bottom thread comes up to top on FMQ...advice?

I am trying to FMQ meander stitch a quilt....top is pieced 100% cotton and thin 80/20 batting and the back is 100% polyester fleece. I have done this in the past with no problem, but... now a problem.
As I test my stitching and movements and all on a sandwich of cotton/batting/cotton...my stitches are perfect. However, if I do the same with the actual quilt..the bottom thread comes up. I am using 100% poly Connecting Thread thread. Light blue on top, red on bottom. In the past, again....if have not had the problem of the bottom (red) coming to the top. And I don't have that problem on the practice sandwich. But on the quilt..red thread comes up to the top. I have fiddle with tension and speed... but nothing helps. Seems the issue is with the fleece as no red comes up with all cotton fabrics.
Any ideas what to do to make the red thread stay on the bottom and not come up with the top thread...apparently when using fleece on the back?

loosen tension on top . if it isn't real bad, just little tick marks of red, it will probably sink into the quilt when washed and disappear

I would make a practice sandwich using the same materials as your quilt. The tension will be different with different fabrics. Then it sounds like the tension needs to be lowered. This is the advice the fmq instructor told us yesterday. Good luck.

I just made a sandwich with the actual fleece, batting and cotton top.....worked perfectly fine! Tried the quilt...red comes to top. Loosened top tension...no change. Made sure no stress on the quilt...all as loose as possible etc... and still the bottom thread came up. I went fast, slow, medium. Loose tension, automatic set tension.....I dont' get it.

This sounds so frustrating and I don't have a fix for the problem. Seems like you've done all the right things. Doloris' ideas made the most sense to me.

Hmmmm.....is your fleece considered knit weave? If it is you may consider changing to a ball point needle. Sometimes when you sew knit fabrics with the wrong needle this tension problem happens. I hope this helps!

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Originally Posted by Deegles

Hmmmm.....is your fleece considered knit weave? If it is you may consider changing to a ball point needle. Sometimes when you sew knit fabrics with the wrong needle this tension problem happens. I hope this helps!

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Deegles...now that I don't know. It is a Disney copyright fleece of Mickey Mouse..and when I bought it I noticed it was thinner and stretchier than the usual fleece I buy. WOuld that mean it is knit? I don't like it as much as I like the Joann's brand...but it is a baby shower gift for a family member, I wanted to do something special for her and bring the magic of disney to the child and I wanted it to be soft and cuddly so I splurged on a name brand instead of the Joann's brand. I will get a ball point needle and give it a try. I really don't want white on the back and if the stitches are uneven, with the bottom on the top...I am afraid that would be weak stitches and it might effect the longevity of the quilt. Thanks for the suggestion

Problem solved..and you aren't going to believe this. Who'd a thunk it!?!?!?!?!?

So I tried everything mentioned above and still...the red came through the top. So I decided that I'd put a neutral bobbin in and just let it show on the back as it..hopefully the fleece pile would cover it enough (since the back is all red but for medium size face of Mickey Mouse splattered around) So I put neutral thread in the bobbin.. and I always start threads by pulling the bobbin thread up...pulling both threads long so I can tie and hide them when finished. So I am pulling on the top thread to get the bobbin thread pulled up and it wont' come up! I pick and pick, and there it is, but it won't come up. What the heck is wrong with this thing, I am saying to myself. I look closer and it looks all frayed and I'm thinking...great, I've shredded the thread.. just start and deal with that later. So I do... and I am FMQ'ing and Lord have mercy...here's the red thread coming up again in the stitching! Oh come on! Why won't this do right...WAIT... red thread? I am not using red thread anymore. There it light blue in the top and neutral in the bottom....there is no red thread..what the heck????? And then it dawns on me.... it isn't the red bobbin thread that is coming up...it is the tips of the long fleece threads coming up! Everytime the top thread comes up.. it pulls the tips of the fleece pile up with it! That is what I am seeing... the bobbin thread was fine all this time.. it was the tips of the fleece I was seeing! I then thought...that is why when I make a sandwich same as back..it looked fine, no red... because the fleece part I used was the 5 inches on the end where they put all the brand name and words etc... it was white with black letters... NO RED! So if the fleece tips were coming up..they were white and would have blended with the light blue enough to not be seen! Oh good grief, I say.. all this mess over that. So I decided to put the red back in the bobbin and just finish and when done, I'll take a soft doll hair brush from my grand daughters doll bag and brush the back intending to pull the tips back out...then wash and dry and hope that helps pull things to the right sides too. Okay, so I start sewing...holding myself back from the obvious of all that red being OK, when my quilting brain says it isn't and all of a sudden.. theres BLACK coming up! Well, Mickey's ears are black...so..that's the tips of the black fleece pile coming up.. instead of the red! Verifying my conclusion... I completed the stitching in the quilt! I couldn't belive it. Who'd a thunk it! Guess this one is one for the books...
Not to mention, I won't be buying this style of fleece again! I just hope I can get all the tips of the fleece pulled to the back so it looks right!

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Originally Posted by coffeebreak

Problem solved..and you aren't going to believe this. Who'd a thunk it!?!?!?!?!?

