Trouble with Decorative Stitches
 

I am using the Pfaff 4.2 Quilt Expressions various decorative stitches. On my practice piece, which is 2 pieces of cotton together with no batting, the stitches look perfect. On the real quilt, 100% cotton backing and top and Warm n Natural batting, the decorative stitches all run together, overlapping each other and can't be used. Any ideas what's wrong?

The only thing I can think of is that perhaps you need to lengthen your stitch length as you're going through the additional layer of batting. Try a sample with the batting as well and see if that helps?

and maybe loosen tension on presser foot?

Thanks. I will try these suggestions.

I'm not sure about Pfaff, but on my Bernina the manual said to adjust the Balance for certain decorative stitches. I do agree about the longer stitch length, but I've also moved the Balance Dial sometimes & found that helped. Perhaps Pfaff has something similar?

What did you use to put the sandwich together? Spray, elmer's, etc. I used elmers with a little water to thin and found that it left hard spots. When I would do the decorative stitches, they would bunch up. I washed the quilt in the middle of the quilting process (gently in the sink) to remove the glue, and it went better after that. Not sure it was the glue, but it was better after washing. Did not think about the pressure foot adjustment.

Make sure your quilt is fully supported and nothing in the way so
the quilt can move forward. I was quilting a wall-hanging the other day
and was wondering why the stitches got jammed halfway.
Teach me to clear my table first even for small quilts.

You may want to undo the IDT. Sometimes the walking foot does not handle the backwards and sideways movement of the fancy stitches too well. I agree with increasing stitch length as well.

I have found it depends on the actual stitch design you are using. You have better luck using a very open design and one that does not go backwards very much. If the design is too heavy or too dense, the stitches will pile up on top of each other and make a real mess of things. I use a scrap of left over fabric from the quilt with batting to test some stitches out on. I also use the IDT because of the layers needing to stay together. I hope that helps. Just keep testing stitches. You will find some work better than others when using the for quilting. I also use 505 spray to stitch the layers together. They don't slip that way.

Thanks for all the help. I have made a test sandwich with same batting and 505 as the real quilt. I lengthened the stitch, no IDT, and they are good now. But let me tell you, those bad ones in the real quilt were a nightmare to rip out.

I agree with these suggestions. I release the IDT when I quilt.

Are you using the Integrated walking foot?

Glad you asked. We were discussing this same problem at quilt meeting the other day and no one had an answer. I will share about the stitch length.

The total of fabrics together is too thick for the machine to feed properly.

Just wondering. Would decreasing the pressure on the quilt sandwich help? If the fabric appears to be pushing on the top, it could be pressure.

I have the same machine and had the same problem. Yes, try all of these suggestions first, and if that does't work, I had to take mine to the dealer for servicing and after that it worked. I almost always lengthen my decorative stitches though, as they are very dense for quilting. You don't need that many stitches to hold your quilt all together.

What does IDT stand for?

It's diff the presser foot you must lighten it up as much as possible...I've had the same issues and when I do that...all is well

I would say to make the presser foot tension tighter. Adjusting the stitch balance might help. And try using a presser foot that's flat on the bottom (your standard foot), then try a foot with the bottom cut out (embroidery or open toe foot). Sometimes one foot will work better than the other.

Are you using a walking foot? If not, the thickness of the fabric will not feed evenly.

Integrated Dual Feed

IDT- as above, this is essentially a built in walking foot that you just raise or lower according to what you need. Much less cumbersome than a walking foot but serves the same purpose. The manual will tell you if it should be used with decorative stitches or not. Sounds like the OP has figure out her problem.