Trouble with thread tension on back of quilt
 

I just finished quilting my first quilt. Prior to quilting it I played around with thread tension and found that raising the tension to a 5 (Brother machine) gave the best results on the back of the quilt. It definitely was not smooth and perfect like the front, but it was the best I could get. After washing the quilt the stitches on the back look worse. They got very 'wavy'. Thankfully he stitches on the front look fine! Wondering if this is normal? The quilting is done to mimic a chevron, so it is on the diagonal. I inspected the stitching where my binding is attached on the back, and it looks like it didn't get as wavy. I'm hoping that y'all can give me some suggestions to make my next quilt better! Thanks!

On straight line quilting, I never change the tension on my Brother machine from regular piecing. It looks the same on the front and back. With FMQ, I do sometimes change the tension. It ends up looking the same front and back, too. Well, except for on some curves. I still get a bit weird on the curves, but that is me, not the machine.

you upped the tension? i recently discovered that dropping it made really even stitches. i have no other advice.

aileen

I think I read in my manual that if the stitches on the back are loose to up the tension, but I'll double check!

Also try rethreading your machine. Many times that fixes the problem for me.

That result is definitely not normal. I don't have a Brother, so not sure about settings on that machine. It's true that in general, if stitches on the bottom are loose then you would tighten the upper tension. However, you are saying that you tightened the upper tension and still had a problem with the underneath stitches, right?

For machine quilting, I have found the following video extremely helpful:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1mRhcquZTM
Although the video is about adjusting tension on a longarm machine, the advice works well for domestic machines too. Basically it means loosening the bobbin tension as much as possible first, then adjusting top tension until you get a balanced stitch.

In short, though, the problem you are describing should not be happening. It is likely that there is either something wrong with the balance of your tensions, or something wrong with your machine. Usually the problem is with the tension settings (both bobbin and top).

Edit: Other things to check are (1) that the needle is an appropriate size and type for quilting and (2) that the bobbin is the correct one for the machine, is not distorted, and has been wound properly. Poorly wound bobbins can cause a myriad of problems.

I find that I'm always unhappy with the results if I don't take the time to make it right. If it's just ok when I start, then when I'm done it's not right and I'm sorry I hurried.
That of course doesn't help you fix the problem.
Prism gave you a great answer. I usually find once I clean the machine, change the needle, rethread the machine and have a cup of tea it's working great.
Good luck
Cindy

Thanks for the replies. I don't think it is a threading or bobbin issue because I switched colors throughout the quilting so I was rethreading quite often. What was strange to me was I though that I had the tension looking good but then once I washed it things on the diagonal quilting looked really out of whack while the stitches on the back from the binding (which would be horizontal/vertical) looked fine. I could see it being a needle issue because I used a different needle for the binding than the quilting.