Or it might be me... :oops:

I had to oil my machine. It was running really rough. Felt like I was FMQ with a jackhammer. I oiled as the instruction booklet stated to, including the upper part of the machine and the shuttle racer parts.

I think I might have thrown off my tension. Or, I'm just going too fast in my curves. The machine runs smoothly and beautifully now. I wish I would have done this 2 or 3 projects ago.

ETA: This is the BACK of the quilt. Not the front.

Why is my machine doing this:

Since that is the back of the quilt, it looks as if the upper tension is not tight enough. If you have some *unwaxed* dental floss, try flossing between the tension discs in your upper tension. A bit of lint caught in there can cause this type of problem.

First, though, just try tightening the upper tension by 2 numbers or so and see what happens. It may be that oiling changed the tensioning requirements.

Thanks!

I've had this problem before on one or two curves that I have taken too quickly. But never the entire back of a "quilt". I'm glad I practiced first. :)

Thanks!

I've had this problem before on one or two curves that I have taken too quickly. But never the entire back of a "quilt". I'm glad I practiced first. :)

Looks like your tension is off. If the bad stitches show on the bottom, the top tension is off. Re-thread the machine, check that you went through everything right. If the bad stitches show on the top, the bottom tension is messed up. Also change the needle. A dull needle makes a thunking sound as it pierces the fabric.Hope this helps!

Now that's nice. I hate it when I turn it over and it's messed up! Puts me in a bad mood.

i agree looks like the top tension

I was also told that this happens when you turn the corners too fast while FMQing.

I would check your bobbin holder parts, I get this if it is not properly cleaned out of odd pieces of threads. Also check your threading of machine and most importantly, are you using the same thread in your bobbin as your top thread, and putting a new needle in doesn't hurt! I never mess about with my tension unless by mistake I have moved it from the norm, so check all of the above and if all else fails test your tensions on a sample quilt piece.

My quilting teacher always said TNT, Thread; Needle; Tension will solve all quilting problems and she has been proven right 100s of times :-P

Maybe just a bent needle too.