Stitching is bad!
 

My Bernina Virtuosa 160 isn’t working like it should. I made a test sandwich and lengthened the stitch to look good. It doesn’t. It’s short, no matter what setting I use and what tension I use. The bobbin thread looks pretty good, but the top thread is a bummer.

I always use a walking foot; this time when the fabric moves forward it sort of lifts up under the foot, which is strange.

I’ve re-threaded, changed the needle, checked othe bobbin. Nothing works!

Its a great machine and has never given me any problems. I just don’t know what to do.😟

Help! Please!

Renate

I've had some of those problems when my walking foot was not correctly installed.

Have you used your walking foot a lot? A walking foot can wear out or become damaged. For example, I ruined an expensive Bernina walking foot when a safety pin in my quilt caught in the back. I didn’t notice it in time, and the stress stretched out the spring in the walking foot.

Could be your feed dog gears. My Husqvarna wasn't stitching properly and tech needed to adjust it.

I am not familiar with your machine but were doing FMQ before using the WF?

On the BL machines, the hand wheel needs to be turned manually to re-engage the feed-dogs. Perhaps that is the issue with your machine. There is also a lever on my WF (BL machines).

Second suggestion is to check behind the WF and make sure the area is clear.

Does the WF plug into your machine? Make sue it is plugged in correctly. Last resort is to check the manual under troubleshooting. The tips might help solve the issue.

Good luck with the WF.

I've got a couple thoughts... Check the sole of the walking foot and make sure it's seated in the side arms, and that the screw on the side is tightened all the way. I've seen them act badly when it's loose.

When you say the the "top thread," do you mean the top of the fabric? If it's the top of the fabric, you need to tighten the bobbin case tension.

Does it sew OK with a regular foot? If the fabric is "lifting up under the foot," I wonder if the feed dog timing is not in sinc with the needle timing? When the needle is coming down, and just about to go into the needle plate, the feed dogs should be just below the needle plate and moving down. If that's off, you'll need to take it to the shop.

I don't use the walking foot for my Brothers or even the you-beaut foot for the pfaff, as I find it all tends to bunch up behind the normal foot then the stitches get too short.

EUREKA!!

it WAS the walking foot! Of course, the only thing I didn’t check. Looked at it this morning and the piece that grips in the front was below the little bar. Why did I not look there? O well, all is fine and she’s stitching away beautifully.

thank you, quiltedsunshine and everyone else who answered. Thank goodness for you all; otherwise I’d be half bald by now trying to figure it out.
renate

Thanks for letting us know this worked out for you!

Yeah! I'm glad you're stitching again!