dohogn3764

I have a question for the quilters with a Mega Quilter or anyone who has had the backing pulling through
the machine before the quilt top. This machine is new to me and I am relatively sure that I have a setting
wrong. I am STD with a walking foot, but the backing is slightly pulled, and unsightly, before the top. I have STD on my other machines and I have not had this problem. If any of you can help, your input would be greatly appreciated. The quilt is for my precious four year granddaughter who loves to help me sew. We love this machine, and we will love it more when we get the kinks ironed out. Thank you so much

PaperPrincess

Does it sew OK without the walking foot? If so, my guess would be the foot is not installed properly. Make sure the little thingy (technical term) that goes over the needle screw is in the right spot. Also, I'm assuming you have a Viking foot and not a generic.

dohogn3764

I do have a Viking foot, and the stitches are fine back and front. It's the backing fabric that is pulling before the
quilt top. I have adjusted the pressure on the walking foot and it seemed to help a lot. It almost seems like the
quilt backing was more than taut when I pinned the layers, or the high loft batting is maybe part of the problem.
I am going to re-pin and see if that helps. Any more suggestions are appreciated. Thank you for your help

Homespun

I have this machine, but use it on a Grace frame and only do free motion with a hopping foot and the feed dogs covered. Hope you figure it out soon.

Tartan

If you are using a high loft batt, increase your stitch length. The feed dogs do use up slightly more fabric then the top so reducing the pressure will help also. If you over stretched the back when pinning, it will contract also.

Prism99

It may be that you stretched the backing fabric when you basted. This is most likely to happen if you tape the backing down when you layer. Basically you just want to smooth the backing fabric so there are no wrinkles. You do not want to stretch the backing in any way because once untaped, it will bounce back to its original size and create the issue you describe.

dohogn3764

I have taken the quilt completely apart and carefully re-pinned. It is still puckering on the bottom (not as bad). I
have lowered the pressure and increased the stitch length. My feed dogs are pulling the fabric through a lot more
than the top. I wonder if I should have put more starch into the backing. I am just brainstorming now because this quilt is kicking my butt. I put pins in about 4 inches apart, and I have done the whole process of quilting many times before and never this
problem. Thanks for your input

Prism99

You can try adding layers of spray starch to the backing to stabilize it more. Lay the quilt out on a large flat sheet, spray with starch, put a fan on to dry, then repeat several times.

Also, I am wondering about the needle. I have had wonky things happen when I have a bad needle. Recently I have found that my machine does better with a microtex (sharp point) needle. I put all of my universal needles away for now. Not sure if this has to do with the specific fabrics I am working with or what.... Anyway, what size and type of needle are you using? And is it a new needle?

dohogn3764

My needle is a new Schmetz 90/14. I did some of the piecing with it. I have another quilt almost ready to start
quilting with a little heavier fabric. I am going to check it out tomorrow and see the result with a brand new
needle. I am about 40 from a fabric store so I will have to pick up a microtex needle over the weekend. I am willing to try anything. Thank you again