KathyRobin

I read on line today about some problems with tension with the Janome. I hope its just a rare thing and I don't have it.

nstitches4u

I was told by my dealer to use 80/14 for machine quilting (Janome 6600P) and I haven't had a problem. It does take a lot of practice to get the machine speed and hand movement coordinated. Make some quilt sandwiches and practice, practice, practice.

flawhoopi

It is a tension problem, one I had with an old singer treadle. It was frustrating. Turns out it was a missing spring in the tension unit. Once the spring was replaced it kept the correct tension on the thread and that stopped the thread from rapping around the needle. So recheck how you are threading your machine and if you are threading your needle in the proper direction. Hope this helps.

sewplease

Sorry to get off topic, but it's MimiBug's and Peckish's fault, lol! Anyone else here remember the Farkle Family including little Sparkle Farkle from Laugh-In?!

spokanequilter

I have a Janome and use a 80/14 for machine quilting. I was having problems with tension and thread breaking and after I figured out two things it seems to have gotten better. First, I was holding the needle thread, but it was coming off directly from the needle without going under the free motion foot. When I started pulling it under the foot, things were better. The other problem I had (and still have, but I'm working on it) is that I was moving the quilt too fast for the stitching speed. I set a higher stitch speed and slowed down my hands and things are looking up. Who knew there was such a huge learning curve to FMQ??? When you watch Leah Day or someone do it online or in person, it looks easier than it is, that's for sure.

thepolyparrot

I don't understand how a dealer can prescribe a needle size when s/he doesn't even know what size thread you're going to be using. A size 80/12 needle could be disastrous if you were using a 70wt thread like Bottom Line (or smaller) in the needle - nothing but skipped stitches. The same needle used with a 30wt thread or larger could give you a lot of shredded thread and breaking.

Match the needle to the thread you want to use in the needle. Set the tension on your bobbin case for the thread you're using in the bobbin.

Balance the tensions using the normal foot and feed dogs on a practice sandwich of the same weight as your quilt. Make sure that neither the bobbin or the needle thread tension is tight enough to cause puckers. Both threads should twist together inside the sandwich, not loop or lie flat on the top or the bottom.

When you have achieved a good stitch for normal sewing, lower the feed dogs (if you like to and are able), put the free-motion foot on, set the stitch length to "0" and try some FMQ on the practice piece.

Look closely at the stitches. If there are loops on the bottom, the bobbin tension is too tight relative to the needle thread tension. If the loops are tiny, either tighten the needle thread tension a tiny bit or loosen the bobbin a tiny bit. If the loops are bigger, you may need to tighten the needle thread tension considerably more and perhaps loosen the bobbin tension as well. Keep testing until you get a nice stitch.

If there are loops on the top, the needle thread tension is too tight relative to the bobbin thread tension.

You may not have to make any adjustments to the tension at all. Balancing tensions is not nearly as complicated as some dealers want to make it sound. And if ever a dealer told me not to ever touch my bobbin tension, I'm afraid I'd laugh.

Patti25314

I went back to read your original post. Hopefully the new needles will take care of everything since the stitches looked fine before. In addition to the Top Stitch 100, I also use Top Stitch 90/14. But I think the 100 was the size I was told originally. Send me a PM to let me know if this solved the problem because I might miss your post.

craftyneedle

I had a similar problem with the railroading on the back when I tried FMQ. Tried 2 other machines and got same results. A friend told me she increased the top tension about several numbers higher than regular sewing. I finally tried that and -- waahoo! It worked for me. About the shredding thread, maybe the thread is old or the needle has a "burr" on it. Change needles and see how it does.
Good luck.

romanojg

What kind of thread are you using? The needle size matters but so does the thread type. Also, sometimes when thread is miss behaving try taking the spool and sitting it in a cup behind the machine so that it comes off the spool differently. This does help sometimes. Leah Day puts all of her thread in a cup when FMQ because it acts better. Good luck. I agree with the others, you shouldn't have to mess with your tension. Have you checked out Leah Day's website; it's all about FMQ and has great free advice and tutes

By the way, are you also using the same thread in the top and bottom; this is also important.

KathyRobin

Boo Hoo! I took my machine in to the dealer I bought from. The needles I bought yesterday did not solve the problem. I had to leave it. Won't get it back for a week! I'll go in to withdrawals. Lol! Thank goodness it's still under waranntee. (sp) I'll report back next week.