My new favorite quilting tool that saved my sanity
 

I had been having a problem with my longarm skipping stitches and thread breaking for about two weeks now. I have changed the needle 4 times, checked all of my upper and lower tension and pretty much everything I could think of.

Today, I decided to thread a piece of dental floss in the needle to help make sure I was getting my needle pointing in the right direction as well as all the way up in the needle shaft. I pulled up on both ends of the floss to hold the needle as high in the shaft as possible before I finished turning the screw holding it in place.

S H A Z A M ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Apparently my needle wasn't seated as high as possible which was causing my skipped stitches and thread breakage.

I had already been searching on Google trying to find a Longarm dealer in my area that might take it in as a trade.

Dental floss saved my life today!!!

What a great fix!! Hope I remember that next time! Good girl, so smart!

:thumbup: score :thumbup:

You are woman, hear you roar.....you can do anything! :D :thumbup:

Well done.....yeah Macgyver is a rank amateur in comparison to some of the amazing people on the QB.

I have long finger nails and have found that which ever machine I am using Iut the inside of nail under needle and give a gentle use before tightening screw. It always goes up some way.

thanks for the great tip!

I have a Queen Quilter and the instructions suggest that I insert a pin tip in the eye of the needle before tightening to make sure of the exact placement. Works great!

What a great idea! And the floss won't scratch the needle or put a burr into the hole in any way! So glad you didn't have to resort to the extreme measures you were considering. Thanks for sharing the tip!

wow! so smart!

i love reading posts like this

This is what I do too.

Plano Debbie, glad to hear you finally got the issue resolved.

Isn't that the truth! I get so many good tips here. I really should be cataloging them so I can find them when I need them.

Great tip !! THANKS for the post !!

Great tip! Glad you had an easy fix~

Thank you SO much!

Years ago I found a little tool that helps as well. It is about the size of a fat toothpick and has a hole in it that you fit your needle into then push the needle up. I forget who makes it. I think the dental floss ideas is a great one! who can run to the quilt shop in the middle of the night!

I have the plastic tool too and I use it for all my machine needles.

Necessity makes invention !

such a good idea, can be used for both types machines too I am sure. I am always checking to make sure my new needles are up as afar as they can go. Thanks so much for the tip.

Way to go girl!!!!!

I, too, have always been concerned about the needle being up high enough. I have been doing the fingernail thing (and I do not have long fingernails), but the pin-in-the-eye way may be easy enough, too. Thanks for the tip.

That is something I will have to remember for all machines. Thanks

Great idea, thanks for the tip.

Thank you for this tip! I get so frustrated when my machine isn't working properly. I always say you have to be a mechanic to operate a long arm.

I often have this problem also and have changed the needle, putting it in as high as I can. But I never realized it may still not be going up into place. Thanks so much for this tip. I will definitely be using this on all my machines.

Awesome idea, especially for pesky longarms. Thank you.

Don't things like that just make your day! I am loving that the "new, favorite quilting tool" doesn't cost $29.95!

Ya!!! So glad you found the answer!!!

Terrific idea!! I know on my Gammill if the round/pregnant side isn't just 'so' I have lots of problems. I don't know why they don't make industrial machines with a flat side to the back instead of round all the way at the top.

Thanks for sharing.

Great idea, and this is one I'll remember. Thanks for sharing.

I think this would work on any needle even on basic sewing machines. I am going to try it next time I change my needle. Might be easier than trying to hold on to needle and push up while tightening the screw. Thanks for the tip.

So glad you got your problem solved.

Wow!!! Very inventive!!

Wow amazing how that works. Good to know for the future. Thanks so much for sharing!

I use another needle in the needle eye to hold the needle up and in the right possition and that works too.

Great idea! You can use the dull needle before you put into the "sharps" container for disposal.

Waaaay to go! I have the same issues when changing my needle - is it in straight and is it all the way up in the shaft. Thanks for the great tip!