I bought a Bernette 82 over a year ago and I hate it. I had a cheap Kenmore that cost me $100 and it could sew circles around the Bernette. Once I finish this quilt this thing is going to the repairman and if he can't fix it is going in the trash.

Anyway this is my dilema, I got a good portion of my quilt quilted when I looked on the back and the bobbin was making some of the stitches with large loops on the backend. My only solution is to

1. Rip it all out and start again (on this quilt my seam ripper and I are on a first name basis so I really don't want to do it but I will if I have to and there is no guarantee that it won't happen again.

2. Stitch by and all those loops down by hand so you can see them

3. Glue them down but I don't know what kind of fabric glue to use.

Please help

Sorry, but the seam ripper is the way to go... Been there done that:< If you adjust the tension your machine may not be too bad.

The problem with doing it all over again is the bobbin and tension on this machine. I have had problem from day one and it is a complete hit or miss if it will stitch correctly on any level. No matter how well you spool your bobbin or thread your machine I usually have to re-thread my machine more than once in order to get the tension to work correctly. It isn't the settings on the machine it is soley the machine and how it feeds the thread.

I'd rip out the mess and either hand stitch it or wait until I got a different machine.

Don't make a bad situation worse... Rip It!

i agree rip it out and while you are doing that take that thing to the doctor or trade it in take it where you bought it and tell them take it back or fix it
thats what i did and the machine is the best its ever been now.
no one should have to fight with a machine you have enough to work with that is just wasting your quilting time.

meme
ok i feel better now lol

Ok, I am spending my Saturday ripping it out. My interm solution is to use my mom's sewing machine. She died about a year and half ago and dad gave me her machine but I have felt weird using it - I know silly but it was her machine.

Anyway it is a Bernina Artisian 180 and I just tried it out. OMG what a difference it is such a smooth machine and even without a walkingfoot it could take all three layer beautifully. I will finish the quilt with my mom's machine and take the beast in next week if they can't fix it then it is gone.

Don't feel weird using your mom's machine, I'm sure she is looking down on you wondering why on earth you hadn't thought of it sooner :)

when threading your machine you may have missed a tension spot so the thread is loose on the bottom. Try rethreading your machine and sew on a sample piece of cloth first to make sure your tension is good. It may be time for a tuneup on your machine!

I have a wonderful Bernina that I cherish, but I would never buy a Bernette! The quality is simply not there. You can spend the same amount of money and get a much better machine in a Sears Kenmore or Janome.

You will love your Mom's Bernina!

You might want to spray starch the backing fabric before machine quilting again; it really helps with preventing puckers, especially if you are not using a walking foot. No need to iron, since the quilt is already layered. You can just spray lightly, let it dry, spray one or two more times, and be ready for quilting.

All ripped out it went much faster than I thought it would. The first pass of cross hatching is done and after a break I will do the second pass. It is a lap size quilt at least I wasn't working on my usual mammoth quilt that I make. I am hoping to be just working on sewing the binding by hand tonight.

I called the lqs to find out how much a Bernina walking foot cost and it was $180 FAINT!!!!!. I guess I won't be buying that foot anytime soon. My mom did buy quite a few feet so I do have a wide variety.

I'm glad you decided to rip it out and start over. I'm sure mom is saying "I'm so glad she is using it "

Can you look for a universal walking foot? Any Bernina owners know?

You probably need to get the Bernina foot because the 180 has 9mm wide feed dogs. I have a 180 and I love it. I feel pretty sure your mom would want you to use and enjoy her machine.

I do have a Bernina and other feet just don't work. Re the Bernette machine...I have been told they are not made by Bernina. That's why the quality is not the same. I guess somebody just jumped in on the name and provided a low end machine. If there is any way you can become the owner of your Mom's machine, you'll never regret owning it. It's a wonderful machine and can do soooooooo much.
I just know your Mom would love knowing you are using and enjoying it.

I finished quilting and ready to put the binding on. I took a two hour nap today so I got behind but oh well. I am so impressed with the 180 I cannot believe how smooth and quiet it is. It even beeps at you when you bobbin thread gets low. I never had a machine that winds a bobbin so fast and even. I know my mom paid a pretty penny for it but I now understand why she loved it so much.

I don't think I am even going to bother to take the Bernette in. The Bernette has the Bernia name on it so I thought it would be a good reliable machine but I was wrong.

take it in!!! you never know if you will need a back up when the good one has to go in for cleaning i have two jan's memory crafts one is a combo and i can use it when i have a sewing buddy or one need cleaning or if the one is doing a design and i need to sew something else you never know.
but reading your reaction to your new machine i think i am going to look at that brand next time i upgrade.
good luck and enjoy your mom's gift to u

mema

you avatar is absolute adorable...wheres the baby????

I'm so glad you've had success using your mom's machine. Now take that troubled machine for a visit to the machine doctor. It may just be that the bobbin's not sitting in there properly or some simple things such as that. It would make a good spare.

I, too, was going to buy a Bernette. I have owned Berninas since 1976 and love them but wanted a cheaper machine I could take on trips. When I looked at the Bernette I saw that it was made in China. That did it for me. My dog died of kidney failure and, after watching her suffering for the 3 days it took for her to die, I try to stay away from anything made in China. I also did some research on the Internet looking for machines. Nobody had anything good to say about the Bernette. Cannot understand why Bernina would not have a low-cost machine built to their standards.

