Another thought. Have you oiled your tension? I never thought to and it wasn't on any of the instructions I had for my machine. In that instance my top thread kept breaking after a knot was sewn between the bobbin and the needle. I had cut the knot out several times and knew something had to be done. Then I remembered that one of the top quilters in the country, wish I could remember which one, said on a blog that she soaked her thread cone in oil before she started quilting. I got to thinking about that and realized my thread might not be sliding through the tension properly. I oiled the tension and the problem was fixed. And the tensioner didn't oil my quilt at all.

Thank you Cathy, it was funny because the dealer came out today and while she was testing it, a snippet of blue thread just appeared on the quilt top from the last quilt I did. Its amazing where they hide out and I have no idea how it just appeared. It looks like a part that is near the bobbin hook assembly was out of place. They fixed it and I was able to finish my row with no problems. I won't know for sure until tomorrow when I try and finish it but I am very thankful for you sharing that and will pay extra attention to that area and threads and lint.

Thank you Barb that is really interesting. No, I haven't heard of that but will look into it.

Sometimes it just helps to turn the needle slightly to the right. Also the tension spring can get a grove worn in it and need to be replaced. I'm pretty positive we're not supposed to oil the tension or the thread on a Handi Quilter. You can use a silicone spray on the thread, but only if it's an ornery thread, and very sparingly. Black thread is more ornery than lighter colored threads, because it has been dyed more than once. The arm that the thread goes under, just after it comes out of the tension, can be twisted slightly to hold the thread from jumping out of the tension.

Good Luck to You!

Change the needle, clean out the bobbin area, oil, and try again. Did you adjust the tension for the top thread?