BSR help

[Karen M.]

I finally tried my BSR on BSR1 and with the foot pedal engaged and wow I feel like it was the easiest thing....it worked great. Thanks you all for your input and ideas. I felt I had all the control I needed and the stitches were very even. It still wants to tug a little bit when I stitch over some of the heavily appliqued areas, but I found if I went even slower and held the fabric down very tightly it made it without skipping any stitches. I can't wait to use it again on another project....yippee a new toy to play with and not get too frustrated. Thanks again Karen

[Karen M.]

Problem! Nearing deadline, and all of a sudden I'm running in to BSR trouble. I've used it already on parts of this same quilt without ANY difficulty, and then it goes & starts skipping stitches. I haven't changed threads, did try a new needle, the same size. I've read every post on here and tried all the things mentioned.

I've changed the presser foot pressure but I can't see that's making any difference either way. Reducing the thread tension seemed to help, stopped the skipping, BUT then I've got the top thread showing on the back in a big way... (2 slightly different colors) I think I'd put up with the telltale dots if I had to, but it's SO loose that the bobbin thread can just be pulled right out! Between that & the skipping, I've ripped this quilting out 3 times already, and I'm afraid I'm going to wear out the fabric if I can't get this right!
I made a practice sample out of the same exact fabrics for all this testing, and with the above changes, it seemed ok again. Then I go back to the quilt, the problem comes back.

I also tried shortening the stitch length, but am not very pleased with the look, PLUS it looks quite different from all the other quilting already on the quilt, which was done at 2.0 with no problem. I HAVEN'T tried the really short stitches (1.0-1.5) on the actual quilt, b/c I don't think I'd be able to get them out if it's not right!! :evil:

The ONLY thing I can imagine is different is that I'm now working very near the center of the quilt. Could the weight of the quilt pulling be making this difference? I've got the quilt fully supported behind and to the left of the machine, but my machine is NOT set down in a cabinet, so I've just got the plastic 'shelf' that comes with the machine (440QE) (I'm sure there's a name for that piece, but frustration is turning my mind to mush!) :wink:


So what to do??
RESCUE ME!!

Florence

[Margo C.]

Florence, I don't know if your bobbin case has a little "finger" on it, but if it does, try threading your bobbin thread through it. Sometimes that helps the bottom tension.
So sorry for your frustration....

[Betty J.]

Florence, This is so peculiar. I can't imagine what the problem is if you've tried all the suggestions. What did you set your top tension at? I set mine at 2.5. I don't lower the foot pressure at all. This actually sounds more like a bobbin tension problem than a top tension problem. Maybe your bobbin is having issues.

[Betty J.]

:? the mystery continues. I tried the bobbin finger thing, forgot to mention that. Don't know if I mentioned I'm using BSR1. BUT instead of going on to the other quilt, I stuck with this same one, just went to other sections, nearer the edges. Didn't change a thing, bobbin threads all look fine. Stitch length is good, fairly consistent. I think it's got to be something about being in the center. More quilt shoved under the arm, more in my lap, but I'm certainly doing everything I can think of to keep it from pulling :?
The quilting I've just done, however, is also more open (wine glass) whereas the problem quilting is more curliques, tighter turns. Maybe I'll just have to try that short stitch length, hope it looks ok, 'cause I don't want to have to try to pull THAT out...
Anyway, I'll sleep on it, see if anyone else has an idea, & give that a go tomorrow....
thanks for the support!! 6 days to go...
Florence

[Beth A.]

I have heard that these little bobbin washers help prevent skipped stitches in free motion quilting. They are pretty cheap, and you might give them a try.

They are essentially a paper thin little teflon washer that fits into your bobbin case before you put in the bobbin. It helps prevent friction between the bobbin and bobbin case.

I have one, but haven't used it yet. Give it a whirl. I think they are recommended by Sharon Schamber.

BethMI

[Margo C.]

Tight curves are always the most difficult part to get the tenson right, and I'm thinking that the shorter stitch length will help. Try it on your sample first....with tight curves, and let us know if it's any better.

[Margo C.]

:
The quilting I've just done, however, is also more open (wine glass) Florence

Florence...with all the problems you're having, sounds like you might benefit from opening a *real* wine glass! :lol:

Everyone...thanks for the many tips. I have a 640/BSR, but haven't used it much as I got my midarm machine at about the same time. I will definitely have to revisit it with all these new ideas in hand.

[Margo C.]

