I like to use Bottom Line by Superior for both top and bottom thread when FMQing on my Janome 6600 and my Handiquilter 16. My Janome seems to prefer poly thread as a rule, and I like not having the lint of cotton threads. The other big plus for me in using Bottom Line is that the thread doesn't stand out (60 weight) so my, ahem, irregularities don't show as much.

I watched a Libby Lehman video yesterday on just this question. She said to use a 90/14 needle for FMQ'ing and my Pfaff dealer told me the same thing. Thats all I use now for FMQ. Give it a try!

Ha yes I know what you mean about the little irregularieties on the rear of the quilt..oh how I wish mine looked perfect lol I have never tried the Superior bottom line on mine so it is worth thinking about- I have only used a matched thread top and bottom. When I first started to get problems with my machine and this thread, about a week ago,I changed from a 90/14 to the 80/12 both are Schmetz. I always used 90/14 for FMQ before with the Gutterman and the Poly, both were OK
I havn't heard of the Titanium needles till now. I know Superior do them. Would anyone recommend a particular needle for FMQ using cotton fabric and cotton batting?

I am also beginning to wonder about taking in my machine to the dealer. I bought it just 18 months ago but he said it wouldnt need servicing for 2 years..but I think its like cars, you sort of know when you hear the car engine change that something is wrong. In the past my lovely girl always lets me know when the bobbin needs cleaning- she doesnt sound as nice, and feels a bit sticky on stitches if you know what I mean!!
I have cleaned out the bobbin area twice, changed needles and also changed out the 80/12 Schmetz and inserted a new one just to be sure. As soona s I change over to the Gutterman she sews fine but of course the Gutterman is a thicker thread..possibly a problem in the mechanism of the machine with a finer thread? Maybe she needs oiling on the inside or a bit of fine tuning is all I can think of apart from the tensioning.

I use Superior thread Bottom line all the time in my bobbins. I did use Superior thread Bottom line for the first time ,in the bobbin and on top using my Voyager 17 for quilting. Worked like a charm. Loved the finished look both on top and bottom of quilt.

I bought aHorizon 7700 in September. Her name is Maxie. I am still making friend with her. But I can tell you she does not like to FMQ with Superior Threads. I have both master piece & king tut(Iam a thread of the month geek). during the holidays I became best friends with my seam ripper because Maxie did not like the kingtut. she like the masterpiece for piecing.

I bought some Isacord. Man what a difference. No problems at all so I am sticking with Isacord for FMQ.

I do not want to ever be so upset like I was this past hoilday season over a sewing machine.

My suggestion is try a different thread. Good luck!

always needle first for me, put new one in, while im at it rethread, clean lint out..........if all else fails i start over...lol

I knew you were going to say you were using Masterpiece. I had problems with it also, but for piecing. (I was using a Singer 301 which handles any thread, but I've also had thread issues, not necessarily Superior, on the Horizon 7700.) It is intended for piecing and not FMQ. I talked to the representative at one of the shows and he gave me a new spool, free. Let Superior know what your experience has been, and I'll bet they will help and possibly replace the thread. The rep told me that sometimes there is a bad spool/cone.

Thanks everyone..oh that is such good advice..TBH I was so disapointed when my FMQ was so horrible. I am not having a problem with the Isacord or the Superior rainbow ( I forgot to mention that I bought a spool of that at the same time) for FMQ. Have restarted the machine, tried different sized needles like I said earlier. I spoke to my dealer today who thinks that some machines just dont like an individual thread. He thinks that if I am not having a problem with the Gutterman and the others then it is a thread and machine problem. I didnt realise the masterpiece was a piecing only thread-should have guessed from the name. How lame am I :o
I would like to experiment and try some other threads though because the colours are so beautiful when you start to move away from off white.

Sounds like your Horizon prefers poly to cotton thread, as does my Janome 6600. I believe Isacord should be comparable to Superior's So Fine 50 (a 50 weight poly thread).

Another thing to watch is your bobbins. I've used some bobbins I knew were slightly smaller than the original ones I got with my machine. Never had a problem until I was sewing with metallic thread. I was having all kinds of problems with loops on the back, etc. Finally I thought of the bobbin. When I changed to an original bobbin everything was fine.