here a good tip...If you use the thinker cotton for the backing you will need a thicker needle. I had a ton of problems at first...tension, breaking thread, shredding thread...I went to the dealer and he told me its the needle and to use a number 14. Well I went home tried it and it worked like a charm....No problems once I put on a heavier needle. So here I was getting mad at the machine and it was me all along...using the wrong tools...(needle).