Skipped Stitches Janome Horizon
 

I am having trouble with skipped stitches while free motion quilting.

My practice sandwich, the stitches are good. On the actual quilt straight(ish) lines are good. Wishbones are good. Anything curvy or circular, not so good. The stitches skip, sometimes missing several at a time, the thread breaks etc. I am not quilting to0 quickly or too slowly - stitching slowly or quickly doesn't make it any worse or better.

I have tried re-threading the machine, re-threading the bobbin, changing the thread, changing the bobbin. I have used the same thread in the bobbin and the top thread, I have tried different thread in the bobbin and the top thread. Changed the needle, changed the needle brand, changed the needle size. I have cleaned the machine, oiled the machine, changed the presser foot, changed the presser foot pressure. I washed the quilt part way through thinking that maybe the sizing in the fabric or the best press was too thick.

Anything in the navy was simple to quilt and there were no issues. The coloured fabric, Fairy Frost by Michael Miller, just a nightmare.

Does anyone have any suggestions

What foot are you using? What type of needle are you using?

Can you post a photo if what you are upset about? I have a 9400 hundred and I use a special foot, blue dot bobbin case for FM and release the pressure on the foot. Sounds like you've tried all the basics. What brands of needles have you used? On my machine the only needles that I can use and get good results is the Janome Blue.

Sorry, can't help with your stitching. Welcome and Happy Quilting :)

some or all of these are tips you have probably already tried.
i repeat them because others with Horizon models might benefit.
they are not "professional" recommendations - just things that always worked for me on my MC8900 (a Horizon model.)

double check to make sure you have lowered the feed dogs.

it's good that you started with a test sample.
that's only part of it, though, because our quilts will be larger and heavier.
that will make a big difference.
skipped stitches might mean there's too much weight and/or drag as the quilt travels over the machine bed.

are you using the extension table?
they are quite pricey but worth every penny - especially during free-motion.

On Horizon models, Organ brand needles are a "must" for free-motion. (the good news is that they cost less than most other brands. I buy mine in bulk from CTSUSA.com) (Janome branded needles are actually Organ brand that have been color coded and brand-packaged at a significantly higher price.)
a fairly safe size to start with is a size 14. rarely i'll need to go up to a 16.

use this free-motion foot (if you don't have one, shop around because prices vary widely online):
https://www.janome.com/accessories/s...e-freemotion-/
it makes such a difference I ordered one for my brother dream machine2.

using the adjustment screw on the foot assembly, try adjusting the foot height. i start with the foot all the way down. that's usually good but i'll occasionally need to heighten it. (if i remember correctly you can also tweak the foot height even more in the machine settings.)

set the tension to the maximum.

size 15/A bobbins - always.
i have the best results using prewound bobbins. they are usually 60wt. cotton when i could use neutral colors ... polyester if necessary to get the right color in the bobbin.
i never needed the special bobbin case on my MC8900 but it won't hurt anything if you want to try one. they are not horrifically expensive.

i know that nearly everybody holds their hands flat on the quilt as they move it around.
that works for nearly everybody, but i could never get the hang of it on any machine i have ever used.
instead of keeping the quilt flat to the machine bed, i lift it a bit to eliminate as much weight and drag as possible.
sometimes i have both hands under the quilt holding bunches to the side; sometimes only the left is under while i use my right to bunch from the top; sometimes both hands are bunching from the top.
even when i'm using my Martelli brand circular free-motion weights i don't press down. i put my hands under the quilt and bunch a bit over the top of each handle.
all very weird, i know. i keep trying to do it the traditional way, and maybe someday i will succeed. but - so far - i always end up reverting to lift methods instead of "press down" methods.

if all this blabbering wasted your time, i apologize.

Skipped stitches
 

You said you are not quilting too slow or too fast.....if you are referring to your movement....there is the machine speed to consider. It sounds like you need to speed up your machine, which is required for curves and free motion (which is also curvy). Best wishes

FMQ foot, or ruler foot. 80/12 and 90/14 for needles

I found when I was quilting on my Brother 1500, I had to use either a size 16 or 18 needle, or I would get skipped stitches.

Sounds like you've tried just about everything. Fairy Frost has a different texture than regular cottons. Sometimes bumping the needle position one bump to the left or right can correct a slightly off timing setting. Sometimes it's the "needle/hook distance that creates the skipped stitch problem. If you put the needle in the far left position, turn the handwheel counter clockwise, and stop when the needle is on the way up, and the point of the hook comes right behind it at the top of the eye of the needle. Then check how big the space is between the needle and the hook. They should be so close, they're almost touching. If you've got a big gap between the needle and hook, you need to close the gap, and that will usually clear up those skipped stitches. You probably want to take it to the repair shop for that adjustment.

I've found that polyester thread behaves better than cotton for free-motion. I think it's because poly has a little stretch to it, but cotton doesn't.

I have a Janome Horizon 7700 and I get skipped stitches when using the ruler foot occasionally. Usually I can correct it by adjusting the height of the foot. I get skips more often when the foot is too high above the surface of the quilt. I also had a problem recently quilting with invisifil and decobob, and as soon as I changed to isacord, I had no more skipping. And also make sure to check your needle. When I took my needle out to change it, it had a curve. I had bent it by creating too much pull on the quilt while quilting. There are so many variables, that sometimes it is a challenge to get the results we want in our quilting.