I prefer sharp needles and if it's the lightweight, floppy kind of flannel, you might want to hit it with some starch or sizing. It tries to crawl away from the needle and the edges try to slip off kilter. I love working with flannel but you definitely have to teach the lightwieight ones who's boss!--LOL.

I heavily starch flannel before cutting it to prevent this type of problem. Spray starching might help.

Try the leader, and make sure that it is butted up against your pieces. You could also sew circles in the center of your blocks if no of the other suggestions work for you :D

Thanks. Sounds like leaders are the answer. I thought that might be what you would say. I just wondered if there was something else I might be missing. A sharp needle definitely helps. Fortunately, I'm all done with those stars now. I just finished the last one. I'll post pictures soon.

I was told by my dealer I needed a straight stitch plate.

Yup, that's what's been suggested I "might" need in the future. Though it's close to $50 for my Bernina... But, it's supposed to prevent the eating of fabric and create better stitching for the embroidery unit and straight stitches.

I'll look into the straight stitch plate. Thanks.

Try using a sharp instead of a universal. Hopefully, that will help some.

Thanks. Yes, I'm going to try that. Also, I got the straight stitch plate for my sewing machine today. I'll see if that solves the problem.

Good luck! I know how frustrating a problem like that can be, in spite of all you can do to fix it.