regardless of the age of the quilting frame have you attempted to contact the manufacturer at all? sometimes they can be very helpful. they may have a clue as to why this happens that none of us thought of. it should not be falling from its own weight.

as to the skipped stitches, again get in touch with the maker. if they refuse to help or ignore you, tell them bluntly that you belong to a number of online forums and blogs (even if you don't) and intend to spread the negative word about their uncooperation (new word) and defective product. sometimes that jogs them and it can't hurt you.

Bev...so glad to hear you are winning over there!:))I did check w/a good quilter friend that pumps quilts out like we drink our soft drinks and told her the scoop of some having prob quilting their batiks, etc..she said she has never had any problems and even has done several different paper piecing w/the batiks and had the thread stitch all the way down to a 1.3 and no breakage....phew! I have 3 to quilt soon! :)Now...I would like to know what is the thread stay stuff???Did I say that right? Skeat

Thanks, Butterfly!

I'm glad to hear that "poly thread" is not a scatalogical phrase <g>

Ummm... I don't ever prewash. I can't imagine ironing all that yardage, I love the crisp feeling, and I love the quilty wrinkles after washing the finished quilt. That said, I DO use Synthrapol if there's any question about bleeding...and I DO keep my fingers crossed.

It's probably part of my need for instant gratification. People who do pre-wash impress me...

Ummm... I don't ever prewash. I can't imagine ironing all that yardage, I love the crisp feeling, and I love the quilty wrinkles after washing the finished quilt.

I so 'ditto' that for myself too! Even after washing, I haven't been sorry. Do know that it is preference for each quilter...no wrong or right:)My mom is a prewasher and just shakes her head at me!LOL

I always prewash. Once I buy a fabric, even if I'm not going to use it in the near, or far, future it gets washed and ironed. Actually, I rinse and dry my batting, so there's no shrinkage (unless I want that wrinkly old fashioned look). I just throw the fabric in with my regular wash (the batting goes in alone just on final rinse). Yes, I agree, it IS a pain to iron.
An update on the quilt...it is HALF quilted!!!!! No problems so far...but I still have my fingers crossed. Again, my thanks to all who wrote in.
bev.

Great that your problem is solved! It is the llittle things that make us go crazy! Just remember re-threading, new needle, cleaning, and oiling make a big difference on how your machine stitching will look. I quilt with King Tut threads and sometmes YLI. I also prewash everything and use startch to crisp up the fabric.
Connie

I bought batiks while in St. John Virgin Is, last summer to make a quilt of travels. Do you wash the batiks? Also have quilt kit of batik squares of dark colors. Will I be able to wash this when finished? Don't like things I can't wash. I am also new to quilting. These are my first "specialty" fabrics.
Sharon

I haven't read all of the other posts, so hope I'm not repeating, but I just saw this problem mentioned on the homequiltingsystems group on Yahoo! The solution was to spray the batik fabric with silicone (not the type you get in hardware stores, but the type made for sewing machine threads). Others mentioned using a couple of drops of sewing silicone on the thread spool as an alternative (that would be Sewer's Aid, I think). One person mentioned having to get underneath the frame to spray silicone on the batik backing each time she advanced the quilt; otherwise she got skipped stitches.

Like any other fabric, some batiks will bleed; most won't. I don't prewash any of my fabrics, including batiks. Instead, I give the quilt its first washing as soon as it's finished, using Synthrapol in the washing machine water. Synthrapol suspends unset dye in the water so it washes away instead of staining other fabric. If there is a lot of dye in the first wash water, I would wash it again with Synthrapol before drying. Synthrapol is available in many quilt stores or online at places like Dharma Trading and ProChem.

Some people pre-test their fabrics for bleeding. One way is to cut off a small piece and drop it in water. You can also rub with a piece of damp white fabric to see if any dye transfers.

Since the "color catchers" are on the market, I'm not so much concerned about the color running as I am shrinkage.