arguing with my Bernina 830 and wonderful Sashiko

[Betty J.]

I am currently making myself a quilted jacket to take with me to quilt shows. It's coming out really nice so far and I love the machine Sashiko stitching my new Bernina 830 LE is doing. It's wonderful. I found that the stretch straight stitch makes with a light 40 wt. embroidery thread on top and Superior Bottom Line in black in the bobbin makes a fabulous straight Sashiko stitch. Then there is the Sahshiko designs that came with the machine, which are gorgeous.

But then I put in a strip of beautiful flower border print with teal and blue flowers on a black background. I tried to use Superior Black monofillament to quilt it. "Gibbs" (my name for my new machine as part of Willcox...the serger...and Gibbs...his partner...these were a couple of guys who made some major advances in sewing--particularly overcaster--technology and I believe that Willcox and Gibbs are still in business) decided he wasn't nohow noway going to see or even acknowledge that thread was even there. :shock:

No it's not there! He said. :evil: So I turned off the thread sensor and thought it would work ok. Nope! He would not sew. :roll: He would go through the motions of sewing, but he would not make a stitch between the bobbin thread the top thread. I rethreaded a number of times and put the bobbin in a number of times. It just wouldn't. Concerned, thinking something had happened to Gibbs, I put in some black silk thread instead, and away we went. It sewed it happily and so I used that to quilt that part of the jacket. :lol: :lol:

Gibbs won the argument, and my jacket is still coming out beautifully, but way in the back of my mind a little jingle said I had heard when I went to the classes that they told us it would not sew with black monofillament. So I guess i"ll have to use Betsy, my dear old Bernina 1230 if I simply must use black monofill. I haven't yet tried the white or clear or whatever you call it monofill.

Anyone else have this problem?

[Betty J.]

I don't have an 830 but can venture a guess as why Gibbs won't sew with the Black Monofilament.

Since it won't make a stitch at all, that means the top thread and bobbin thread are not meeting up to make the loop that makes the stitch. I think it's because the mono is so very fine, that either the loop it makes is too tiny for the hook to catch or that the timing is not set right. The hook must be able to catch the loop and if the thread is too far away from the hook it can't do that. Since the mono is so thin, it might not be close enough for the hook to grab.

I would just use your alternate machine and not bother doing anything about this. You don't want to try to change the timing when it's sewing fine with all other threads.

[Hannelore N.]

If I want to use some 'weird' thread that the all-singing, all-dancing machines may object to, I get out my ancient Frister & Rossman Cub4. It'll sew with anything. The moment you have a computer involved the machines sometimes think they are a 'diva'.

[Betty J.]

yes, I think you are both right. The answer is to sew it on my older machine. Another reason to keep Betsy in good working order.

[Cheryl K.]

My time on my 830 has indeed been short so I can't help you in regards to black mono-poly. But I must ask up I the number of you straight stretch stitch that mimics sashiko.

[Betty J.]

My time on my 830 has indeed been short so I can't help you in regards to black mono-poly. But I must ask up I the number of you straight stretch stitch that mimics sashiko.

Sure...that's basic stitch number 6 just as it's set or slightly longer and remaining set straight. I found you cannot rush it so slide the speed control a little slower and just let the machine do its thing.