I'm sorry about your dog. I mean no disrespect, but what does your dog's dying have to do with the Bernette being made in China? I must have missed something earlier. Sorry.

It is so difficult to find things that are NOT made in China. Have you shopped at WalMart lately? It's disgusting.

She was one of the many pets who died a few years ago after eating pet food that contained an additive imported from China that caused renal failure. Just one of many products that people buy believing they can trust the manufacturer but, in fact, even the manufacturer doesn't entirely know what the ingredients are because they import so much without checking. So many products from China have been implicated in products that turn out to be dangerous that I choose not to buy if I can. The latest one is children's bracelets containing cadmium.

If it says made in China it can stay in China as far as I'm concerned. It's getting almost impossible to buy sewing/quilting notions/tools that are not made in China. Disgusting and so very sad.

Berninas are great machines - I have an Artista 155 and I love it. It is 8 years old and has never been serviced except for regular cleaning and maintenance.

Use your mom's Bernina, it's a way of remembering her doing something you love, and she would be pleased.

one more thing you might want to check is the needle---try putting a new one in and see if that helps.
Also make sure your thread is going through the notch for the tension. Sometimes it is easy to miss that.

My machine did the same thing and it was an EASY fix, I had the bobbin in the bobin holder wrong. Take out your bobbin and flip it or just make sure it feeds the correct way and that should solve your problem. I know your frustration but when I did it I was thrilled to find it was an easy fix without costing me $80 for a overhaul at the sewing machine hospital.

All of your suggestions I have tried and tried and tried that is why it is so frustrating to use that machine. I am taking it in this weekend to the man that serviced my mom's machine. He is going to take a look at it and if he can't fix it then it is gone. I don't want to fight with my machine everytime I sit down to use it. I just about broke out in tears when I used my mom's and the tension was beautiful and stitches were straight and aligned without a battle.

[You might want to spray starch the backing fabric before machine quilting again; it really helps with preventing puckers, especially if you are not using a walking foot. No need to iron, since the quilt is already layered. You can just spray lightly, let it dry, spray one or two more times, and be ready for quilting.[/quote]

Thanks for this tip. I'll have to try that.

Good for you...when I saw the 'glue' idea, as a quilting teacher I almost fainted, as that would have been a disaster. I have a Janome 10000 that I love and have even used less expensive Janomes successfully. One of the reasons I bought Janome is that buying the extra feet is very reasonable.
I think it was definitely the bobbin tension. I've had almost every machine and a Bernina for years which I loved, but never owned a Bernette. However, if you're using a Bernina Artista, that's a beaut, too.
Good luck -- remember in quilting "glue" is a 4-letter word!

I've never done that, as I always use a walking foot. However, I always do spray starch the top of the quilting before I start stitching. Never thought about spraying the backing - hmm, worth a try! Thanks.

Get a pfaff. they are the best ever!!

i have had that kind of problem with other machines untill i learned to clean the bobin area after ever project if i forget my machine lets me know i have loops in the bobin sewing also you might check to make shure your maching is treaded right this can cause these problems it would also help to get a walking foot somtimes if i try to do things with a heaver fabric i have to use my walking foot or i get loops because the top is not going trough at the same time as this bottom i hope this helps good luck

some on had mentioned bottom thread 'looping' in another chain recently... there was mention that the problem was the bobbin she was using wasn't the correct size, causing the thread to come off the bobbin too quickly, no matter what you did to the tension.... I had a singer that I loved for years, then after I had it tuned up I had a never ending problem with this, I wish I had thought of changing the bobbin type, or brand before I got rid of the machine... try that, what's the worst that can happen? oh, yeah, I agree with everyone else, rip them out and redo them. Good luck.

I agree, take them out.

Look on ebay...
You will get a better deal on that foot.
Judi

Our Bernina center has what they call 20/20.
We pay $20 at the beginning of the year or even now if we haven't already signed up. With that card we can get 20% off most anything in store any time of the year. I ended up paying $139.99 for a $174.99 walking foot plus tax.
Today I got a $103.99 buttonhole foot for $83.14 plus tax.
It really pays off. If we go to special classes and we have it we get 25% off. Being that I recently bought a new Bernina not the cheaper Bernette my card has paid for itself. I didn't get 20% off my machine ( it was on sale) but the attachments that I bought that day, I did. So ask your dealer if they have that or it might be just our local one who came up with it. My first Bernina I had for 16 years and the owner of shop knows that I quilt so she made sure I got another decent one.
Good luck with your mothers. Sometimes it only takes once to sit and use something of a loved ones. She is looking down on you and telling you to enjoy it. If you don't understand something on it, your dealer will help.

Sounds like you have a thread caught somewhere in the path of either the top threading or the bobbin. I'd check it out closer, clean with a brush cause lint in the bobbin area will cause that too.

i am glad you are all straightened out now and i was going to agree with everyone else ripping is the way to go and get the machine fixed so when you sew on it the next time it wont be so frustrating

Sell the Bernette and take the money you get from it and buy that walking foot for your mom's machine. I feel closer to my mom (who is in Heaven) when I am using something of hers. She is smiling down on you when you are sewing on her machine. You are very fortunate that your dad gave it to you. I'm sure she approved of it or he would not have given it to you. Use it and be happy!!

I love that idea...it never occurred to me to starch without ironing!

suzy There is a web site that has cheaper prices on feet including a Bernina. I think it is called www.BestBuy.com I found it on this site . Good luck Use your mother`s machine she is shinning down on you and very happy you are enjoying her machine Janey