quiltingshorttimer

make sure the thread is seated in the tension discs--I've had thread pop loose and had problems with tension. Also, if it's Glide or a trilobal thread, using a netting on the cone may help.

AudreyB

Thank you all for your hints and advice. I will finish picking it out today and will try all of your ideas.

lfletcher

If it's on the bottom, then it's your top tension that needs adjusting. However, I agree that sometimes inconsistent speed causes this.

feline fanatic

Those aren't eyelashes. They are the blobs caused by bobbin backlash. You will notice the majority of them seemed to happen when you are coming to a sharp point and abruptly change directions. Bobbin backlash happens when you change speeds abruptly, like coming to stop then switching directions. Especially when going fairly fast before doing it. It is caused because your bobbin is spinning inside the bobbin case and continues to spin even when the machine is stopped. This results in the excess thread being available in the hook and getting these loops on the back. Bobbin backlash is characterized by a large loop of bobbin thread happening in odd places.

I can't stress enough that this is NOT a tension issue. Especially when you say that it only happens sporadically and the rest of your stitches look good.

Do you have an anti backlash check spring for your bobbin case? Those help alleviate the problem but unless you slow down and are aware when you change directions, it can still happen. Magic Genie bobbin washers also help to alleviate it.

The only product I have ever found that eliminates them completely, aside from being hyper aware of abrupt changes in speed when you are moving the machine head, are magna glide bobbins. The bobbin core has a magnet that stops the bobbin from freely spinning inside the bobbin case.

Macybaby

Does your machine have a cruise setting? I have a lot less problems when I keep mine on about 6%, which means when I stop, the machine keeps stitching slowly. It allows for taking an extra stitch at points and stuff like that.

You mentioned this is happening on the back of the quilt, so I assume the extra white thread is the TOP thread, and not the bobbin. If that is the case, is that caused by backlash? I've had the opposite problem at times, where it's pulling extra bobbin thread up to the top at some of the direction changes when I'm using the robotics.

I just got a TOWA gauge and discovered my favorite bobbins won't pull uniformly. They are the five that came with the machine and they are a bit heaver and have a bit of a curve to the bobbin sides. The ones I picked up afterwards are lighter and very flat, and they pull evenly. So I figure a lot of my sporadic tension problems were do to those bobbins.

Bobbielinks

To me it looks to be the top tension is not consistent. Try cleaning, rethreading, and tightening the top tension.

Lady Diana

Slow down your hand movement or speed up your machine....you are in a hurry, slow down a bit....

maviskw

I would say too, this is not a tension issue. My Two-Spool was giving me some of those loops so I took it to my young-sewing-machine-guy. He thought he had it fixed. Then I took the machine to their store to take a class and the same thing was still happening. He was right there, so he looked at it again.

When you looked at the throat plate, you could almost figure it out. There were numerous scratches in the throat plate, which means someone was sewing a lot with bent needles and breaking them. The needle hole was even larger than normal. The breaking needles caused a burr in the needle hole and some of the metal was actually worn away. The burr was catching the thread every once in a while. I had to have a new throat plate, and now the machine works beautifully with no eyelashes.

Debbrah

Clover makes a tool called the Thread Pic. Works great for burying those unwanted loops.