It's rainy and cold--I have a whole day to quilt and finish things up and my machine is acting up!! Aaaaargh! It's fine with the even feed--and fine with the free motion foot if I'm testing on a strip--but when I go to work on one of the doll blankets it'll be moving along fine, then just stick in place and make tiny stitiches (which are impossible to get out!). If I try to move it--then it puckers a bit and leaves a big stitch... then it'll be fine for a bit and stick again!! I keep having to stop it--play with the wheel and try again--but this is so frustrating!!

I noticed this happening when I was quilting thick hot pads yesterday--it's never happened before.

Any suggestions????

Check the tension on your bobbin is your needle new or blunt?
How about the teeth on ur machine up or dowm? Thread?

The needle is new--broke one quilting the hot pads... the tension seems fine by looking at the back...the thread is a varigated type, but the sticking happened with a different kind before this one... and I don't klnow where the teeth are when it's happening..

Although when it sticks I think it makes a small loop on the back-- I've redone the bobbin--maybe I should rethread the machine?

Try pulling some thread out of the bobbin and out of the spool as well. Then rethread.
Also, maybe you have some lint stuck down in the bobbin case? That could be the culprit too! I find that if I clean after I do alot of sewing, then I don't get "stuck" as much. Sometimes mine would stick too and would find a bit of lint stuck down in the bobbin. The man that cleaned my machine for me said to clean out the bobbin casing about once a week for heavy sewing. Some threads will say they are lint free, but there's always a little bit that will be in there. Just don't use canned air to blow it out. It will make it worse.

I switched back to the even feed foot and everything is perfect! I switched thread so as to not waste my variegated... the tension was perfect..

Then when I switch back to free motion--it sticks--and every time it does there's a small loop of thread in the back.

I'm so frustrated!!

Going to clean the bobbin case.. but it's fine for one foot--can that be it?

Maybe there's a little ding or something in that foot? But the foot would be on the top, so that wouldn't do it. I dunno...I'm grasping at straws now.

I use the shop vac to suck out mine. I use the little brushes first. Do you have a machine that needs oil.....if so check the book. Do you have a presser foot adjustment.

You need to pick up a spare machine check the thrift stores :)

I use my Dyson when I am all done cleaning mine. Hubby thinks I'm nuts, but it does pick up the little pieces that are left that you don't see/get. I also have a very small paint brush with little bristles that fits just right to "grab" what dust is in there. I'm really careful as to how far down I put it. I'll also put a small piece of tape on the end of the brush. The sticky side is out and it will grab dust really well too.
The man that cleaned my machine gave me TONS of little tips. lol
I've been searching around for a small vac,,,,one you would use for a computer or small parts, but have yet to find one. :(

Okay--here's what it's doing--see the loops? I have changed everything... I wonder if quilting through the Insulbright and batting layver messed something up??? It was awfully thick--but it seemed to go fine--but that's when it started.

This is a scrap piece....

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...g?t=1218460481[/img]

That's really odd.
And it works fine with the other foot, right?
Can you use the other foot to finish it off?

I'm going to have to use the even feed foot for any quilting I do today--yes. No stippling though.. so I can't finish the one I started. GRRRRRR.

How frustrating!

I FIGURED IT OUT!!! It's the feed dog cover! The bobbin is sticking to a small ding put there from when the needle must have broke--there's a hole though it--I thought it came that way it looks so even--but I just tried it with it off and NO LOOPS!!

I can stipple without covering the dogs.

Thank you for your support!!

WHEW!

Karla, when I've had that problem it was because of the way the quilt was moving (or not moving) when I was free-motioning. It didn't do the same thing on a scrap because the scrap was moving without a problem, but when I put the quilt on it would sometimes hang because of the weight or getting caught a bit on the corner of my quilting table. It didn't seem to take much drag to mess things up. It got better when I watched the drag and stopped trying to sew backwards to catch spots I missed :-)

Edited to add: Just saw your post about the burr - if you cut an emery board in half or slightly thinner than half, you can usually file out those burrs. Glad to know you found out what it was!

Glad you figured it out.

YEAH!

WOOHOO!!!! YIPPEE!!!!!!!

according to the guy that fixes my machine (often) if you can see the problem on top then the problem is on the bottom. if you can see the problem on the bottom then the problem is on the top. so far he's right every time. also, after you have a problem bad enough to break a needle you shoud always check the plate and the bobbin case. they always get banged around.