gah!!! Tension Gremlins in my 440QE....again (sigh)

[Kathryn S.]

I am really stumped about this: I love love love my 440 QE...it's 5 years old now and I do push it really hard. I have not had tension problems until the past few months....we moved cross country (CA to NC), machine was in storage for 6 months while we had our house on the market (goodness...don't want to have anything sitting around that looks like REAL people live in a San Fancisco house! oh no.) Couldn't wait to un-pack it. I do a LOT of free-motion - and I stitch through shellaced matka, linen, etc. before I paint with oils or acrylics, and then stitch again. hmm...maybe that's the problem, but I have done this since day one (floor-cloths, etc.) with no problem.

I am wondering if it was damaged in transit...between moving to short-term storage and then to the moving van for the cross-country trek. I marked the box "FRAGILE - Drop this and I will hurt you!!"

Anyway - the free-motion art work always rocks...and then when I go back to normal quilting, lately i cannot get the top tension right. It looks okay when I stitch through heavy layers of linen and batting, but if i am just piecing lightweight cottons....it's bad. and it doesn't matter how I adjust it. I change needles frequently to fit the thread and the fabric I am using. The bobbin tension always looks great - so I am stumped. I keep re-threading, changing needles, adjusting the pressure dial to compensate for very thin fabrics, etc.

I took it to the local Bernina guru here and when I got it back, the stitches looked good. Then I stitched through a lot of thick fabric, paint, burlap, etc. and now it is wonky again on normal fabric.

I know I am hard on this machine, but I baby it...oil it frequently, clean everything I can reach - like every other day.

Anyone else have this issue? Maybe I should just have a machine dedicated to the art stuff and one to the normal quilting....but I really can't afford that.

Any thoughts? I am very careful to cut the thread mid-point each time and pull the bottom half through the needle and the top half out of the guides (I think Terry White mentioned this in one of her books).

Any help? thoughts? I am using Bottom Line almost exclusively in the bobbin no matter what I do - and lately it is snarling like a doberman. So maybe it's just FUBARed on both ends.??

I know - a lot of detail, but I wanted to point out that I am doing all the good, girl-scout tension stuff.

HELP!!!! I have 9 quilts to sew between now and Christmas!!

[Teri L.]

It's possible that there is a burr in the stitch plate which can be causing all of this.
Teri

[Teri L.]

Thanks, Teri - I've not heard of this before..I will definitely have this checked out. It sounds like something that requires a professional?

Cleta

[Teri L.]

it is something that will require a pro - to smooth it out.

[wendy w.]

Well I smoothed my stitch plate with a metal nail file but I don't know that would cause tension problems, but it would break fine thread :? worth checking everything.

[wendy w.]

So, I figured it out. After over an hour of methodically going through re-threading, changing out the bobbin for a brand new bobbin (factory pre-set so i couldn't have screwed it up), etc. I was thinking it needed another trip to the Bernina guru. And then - I moved the spool of thread..from the vertical post to the horizontal one. voila! really, could it make that much difference??? it did.

yay! not sure why it made such a difference, but that was it. whew!

[Margo C.]

YES! It CAN make that much of a difference! Threads that are "cross wound" on a spool are intended to come off the end of the spool. Long arm machines usually use this type of thread wound on a cone.
Threads that are "stacked" on a spool are intended to come off the side of the spool so that there is not an extra twist in the thread.

Imagine a roll of toilet paper. When pulled off the roll from the side it comes off in a straight sheet. If pulled off the roll from the end, you can see how much twisting and stress it put on the paper! Same with thread. That's why it makes sense to know how to thread your machine according to the type of thread you are using! For more info, check out the great DVD that Dr. Bob is offering to TQS members for a really special price through the end of October 2012! http://daily-blog/104-superior-threa...ping-cost-only

This is a great investment, even if you are too late for the special price!

[Margo C.]

Thanks, Margo! the interesting thing (to me, anyway), is that I've used both kinds of thread on both spindles with no problem...before now. I guess it's just catching up with me. lol.

[Margo C.]

Cleta, we have all gotten away with it many times! But...when there is an issue with tension, this is one of the things we can try to fix the problem. And it's a cheap fix!

[Margo C.]

Cleta, so glad you got it figured out and is working now. Just one more thing to consider, although you might be aware of it. Make sure your preser foot is in the up position when threading the machine. I also have a 440 QE and had to have it stored for a few months. When I started using it again, I couldn't get the tension right for a couple of days. I'd get so frustrated that would just walk away and was ready to take it to the shop, but before, I decide to check the manual and voilà, there it was in the threading instructions. Haven't had a problem ever since. I for sure will keep in mind this information about the vertical or horizontal spool holder. I've ordered the DVD Margo mentions and look forward to all I can learn from it!

[Margo C.]

Margo, that's a relief to know that I am probably not the only one who has done this! And wow - yet another thing I don't think I was aware of: keeping the presser foot down when threading the machine! I think I've read the manual (it's pretty dog-eared...someone has been reading it! lol), but I missed that little tidbit. Holy cow - what else have I missed??

Thanks all of you for the great advice!

Cleta

[Margo C.]

Limbania, are you sure it's supposed to be DOWN??? Many sewing machines need the pressure foot UP when threading! When the foot is down, that engages the tension assembly... and can make the thread not really have room to go in between the tension disks like they are supposed to, because they are being squeezed together by the pressure applied when the foot is down. So it sort of feels like the thread is in there correctly, but it may not be, causing tension issues when sewing. Just wondering...

Cleta, what size needle are you using? Perhaps try a smaller needle for your less dense sewing (like a 9 or 11) and a thicker stronger needle for your art quilting (14 or 16). Also, have you tried changing the presser foot Pressure? On Bernina's that is often a dial on the left side of the head. It regulates how much downward pressure the foot actually applies as the fabric is being fed through the feed dogs. If it's not set correctly for the work at hand, it can mess up the stitches.

I don't know exactly what you mean by this: "I am very careful to cut the thread mid-point each time and pull the bottom half through the needle and the top half out of the guides (I think Terry White mentioned this in one of her books)." Could you clarify please?

You also say: "I am using Bottom Line almost exclusively in the bobbin no matter what I do - and lately it is snarling like a doberman." Do you mean the BL thread is now knotting or bunching or getting stuck and built up IN the bobbin assembly? Or it looks bad on the back of the quilt?

I am guessing that when you sew on the thicker, painted, embellished art quilt parts, that is putting some type of stress on the mechanisms... the bobbin assembly and the tension assembly. Perhaps it's even bending the needle or shifting the angle of the needle bar. Perhaps it needs to go back to the serviceman with examples of the problem. Also sew on those thick and thin fabrics right there in front of him.

Good luck... let us know what it was!

[Margo C.]

I'm thinking that the manual means to thread the NEEDLE with the presser foot in the down position because it makes it easier to see the hole.
Threading the MACHINE should be done with the presser foot up.

2L, I think that she means she doesn't drag the thread backwards through the tension disks to remove it, but clips the thread above the disks and pulls the thread out from below, in the direction it goes when we stitch.

[Margo C.]

Exactly! What Margo said. I do pay very close attention to the needle size depending on fabric, thickness of piece, etc. It totally was having the thread on the wrong spindle. It's working like a dream again. yay!!


Cleta

[Margo C.]

ops: ops: ops: my mistake. I meant to say UP. Thanks for clarifying that Michelle and Margo.
Quote from the manual for threading the upper thread "rise the needle and preser foot". So glad you ladies caught that wrong piece of advice. Will double check next time before posting

I'm also editing that part on the post. Don't want to mislead anybody.