nativetexan

your foot pedal speed will always be faster than you move the quilt. too slow you get tiny stitches. too fast, longer ones. just a good speed that looks like what you want and doesn't pull the fabric against the needle when it is down position. good luck, keep trying.

Chester the bunny

If you have a Janome, there is a purple tip needle that helps with thread breaking and skipping stitches.
https://janomelife.wordpress.com/201...e-tip-needles/

QuiltE

Suggestion .... before you wash your quilt (if I am not too lage) and go any further

........ make a sandwich with your fleece and cotton, but flip it over and FMQ onto the fleece.
It could be that the fleece is not sliding freely enough. The extra weight of the whole quilt creates drag. With the fleece it can create even more drag.

You may want to read more about my fleece FMQ experience ....
http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...g-t239508.html

mlt150

I would suggest a stretch needle. Had the same problem with Minky and the stretch needle helped. I had to do what QUILTE suggests...turning the cotton side down so there is free movement.

DonnaPBradshaw

I would use an embroidery machine needle. It will say Embroidery on the package. I've found these cause me less problems than other needles.

QuiltE

Thanks MLT150 .... good to know that it is just not me!



A hint for anyone, when your quilt will not slip-slide the way you want,
.... spray the machine and table surface with silicone spray, to help get some glide-ability!

BE CAREFUL ... DO NOT spray the floor,
.... or you will discover how slick it is and slip-slide-away yourself!

lrogers

Well, the saga continued all day yesterday while I went through every possible needle-thread-tension combo. I even kept a chart of my results. Still the with same thread shred & break results, so frustrating. I gave up and thought I would give my old Viking Rose a shot at it. She performed beautifully with a topstich needle 90/14 and Gutterman 100% poly. Still, I was miffed (and slightly heart broken) at my Baby Lock Quilters Pro that I just purchased used in the fall was not up to this seemingly simple task. I bought it specifically for FMQ and thought I may have made a huge mistake. My husband suggested typing in the name of the machine along with the problem and voila...this post popped up: https://www.quiltinaday.com/communit...=10899&forum=7. Same machine, same problem she was quilting with a flannel back, mine with fleece. As the post suggests, try a 90/14 embroidery needle as they are tempered to resist bending and the eye is very smooth. So off to another trip to Joanns (50% coupon in hand) for embroidery needles. Back home I decided to rip out some FMQ stitches on (that darn) quilt so I could accurately assess if the new needles were working on the same quilt. FINALLY, SUCCESS!

So the right combination for me on this machine (Baby Lock Quilters Pro) was a Schemtz Embroidery needle 90/14 with Gutterman 100% poly and tension set to about 3.75.

I hope this helps anyone else out there with a similar problem!

"The only way to kill disappointment is to keep trying" - Kim Robinson Stanley, The Shaman

lrogers

I just saw your post...though I came across the embroidery needle suggestion on another board before seeing yours, you were exactly right! I tried it our today and finally had success. Thank you so much!