any pattern of behavior that you can identify?

Have you tried loosening the top tension? And checking the thread path? And is your needle sharp?

It sounds to me like the scarf of your needle isn't big/deep enough to hold the thread you are using and it is causing it to shred the thread. Try a denim needle and a new thread spool. I might try looking at the accumulation of fuzz under the needle plate too.
Happened to me once to.
I hope you find your problem.

thanks for all the infomation I have decided to try a new needle, rethread the top thread and clean out any fuzz. I did order larger needle it won't be here till next week. Again think you

Have you used Aurifil 50wt on the longarm successfully before? 50wt and cotton is more likely to break when longarming than 40wt poly (like Glide)

I agree with the suggestion to use a scope foot (or whatever your brand of long arm takes to help ride over the thick parts of the applique and I also would recommend trying a polyester thread. I use Superior's So Fine 50 weight which is about the same thickness of Aurifil 50 but is stronger. I tried Aurfil on my machine once when I first got it and had trouble with thread breakage. I was new. I maybe would have better success with it now but I love the way So Fine looks. It has a matte finish compared with Glide thread and it fine enough that I don't often notice the thread itself after quilting. Oh, I think you could also try bottom line in the top, I know some folks have done that.

I have used aurifil for a few years it works fine on my machine. I did try the new needle and maybe it helped some,but still breakage when it got to the applique. So what I did was move to the front of the machine and do some fmq missing the applique. I can't slow my speed down anymore it just quit working.