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-   -   Problems sewing with invisible thread. (https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1/problems-sewing-invisible-thread-t59619.html)

sjdal 08-17-2010 06:05 AM

Try using a thread stand with YLI and you should have all problems solved

tryitall 08-17-2010 06:21 AM

OH!!!! Let me tell you! If it is invisible how can you see it to do anything?! That's my problem.lol

Crickett Sweet 08-17-2010 06:35 AM

Only use YLI and make sure you turn you tension way down. I use it all the time with no problems. I even use it top and bottom.

krisgray 08-17-2010 07:49 AM

I had that problem when quilting w/ polyester invisible thread. It would stretch and break. Switched to YLI nylon thread and the problem went away. Harriet Hargrave, in her book Heirloom Quilting, advises against using invisible thread in the bobbin, she recs cotton thread in the bobbin.

arpdesigns28 08-17-2010 07:58 AM


Originally Posted by lizzy
I sew on a Bernina 1008 (mechanical machine) and having trouble with invisible thread breaking inside the machine and the thread getting tighter and tighter as it feeds through the machine until it breaks. Anyone has a solution to this problem, let me know.
Just had the machine serviced last month.

Ohoh, I have some scars with that thread!! A girlfriend of mine who also quilts warned me about the invisible thread as she was telling me that I had to use it on a project. It worked. . .after it jammed my bobbing winder on my sewing machine. Yeah, and that little winder has never managed to work since then. I have since gotten a new sewing machine, which is more expensive than the other one, and probably will never have invisible thread run through it either. I'm sorry I don't have any particular advice for it, as it's just the nature of that type of thread from my experience. Sorry I couldn't be of more help. :?

sewweary 08-17-2010 08:12 AM

Invisablethread requires little to no upper tension. If you use it in the bobbin,either wind very slowly or hand wind.I use it on my quilting machine all the time.I like to see the pattern of the quilt instead of the thread.

JoAnnB 08-17-2010 08:30 AM

I use invisible thread on top and cotton or polyester in the bobbin. I use it to stitch in the ditch to anchor a quilt top to the batting and backing before I do FMQ (free motion quilting).

My Bernina Activa sews best with it when I put the spool in a little jar beside the machine and run the thread through a hole in the side of an empty bobbin that I put on the thread spindle. Before I did it this way, the thread would tangle or get caught on something.

lbosma 08-17-2010 11:45 AM

I think everyone has just about hit it. To recap...

Invisible Thread Trouble Shooting

1. Good Quality Invisible (Polyester MonoPoly) .004 or thinner. Inspect the thread, is it fine like a hair - that is good. Does it have bumps (indicates it was wound too tight) - that is bad.
2. Try a couple of different types of thread - cotton or cotton/poly in the bobbin.
4. Test the top tension. Very important. Tension dialed way down could mean "0" tension. On my older Bernina I sew at less than zero or as far as the dial will turn.
3. Try the Invisible MonoPoly on the spool pin, if it jerks or "over spins" place it in a jar and create a threading eye on the top of the machine near the spool pin (you can tape a safety pin upside down and thread through its hole).
4. Moderate your sewing speed. I sew at half speed for the best results.
5. If necessary try Sewers Aid to help reduce friction. I place a drop on the last metal contact point before the thread enters the needle. (I don't find this necessary with MonoPoly, but do need it with some of the specialty metallic threads.)
6. And oh yes, thread the "finger" on your bobbin if it has one.

MIQcamp 08-17-2010 12:01 PM

I do alot of free motion quilting on my Bernina 1260 using invisible thread. No problem. Wind the bobbin as usual, they thread it thru the little hole (don't know what it's called) no problem.

lizzy 08-17-2010 12:28 PM

Thanks to everyone for giving me ideas on what to try. I will try everything until I find something that works. I use the thread only on the top, never in the bobbin.


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