Pfaff Quilt Expressions 4.2
 

Hi All, it's been a long time since I've posted anything here, but I do follow new and seasoned friends daily.
I indulged myself upon retirement with a QE 4.2, which sees beautifully, both simple and fancy stitches. However......I am having endless problems with the free motion function, such as loose bobbin tension, skipped stitches, and loose bobbin winding mechanism. I've taken it to the shop three or four times now. They give it a tune up and, for about ten minutes, it free motions beautifully. Then the problems return.
Have any of you experienced this with this machine?

Thanks for any input.
Jeanette - newly returned to WA state after years in Alaska.

Bummer. Ask them to show you what they do. Just be sure you don't have the petal to the metal. Bring in a sample of what is occurring to show them. I usually FMQ at a medium speed on my Bernina.

Some machines just don't FMQ well. I would save up for a new or used Juki for FMQ.

What foot are you using? I bought the 6D Dynamic Spring foot and put a net on my thread. The thread net is in your parts tray that came with your machine. You may have to tell your machine which foot you are using.

I had this machine and there were several things that helped me: 1) setting the speed control lower 2) using a larger needle 3) had to play with the upper tension setting making it sure the thread was seated properly. Have you watched this Sewing Village youtube video on how to use this machine? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNHBEUtkUkI. Hope this helps. You've really got a wonderful machine unless something is wrong and it needs to be replaced. That happened to me and they replaced it. Good luck and happy sewing.

I have the 4.0 and the Performance 5. What mode do you use? I much prefer the Sensormatic. Does your machine do it in all modes?

I had a really frustrating day at a quilt class last year when my 4.0 simply would not FMQ for any length of time - thread breaking continuously. I changed to the Spring Motion mode and it worked fine. The next day I gave the bobbin etc. a good clean and it worked perfectly again.............

If you haven't already watched Superior Threads video about thread and tension, then I'd thoroughly recommend it. I was amazed by just how low the top tension had to be (ignore the Auto tension setting on your machine - threads vary so much, even within weights - e.g. two strands or three?).

I haven't come across loose bobbin winding before, but I'd suggest the next time this happens you take the machine in and ask them to wind some bobbins to see if there's any difference.

Btw - adjusting tension was a revelation to me. Before my Pfaffs I had a mid-range Janome. That machine FMQ'd with anything, including metallics! I can't remember ever adjusting it's tension (mostly because as a new sewer/quilter I didn't know how, lol). Ah! The bliss of ignorance!

Thanks everyone for your kind suggestions. I didn't think about the thread net and will give that a try. Have a great day, All!