hi, i'm sewNso. just got a used pfaff grand 1200 quilter. no owners manual with it. why does my thread keep breaking? i am pretty sure i have it threaded correctly. and am using a high quality quilting thread also. any help or ideas? and do you like your pfaff grand 1200? thx

I too purchased a used Pfaff GQ 1200. I also got the Grace NextGen frame with my machine.

Have you checked/changed the needle? Perhaps the needle is the incorrect size for the thread you are using. A needle too big or too small for the thread size can cause breakage.

I was able to sew a number of practice pieces and an entire queen quilt without a single thread break on mine. For the quilt, I used YLI invisible thread in the top and Gutterman variegated 100% cotton in the bobbin. For the practice pieces, I was using Gutterman 100% cotton in both, but a different plain color.

thx, i got a frame with it also. metal, came with the machine when she bought it. yes, i was using gutterman (sp) also. on my practice piece to learn how to quilt. i put it in the shop right away, and had the needle threader adjusted, and the quilting foot fixed. brought it home, and put it on the frame, and walla, breaking my thread. but i could go 4 or 5 ft before it broke. no owners manual, just a vcr tape, and a dvd disc of instructions. Do you have a stictch regulator with yours also? the quilt store who originally sold it to the prev. owner is trying to find me an owners manual.

Try joining the homequiltingsystems list at http://groups.yahoo.com . Someone there can probably help you. Check the files section before posting, though; there might be a file on thread breakage that you should read before posting.

Don't forget, the Grand takes a special needle (I wanna say H1-something) not one of the standard needles. There is also one way it needs to be inserted (when you insert it wrong, it breaks the thread)

Do you oil it every 2 minutes? (Seems like mine has a healthy appetite for the oil)

yes, i changed the needle, but i am using just quilting needles. i'll go get some just for a phaff quilter tomorrow. thx. and i will re listen to my vidio, as soon as i can get the t.v. and make sure my tension, and all my numbers are set right. after papa goes to bed.

so, mad quilter, how long have you had a phaff, and what kind do you have? do you free motion quilt, or try to follow ???pantagraphs?? is that the right word?

I have had a Quilt&Craft for years (backup and classes), got a 2056 last year (my worker), and a Grandquilter (that is patiently waiting for me to get off my butt and get to quilting). I have the Handiquilter frame loaded in the loft and when I get the area cleaned out (some overflow from the remodel) I plan to finish the setup - add the cruise control and go to town. (I also have a Brother that I am passing on to a friend.)

Honestly, I don't know why I am afraid of getting started. I am usually not so timid. When ready, it will be FMQ. Don't have any of the pantographs yet.

Just want to jump in and say welcome to the board from Missouri!

I did get the stitch regulator with my setup. I've since added a Qbot computerized quilting setup to it. With both the Pfaff GrandQuilter and the Viking MegaQuilter (they are the same exact machine), you must use the HLx5 needles. These are special High-Speed needles made specifically for these types of sewing machines. Your problem with the thread breaking may be due to using the incorrect type needle.

went to the quilt store, and they sell long arm quilters, also. they sold me the HDL needles, and silk coated cotton thread. we will see if it works.
let you know. i have 3 queen tops, that are done, and i would like to do on it. took 3 others to a quilter before i bought this grand. thx

relistened to my instructional tapes, and picked up a couple more things.

thx, this is a wonderful site.

i'll have to look for those needles. quilt store, or machine dealer?

Color me confused. I thought you got the needles?

yes, i guess the needles are the same, hdl AND XL-5. BUT IT STILL WON'T SEW. with the quilting foot on. i guess it is bad after all. or, i am just plain 'thick'.

I have the Pfaff Hobby GQ and it is great for piecing as well as quilting. I haven't got the room to set up the frame, but I received my MIL's when she downsized and I might get the courage to set it up in the den or something at some point. There is a great yahoo group that has tons of help for you. They can tell you about threads, needles, presser feet and so forth. The link is

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PfaffHobbyGrandQuilter/

I hope you try it and I know they will welcome you. They are a great group of friendly and helpful quilters. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress! :D

I have a Grand Quilter and it does take special needles from Pfaff. Another thing is if your roller bar is higher then a finger width from the bed then it will break thread too. Hard luck on my friends part.

I have a grand quilter 1200 also. When threading the needle the thread is inserted towards the machine. Otherwise the thread will break. I just finished quilting a quilt and my thread never broke. If you pm me I could copy my book if and send it to you if you want. Also is your thread catching on the spool?

I seem to remember that you can download a copy of the machine's owners manaul from Pfaff's website. I 'lost' my manual about 2 month's ago (a month after I bought the machine) so I went to the trusty internet for help threading. Found the manual two days later, that's what I get for cleaning the sewing room. Off to buy a desk at Ikea so it can have it's own permanent home.

Marilyn

I think i looked on the internet. will look again. i thought they had changed the grand quilters so they aren't 1200 anymore. right?

anyway put my jenome 1600 on my frame. and used the off/on button on the machine. and practice free motion, and following panatgraphs like that. today. i think it's a 1600 anyway. about 5 yrs old, and has lots, and lots of quilts made and quilted put thru it. mostly queen, but a few full and twins, a couple baby blankets. most utility quilts. i quilt to keep the kids and grandkids warm. almost could take them to the fair.

THE TENSION NEEDS ADJUSTING

REGINA

Hi SewnSo,

My machine is like yours. It has Viking plastered across the front, with different plastic front, but is the same machine, thread path and all. It quilts great. If you have traced your threads correctly, it should sew.

If you have the tension set, it should sew without breaking.

If you have the correct needle, it should sew fine.