Hi
Sorry you are still having problems, but, when you say that the bobbin thread is lying across the back and not pulled up into the quilt, isn't that the top tension too loose???? Could it be that you have the foot down when changing tension, so the thread is not going through the discs properly? I know that sounds simple, but if you are free motioning, the foot tends to be up further than when sewing regular. Anyway, just a thought, only this happened to me when I was free motioning couple of months ago (without the bsr) and I pulled out thread and started again, oh, and changed the bobbin thread to the same one in the top.
Best of luck
Lynn

[Margo C.]

sounds like you might benefit from opening a *real* wine glass!

HA! I didn't have a glass of wine, but the wine glass quilting DID loosen me up some & took away some frustration!! And no calories, no headache! :roll:

Seriously tho', I went back to it today, used the shorter stitch length and it did ok. I'm not thrilled with the look of the shorter stitches, but I AM thrilled to say all that's left to do is whipstitch the binding!

Lyn, you could be right, I was assuming the top tension was too loose b/c I was loosening it up, but the tension threading could have been awry, I guess I won't know b/c I changed the thread for another bit before I went back to this, but at least you've got it on here for the next person (or me another time!) who's having difficulty!!

So, 2 bindings to complete, 4 days. Oh, not to mention that the sewing room has to revert to guest room for MIL, that could be an all-day job unto itself! And I work full-time...Lord give me strength!!

Thanks to all for the solid help & kind words, Y'all are the BEST!

Florence

[Margo C.]

Lynn, does that mean when ever you move the thread through the tension discs, threading up or tensioning, you should have the foot up? I think I read somewhere else on here something similar but it didn't stick. ops: (These techno machines!!! Oh for my first Singer the I could thread with cat hair and leave the dog to use it and the results were perfect every time!!)

I'm glad you've come to an agreeable conclusion Florence. I'm sending you 'In The Groove' vibes to help you finish and clear up afterwards!!

[Margo C.]

yep, the foot definately needs to be up, the tension discs are closed tight when the foot is down so the thread cannot get into them!!! As you will have noticed, if you pull the thread when foot up, it pulls easily, but if you try when it is down, it either breaks or the needle bends if the thread is strong!
Also, I read on this site another tip that might be relevant, that is to run a $1 bill down through the path thread from the take up lever to the bottom, I am guessing that a £5 note will do as well for us brits :lol: . It seems that a lot of lint can build up in there, I ha vent tried it yet as my sewing is guest room at moment as son is visiting from the Falklands so not sewing this week or last!!!!! Anyway, back to the machine, I get loads of lint in the bobbin area, so seems reasonable that it would collect by the tension discs as well.
Hope that helps,
Best wishes
Lynn

[Margo C.]

Finished! Both completed, including labels which I nearly forgot, washed & dried, all that's left is wrapping. Unveiling tomorrow night!! (lucky me, I don't have to shoot pics before I give these, since they'll still be at my house until fall )

Florence

(picture of the "unveiling" on my profile now...)

[Susan B.]

My BSR story:
I learned to free-motion embroider a long time ago by thread painting, but I sure didn’t need the nice even stitches needed for machine quilting. When I got my Bernina 730, I was really excited by the concept of the BSR, but it has taken me a long time to get used to it. (6 months?) Finally, (geez, did I already say this somewhere? I’ve been thinking about posting this for awhile, so I hope I’m not being dementiaish and repeating myself), I went in for a demo on the new 830, because I want to be a part of the drawing for the 820. While I was practicing with the shop’s BSR, (which by the way was tuned up totally wrong tension wise), the shop owner turned the machine speed down. Wow did that make a difference for my control. So, I went home with machine speed at the back of my brain & here’s the set-up I came up with that gave me what I wanted.

Organ embroidery needle size 80
Supreme Slider
Bottomline in the bobbin, with the bobbin sensor turned OFF or it will beep continually and tell me to check the bobbin. This is because of weight of the Bottomline thread is too thin to be read properly by the bobbin sensor. (LQS shop owner info)
Isacord in the top
Machine speed is turned down to 530. This is about half-speed.
I used BSR1 with the foot control (thank you Margo for the suggestion)
Rubber finger tips from rubber gloves
I made no adjustments to the top tension.

I didn’t get any of the jerky starts & stops and am well-pleased with the consistency of the stitches.

I’ve found that the more I stop, the more successful I am. I have to stop & plan where I’m going next…kind of like that dot-to-dot continuous quilting style. The foot control allows me to stop on a dime to plan the next move. I’m going to post some freehand feathers that I think are pretty decent for a real novice. They’ll be in my personal photos…tomorrow, got a meeting tonight.

I’m excited by this. I have piles of practice squares & have been drawing feathers in a sketch book for months. It’s finally paying off. Maybe I’ll be able to turn the machine speed up someday with more practice.

[Susan B.]

PS, I'm using a straight stitch throat plate.