So I tried everything mentioned above and still...the red came through the top. So I decided that I'd put a neutral bobbin in and just let it show on the back as it..hopefully the fleece pile would cover it enough (since the back is all red but for medium size face of Mickey Mouse splattered around) So I put neutral thread in the bobbin.. and I always start threads by pulling the bobbin thread up...pulling both threads long so I can tie and hide them when finished. So I am pulling on the top thread to get the bobbin thread pulled up and it wont' come up! I pick and pick, and there it is, but it won't come up. What the heck is wrong with this thing, I am saying to myself. I look closer and it looks all frayed and I'm thinking...great, I've shredded the thread.. just start and deal with that later. So I do... and I am FMQ'ing and Lord have mercy...here's the red thread coming up again in the stitching! Oh come on! Why won't this do right...WAIT... red thread? I am not using red thread anymore. There it light blue in the top and neutral in the bottom....there is no red thread..what the heck????? And then it dawns on me.... it isn't the red bobbin thread that is coming up...it is the tips of the long fleece threads coming up! Everytime the top thread comes up.. it pulls the tips of the fleece pile up with it! That is what I am seeing... the bobbin thread was fine all this time.. it was the tips of the fleece I was seeing! I then thought...that is why when I make a sandwich same as back..it looked fine, no red... because the fleece part I used was the 5 inches on the end where they put all the brand name and words etc... it was white with black letters... NO RED! So if the fleece tips were coming up..they were white and would have blended with the light blue enough to not be seen! Oh good grief, I say.. all this mess over that. So I decided to put the red back in the bobbin and just finish and when done, I'll take a soft doll hair brush from my grand daughters doll bag and brush the back intending to pull the tips back out...then wash and dry and hope that helps pull things to the right sides too. Okay, so I start sewing...holding myself back from the obvious of all that red being OK, when my quilting brain says it isn't and all of a sudden.. theres BLACK coming up! Well, Mickey's ears are black...so..that's the tips of the black fleece pile coming up.. instead of the red! Verifying my conclusion... I completed the stitching in the quilt! I couldn't belive it. Who'd a thunk it! Guess this one is one for the books...
Not to mention, I won't be buying this style of fleece again! I just hope I can get all the tips of the fleece pulled to the back so it looks right!

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Who'd a think?????

Quote:

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Originally Posted by coffeebreak

Problem solved..and you aren't going to believe this. Who'd a thunk it!?!?!?!?!?

So I tried everything mentioned above and still...the red came through the top. So I decided that I'd put a neutral bobbin in and just let it show on the back as it..hopefully the fleece pile would cover it enough (since the back is all red but for medium size face of Mickey Mouse splattered around) So I put neutral thread in the bobbin.. and I always start threads by pulling the bobbin thread up...pulling both threads long so I can tie and hide them when finished. So I am pulling on the top thread to get the bobbin thread pulled up and it wont' come up! I pick and pick, and there it is, but it won't come up. What the heck is wrong with this thing, I am saying to myself. I look closer and it looks all frayed and I'm thinking...great, I've shredded the thread.. just start and deal with that later. So I do... and I am FMQ'ing and Lord have mercy...here's the red thread coming up again in the stitching! Oh come on! Why won't this do right...WAIT... red thread? I am not using red thread anymore. There it light blue in the top and neutral in the bottom....there is no red thread..what the heck????? And then it dawns on me.... it isn't the red bobbin thread that is coming up...it is the tips of the long fleece threads coming up! Everytime the top thread comes up.. it pulls the tips of the fleece pile up with it! That is what I am seeing... the bobbin thread was fine all this time.. it was the tips of the fleece I was seeing! I then thought...that is why when I make a sandwich same as back..it looked fine, no red... because the fleece part I used was the 5 inches on the end where they put all the brand name and words etc... it was white with black letters... NO RED! So if the fleece tips were coming up..they were white and would have blended with the light blue enough to not be seen! Oh good grief, I say.. all this mess over that. So I decided to put the red back in the bobbin and just finish and when done, I'll take a soft doll hair brush from my grand daughters doll bag and brush the back intending to pull the tips back out...then wash and dry and hope that helps pull things to the right sides too. Okay, so I start sewing...holding myself back from the obvious of all that red being OK, when my quilting brain says it isn't and all of a sudden.. theres BLACK coming up! Well, Mickey's ears are black...so..that's the tips of the black fleece pile coming up.. instead of the red! Verifying my conclusion... I completed the stitching in the quilt! I couldn't belive it. Who'd a thunk it! Guess this one is one for the books...
Not to mention, I won't be buying this style of fleece again! I just hope I can get all the tips of the fleece pulled to the back so it looks right!

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Who'd a think?????

I'm glad you were able to figure it out. And I bet when you wash it the first time, those little visiting fibers will return to where they belong.

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Originally Posted by RiverMomm

I'm glad you were able to figure it out. And I bet when you wash it the first time, those little visiting fibers will return to where they belong.

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I hope so Vicky! What a stupid thing to happen! I still can't believe it!

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Originally Posted by Doloris

Who'd a think?????

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I know, right? Just no words!

I am glad you figured it out - it can be very frustrating dealing with tension issues and then when you find out it wasn't even the issue to begin with......it would make you want to start drinking (except that I don't).

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Originally Posted by otisquilts

I am glad you figured it out - it can be very frustrating dealing with tension issues and then when you find out it wasn't even the issue to begin with......it would make you want to start drinking (except that I don't).

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otisquilts..... this "hobby" drives me to drink often.. okay, well, not often, since I dont' drink, but it does make me double up on the ice tea quite often!!!!

Wow! Glad you figured it out.