the last time I made birds nests with my Brother and I gave up and took it to my service man --they said there was a piece of thread caught in the "TOP" tension and to be carefull when changing threads---don't yank fast and always snip and pull out through the needle---hope this helps

Ok, now I'm confused. Should my presser foot be up or down when threading my Bernina? I'm pretty sure I never remember to do anything different when I change thread. And I rarely leave my presser foot down. Never really thought about it.

SuziM It's good that you took it in to the dealer. Your local Bernina shop will be a great support for you, and you'll be glad you made friends with the owner and technician for sure! I wish you many happy years sewing on this new-to-you machine. And what a special way to honor your mother. Enjoy!

Someone else may have already suggested this but just in case have you checked the bobbin case to see if there is a piece of thread stuck in there? Just take a moment to walk away from it then come back take that area apart clean and reassemble it be something simple like that. Good luck!

Your presser foot should be up -- it releases the tension on the disks so the thread lays in properly.

I used my mothers 1968 White when i started quilting, (never had any issues), a few years later I have a Janome 7700, a Singer Quintet, an old Brother embroidery, an old little Brother (belonged to my sister) a Bernete Bernina small machine and a 30 year old Singer....all of which i have become a 'service repairman ' on these..,the most expensive of the lot is the one I use all the time but let it get a small amount of lint build up in the bobbin area and it will NOT sew...nests, knots, gobs of thread build up on the back side of the material...take yours to a repair shop and and let them check it out...you may have a machine that is picky

thank you! I was surprised at how many posts it took for that to be corrected!

Up. Always up. Just like it's hard to get into your car without first opening the door, the thread can't get into the tension disks without the presser foot up to release the tension on the disks to make room for it.

This is true but not always. If my bobbin thread slips out of the bobbin case slot the bottom thread is a mess.

You ARE crazy if you're thinking about tossing this machine because of bobbin problems! That is a great machine and given a chance will sew circles around your old Kenmore. Given a chance you will be very pleased with it. Sort of sounds like me and my first "stupid computer". It just wouldn't do anything right. I couldn't figure out why it was doing what it was doing, either. Of course, in the end, it was "operator error". Please have it looked at first and get a brief lesson on how to operate it. If, in the end, you decide to shoot at it, please put it up for sale somewhere near me!!!

I am not getting rid of the machine I was just really frustrated. The Bernina store suggested I take a one day class to learn all of the functions on the machine. The lady at the store was very helpful and kind and I felt so much better when I left. I am just relieved to know that it was all my fault and not something wrong with the machine.

The machine holds so many memories for me because I would take my sewing machine over to my mom's house and we would spend the weekend sewing together, her on her 180 and me on my Kenmore. We would go fabric shopping and I would take her to quilt shows. We had totally different taste on fabric and quilts but that is the great thing about this craft. I was very lucky that I have sew (funny) many memories quilting with my mom - I miss her so much but every time I play in fabric or I am sewing she is right there with me.

From what I have been taught -- if your thread is tangled on the bottom, it is a top thread(ing) problem. Be really sure you are threading it the right way. It could be a small thing. Consult the book about threading. If you don't have the book that goes with the machine, try Google. So sorry you are going through this. I had to give up a NEW machine after having it in the service department several times, because of a top thread issue. I know how you can HATE it.