Quilting batiks on a frame
 

I'm a fairly new Bailey Home Quilter owner and have it on a frame. I've only quilted 5 quilts so far, but after I got the tension issues worked out, everything went fine. I just loaded a batik top and the stitches are skipping something awful. I have been using a size 18 needle on the other quilts as that seems to help keep the thread from breaking. Does anyone have any ideas on how to quilt a batik top? I have four to do. Would a size 16 needle be better, more or less tension on the layers (mine are kind of medium), different machine tension (up or down?)?

Since the holes from the stitches I took out show so much in the batik, I hate to just experiment, so would be most grateful to know what, if any changes, you had to make from quilting regular cotton tops?

I HAVE FOUND when you are quilting tight weave fabric like batiks you need to use a larger needle and adjust tension loose the tension on the top.

Make sure the needle is SHARP!!

I think the first thing you should look at is tension. Since you needed to go to a size 18 needle to prevent thread shredding on previous quilts, this indicates to me that your tension may be too tight. I highly recommend following Jamie Wallen's method for setting tension as shown in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1mRhcquZTM

Here is a Nolting webpage that explains different causes for skipped stitches:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1mRhcquZTM

How tight is your quilt on the frame? Many beginning quilters make the mistake of having the quilt too tight. A rule-of-thumb is that you should be able to grab an index finger poking up from underneath the quilt. This allows for about 4" of "give" in the quilt.

Batiks are notoriously trickier to quilt on a frame because they are so tightly woven. I do not think you should downsize the needle. If changing the tension settings does not solve the problem, you may need to think about adjusting the needle/hook assembly gap or timing.