HLX5 is what was shipped with my machine. Schmetz has this needle as a quilting needle in two sizes: 75/90 as either 11, or 14 depending on the fabric you are stitching.

Check your thread tension again. If last resort, have a tech inspect the tension disks to see of some thread has gotten stuck in there somewhere.

I am sure you know to keep it oiled as someone has stated earlier. Oil after every few hours of sewing, when you get it sewing :-)

When you get this straightened out, you are going to love this machine.

Good luck! If you want, send me a picture of the machine after you have threaded it. I will try to see if the thread has gone wrong somehow.

arvarg, i don't see how to reply just to you. yes, it was doing fine till i dropped the bobbin into the bottome of the machine, and when retriving it i retrived it with a spring lose, and evidently it was srung or something. straight sews good, but not with the quilting foot, now. i will not give up. and yes, it is threaded correctly. got a vcr tape, and a dvd. with it.

Hi SewNSo,

Here are a few pages from the MegaQuilter help files.

It only has a couple of photos of the thread path, but the note about the tension dial and how the thread comes off the spool might help.

Be sure to read the last part about how the quilt is riding over the bed of the frame.

Go to the internet and google the manual, and you will find it. I have done that for my machine. You can down load the manual in pdf file.

Pfaff still makes the GrandQuilter Hobby 1200. But they also make a newer machine called the GrandQuilter 18.8, which has an 18" throat.

I bought one and after years, I got a quilt teacher here to help me, then after more time went by I started, thread kept breaking. Had a re-pair man out, he couldn't get it to work, so took it home for over a week. Said it came that way from the factory, it wasn't me!! hooray!!! Worked fine, while he was here...then you guessed it, the next day...thread is breaking...clean the bobbin every time you change it, and oil it every day...so, I'll try again next week...but with Christman coming it may go on the back burner...

We had one in our shop. I found that the Aurifil 50 wt plain colors worked best. Usually used a 100 topstitch needle. Some of Sulky 30 wt did OK, but only if they were plain or the variegated did not change color much. For example, the varigated pastels did OK, but varigated black to white was MISERABLE!!! Too much color change was hard to work with. Even the Sulky reps didn't know why. Don't go too fast - that made the thread break. Good luck - when you find the right combination for you it'll be great!

this is a high speed machine so needs a thread that can take it. I also have this machine and the original Inspira frame. When I have breakage, first check the needle. Then I spray the thread with silicone (in the auto department). The small bottles in the sewing store are too expensive. I find this helps.

zlosh, thanks for the link. I have never joined a yahoo group - hope they let me in.

CHECK THE WEB UNDER pFFAF AND THEY NO DOUBT WILL MAIL YOU A BOOK. HOPE THIS HELPS. :)

I also have the same machine and I had the same problem. I fixed the problem with not just good thread but long staple thread. I use a love King Tut.

I also have the same machine and I had the same problem. I fixed the problem with not just good thread but long staple thread. I use and love King Tut.

I also have the Pfaff Grand Quilter 1200 with the Grace Next Generation frame and the stitch regulator. I've had it for about 2 1/2 years and use it a lot. This week I have done 3 quilts on it and am about to load a fourth. I'll admit that I had a little trouble with thread breaking until I got the hang of it and "found my rhythm" so to speak. Now I rarely have a break (and usually a new needle takes care of the problem) and I am not particular about what thread I use - I do a lot of double/queen sized for charity quilts so I use a lot of regular Coats & Clarks because it's cheaper and never have trouble with it. For invisible thread I will use Sulkey or YLI without much trouble. I use Schmetz needles - either quilting needles or just the universal type in size 80 or 90 so I guess I'm not particular about the needle either. Of course, every machine is different even when they are the same model so you may have a tempremental machine but I just wanted you to know that this machine can really be a workhorse. The only thing I don't like about it is the small throat space that means I have to turn those large quilts around halfway through. I wish I'd gotten one with more throat space but I hope to move up to that someday.
My only suggestion is to have the machine cleaned if you haven't already done so. It will really collect a lot of lint. I have mine serviced about once a year to clean out what I can't reach. Every time I change the bobbin, I use a small paint brush to really clean out the bobbin case and surrounding area, under the plate that covers the feed dogs, around the the thread guides above the needle, even on the presser foot. You will be surprised how much lint gets in all those places.
I hope we've all been of some help to you. Good luck with your machine and I hope you get it figured out.

This is probably over simplifying, but since you can sew straight but not with the quilting foot, did you put the plate over the feed dogs before you tried to freemotion? There's no way to drop the dogs on this model so you need the cover plate.

thank you pam. yes, i will get the hang of it, but while the bobbin case, etc is getting adjusted, from where i droped it, i will use my jenome 6600 to 'play' with and quilt a twin, i would like done for my daughter who is 8 months p.g. to cuddle with, this last cold month, or so, before she delivers. and it will be nice to use the frame, instead of having to pin, then quilt pushing it thru the machine. just another learning curve, to keep our minds young, hey??

Could someone send through picture of how it looks. There are so many of you it must be worth having. I would never try to quilt my quilt myself, on my machine so am wondering what you are using. Thanks for the reply. Karen

The Grand Quilter requires HL needles, regular quilting needles won't work. I have a GQ and I haven't had problems with the thread breaking.

thx, this site has been really helpful. got the needles. and evy thg wrk fine, but then dropped the bobbin. should be back soon. the frame is wond. picked up lots of tricks from just this one e-mail. don't env any problems aftr ths. duh, just move the machine to the end of the quilt to change bobbins.

i've got this book mrked for the content. will it disapr. compl. after a while?