Help!!! Thread breaking in Janome 1600P when free motioning.

[Patti P.]

Does anyone have any ideas on how to overcome the problem of the top thread breaking on the Janome 1600P when free motion quilting on a quilt frame? There has to be a solution to this problem.
Would appreciate any help. Cheers, Betty

[Teri L.]

What is your top tension? Try dropping the tension to a lower number, the lower the tension on top the less likely the thread is to break.

Have you tried re-threading? This is usually the first step I try since it's the easiest and most likely to be a culprit.

Is the thread coming off the spool correctly? This is a tough one since I'm not entirely sure how the machine is threaded. I know when the spool is upright is should spin in a clockwise direction.
Another thing to consider with this question is the thread stacked on the spool or cross wound? If it's cross wound and can be laid on it's side, this is preferred.

Does the spool have a little notch in it? If the spool is older it may have a little notch that the thread may be getting caught on (if it's laying on it's side) and breaking the thread. By the time it gets to the needle it's weak and ready to break.

Do you have the right size needle for the thread you're using? That can and often causes breakage of the top thread.

Teri

[Diana U.]

I feel your pain. I am using the Brother 1500 on a frame and was struggling with thread breakage. Tried lots of different combinations and adjustments. I finally ended up with Aurifil top thread (with an open top type spool), 90 topstitch needle, and using Bottomline in the bobbin. I don't think Bottomline made much difference in thread breaking but I didn't have to change thread as often. Everyone kept telling me to adjust top tension but that didn't really make much difference. I adjusted that till the stitch looked right. It was the needle that really fixed it in combination with the thread, good quality thread on a spool that freely came off the spool. The Mettler thread kept hanging up when it came to the edge of the spool.

I was learning on a couple of charity quilts, one that had some very heavy fabrics in it and still had breakage on seams and intersections. I then set up to quilt on a flannel quilt. Back to breakage but moved to a 100 needle (feels like a nail) and that seems to have solved it. Also, I have to slow down for pointy quilting patterns/

Hope that helps. Ask for clarification if it doesn't. It was very frustrating... almost took the whole set up back to the store.

Diana

[Diana U.]

I have the 1600P on a Grace frame, and I will get thread breakage when the thread is not coming off the spool or cone freely. Also, I am a bit bumbly fingers at times and will drop my bobbin case. When it hits the concrete floor, it will get a little dent, and that can change how the bobbin thread unwinds and cause breakage of your upper thread. I have had to replace that case several times!

Maggie in E. Central Illinois

[Cheryl K.]

TQS most recent show highlighted a very methodical way to determine the reason behind thread breaking. If you haven't seen show #406 with David Taylor, you might want to check it out.

Good luck!

[Cheryl K.]

I just finished a quilt that is to be a wedding gift and I had a nightmare of a time with my thread. I did everything possible, including sticking the spool into the freezer for 2 days. Finally someone told me to check the thread, and low and behold, I could see the thread had thin and thick lumpy sections, and it's not a cheap thread. Some of the sections were so thin, and were almost unravelling on the spool! So I emailed the company to complain about it. What are you supposed to do when you have 3/4 of the quilt done and the thread starts to break every few inches. I know that if you have a 2nd spool you can try it to see if your spool of thread is bad, but I bought the only one she had in that shade.