Needle breaks when freemotion quilting
 

When I do meandering/stippling style free motion I have no problem with breaking needles. When I try to do any circular pattern, little circles spirals, etc. my needle breaks. Any suggestions on what I'm doing wrong and how to correct this?

Yes, it's typical when doing circles or spirals for folks to speed their hands up. Try making a conscious effort to slow your hands down but keep your machine speed up when you are doing circles or spirals and see if that helps. Alternatively, you could speed your machine up when you do circles and spirals.

You want to make sure you are not moving your hands faster than the needle is going up and down.

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Tartan makes a good point, esp. if you are using a relatively thin needle. I generally use a size 14 Smets topstitch needle when FMQ and even with heavy thread buildup have never had a needle break.

Rob
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Thanks. Sounds like you are right. I think I must be moving my hands to fast. I also use a 14 embroidery needle.
Thanks for your help.

I'll give that a try. I don't see a buildup of thread where the needle breaks, but it won't hurt to try a finer thread.
Thanks for your help.

Stronger needle, try a jeans or top stitch and Slow Down!
If you go too fast, you don't give the needle enough time to come completely out of the fabric. You move the fabric and because the needle's still in there, it bends just a tiny bit. Doesn't take much for the deflected needle to hit the throat plate and break. It's harder to bend a stiffer needle and by slowing down, you give the needle enough time to clear the fabric before you move it to the next stitch.

When mine did that, I did not have the bobbin in the right direction.

I attended a class once and the teacher made a great point. There is a rhythm to free motion. Your hands need to move with the sound of the machine. As long as they move at the same rate, your problem will be solved.

I'm convinced that this is the solution...slow down. I use a 14 embroidery needle but will try a stronger needle.
Thanks for the help.

I had this same problem a cpl. of yrs ago. Went through about 8 needles til I finally turned to the rescue squad. This board. Once they told me to use heavy needles plus I focused more on my control my prob. was solved. I'm still not very good at FMQ but I do it.

I've honestly never used anything larger than an 80/12 needle for FMQ & regularly use a 70/10 needle with Aurifil 50/2 threads even when going over something many, many times -- like when working on a feather where I'm going up and down the stem as many as 6x. I do like using a Microtex needle because it is so sharp it easily fits into whatever tiny space there is (the same thing holds true for a Topstitch needle). I've used both of those, but never larger than an 80/12.
Here are tips that I've found tend to sort out the culprits: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf/Repair/...g-Needles.html
Since it only happens on circles, I'd guess you are pulling a bit on the fabric as you try to move it around to form the circle. Either speeding up your machine or slowing down your hands should resolve the issue. Sometimes if my needle is struggling (because it's overdue for a change, or because I was lazy & tried to do dense FMQ with a quilting needle still in the machine), I try to overcompensate by pulling just a teeny bit more on the fabric. I realize this because certain muscles get tense at the same time that my needle starts having issues. By putting in a fresh needle & loosening up my "grip" on the fabric -- and taking breaks -- I get better results & the needles stay straighter. :)