mea12

I have read so many glowing reviews of the BSR but when I use it, i don't see any difference with or without. At one point, I put it on and out-line quilted some smallish designs and thought it was pretty good but then I realized it was not engaged! I tend to get very small stitches when trying to follow a design line. I have used it in both mode 1 and mode 2 with the same results. I set speed at slow to medium for this. I wonder if the BSR is really meant more for large meander/stipple stitches? I guess I'm wondering if it is me or the device..perhaps it is not working correctly? Is there a way for me to know?

alleyoop1

All I can tell you is that I was having problems with it too and found out it was "OE" (operator error!). I didn't press the BSR button on my machine! When I use it on my machine to do meandering stitches they don't come out uniform, so I've been told to use it in BSR #2 mode. Also, I slow my machine way done to almost as slow as it can go. If your stitches are too close, you are moving too slow - if they are too big, you are moving too quickly. And practice, practice, practice! Hope this helps!

SuzieQuilts

You will have more control if you have it in Mode 2, which you have to set each time you turn on the machine. You will know it is in mode 2 as the machine will not stich untill you start moving the fabric. My suggestion is to stop what you are doing and sit down and read the manual again on where it talks about the BSR I find when I am frustrated with something on my new Berniana, that if I take and read the manual I will usually find one little thing that I was not doing. I have been quilting with a BSR for years, and I would be lost without it. Good luck

Tartan

When you get your machine all set up and press the BSR 1, did the red light come on under the BSR foot?(I can't get used to BSR 2) If the light doesn't come on, it is not working. The BSR is made to work when it reads the fabric moving under it. I set mine on a medium speed and find that I still need to use my FMQ skills to get a good consistant stitch. Mine does prevent the micro stitches I used to get with FMQ which was what I wanted. I still get the occasional bigger stitch which I fix by hand. It might also be helpful if the bell is engaged on your machine for a while that tells you when you are not moving the fabric so it can read it. My dealer turned mine off for me because I find it too distracting.
With all that being said, I find it more difficult to try to follow a stitching pattern or applique shape rather than FMQ stipple or meandering.

An Arm Long

Yes, as Tartan said, the BSR is designed to read the fabric as it moves. I found that when I used the clear foot attachment it would slowly get covered with lint and that the BSR could not read the fabric. I had to keep it dusted if I used that attachment.

mea12

Ok, maybe i just expected too much from the BSR bc i thought the one thing it did was to keep the stitch length consistent no matter how fast or slow you move the fabric. The first time I used it, i had not touched the BSR button but now I know to do that. Mode 2 is ok but it is harder to tie off...i feel more comfortable with mode 1. I wondered if it needed to be calibrated or some other thing done before it would work but it sounds like I may need to just try it on larger open areas vs small intricate shapes. I played with it quite a lot and was actually thinking of selling it but I will give it yet another go because so many people say they would not be without it. What am I missing! Tartan, I didn't know about the bell. I will turn mine on to see if it helps somehow. I bought my machine from a dealer closing and got no lessons not even a demo but the price made up for both.