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I have a Singer Quantum XL100 and have tried to do some FMQ on it but keep breaking needles. I talked to someone at the local quilt store and they said I was moving fabric to fast and to slow down my needle speed. Have made practice blocks and tried what they suggested but am still breaking needles. I would really like to conquer this to be able to do at least some stippling. Any one have any other suggestion. Thanks Janet
I know that when I slow down, my stitches get farther apart, so it is better to use a higher speed to avoid that. I have had tension problems, but not needle ot thread breakage issues. Something is flexing to break the needle, but I have no idea what could be the causing that. We have a lot of technically minded and really experienced FMQuilters on this forum. All I can say to you is I hope you find out how to solve your problem, hopefully one of them can help.
Hang in there! I know how frustrating it is when you want to complete a project and the mechanical part of the equation isn't working as it should be.
This is just a wild guess. My foot has an adjustment screw that lets it go closer or farther away from the fabric. Could the fabric be held too loosly and is flopping around? I don't know if all FMQ/darning feet have that kind of adjustment. Just a suggestion.
your fabric movement is faster than the needle causing the needle to strike the plate because it is still in the fabric as you are moving it. I have had the same problem.
a while back i had the chance to watch someone closely while she FMQ. I noticed she moved the fabric slow while the needle went fast. I was trying to do both fast with iffy results. Once i slowed my movement down and kept my shoulders relaxed I did much better. I also lowered my sewing table just a bit so I didn't scrunch up my shoulders. worked much better.
also make sure the thread isn't hanging up on the spool anywhere. I have taken a knife or file to smooth any burrs i find on my spool
Yeah, my first thought was that you were moving your fabric too fast, but then I remembered the last time I took my machine in for a professional cleaning and I got into a conversation with the owner. He said that using a needle too small would cause it to break. If you have any, you might just try the next size up and see how it does for you.
Also, if moving the fabric too fast is the problem, remember that you can slow down the needle and slow down how fast you move it. It just takes practice at gaining control. I do a lot of FMQing on my Singer and I don't go very fast because when I do, it gets away from me and doesn't come out as smooth as I'd like it.
I said in a different post today that I think I find myself going faster than I should and when my movement of my fabric gets in rhythm with the speed of my machine I do much better. It really does take practice, lots of practice. Once you find your "sweet spot" you know it, and it becomes easier and just flows along....
I hope you figure this out, because for me..this is one of the most fun parts of the quilt making process!
Jean- why would you have tension problems when FMQ? When I took my FMQ class, I was told that there isn't ANY tension once the feed dogs are dropped. Just curious. . . .Quote:
Originally Posted by Jean Sewing Machine
And I agree, you are moving your fabric to fast. I slow my machine down and move my fabric slowly until I am in my groove and then I can speed up the machine. If you are getting too big of stitches when your machine is going slow, you are moving your fabric too fast.
Everything I have read and understand about FMQ, which by the way I am still learning, says that when you have issues on the back of your sandwich it is caused by tension being to tight or loose.Quote:
Originally Posted by Auntpiggylpn
I found this site - might shine a little light on the tension issue http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.c...-or-speed.htmlQuote:
Originally Posted by auntiemern
I don't know why tension was an issue. The first time I tried to FMQ on a regular size quilt it was a disaster, I had loopies all over rhe place, and the machine wouldn't form stitches. It was wierd, because on my practice piece, using the same set up and fabric and batting style, it worked fine. In the YouTube tutorial, Hillary suggested that if you have an auto tension setting on your machine, you should take it off, adjust it manually, and when I did that, I had no problems.Quote:
Originally Posted by Auntpiggylpn
Tension would still be an issue, wouldn't it? You engage tension control when you lower the presser foot, and my machine won't sew with the presser foot up. Eyelashes on bottom or top are caused by tension imbalance. That's what I understand. I'm just learning the ins and outs of FMQing.
I am trying to get my "groove" going when I do my FMQing. I find for me, letting the machine run faster rather than slower fits my groove. I guess it is all a matter of personal preference and style. We're all learning every time we work on a new project. Love all the great ideas and advice from experienced quilters on this site.
Thank for all the suggestions and words of encouragement. My stitches were long when I slowed down my needle speed and I think I might have started moving the material faster also thus catching the needle. Will keep practicing. The web site suggested by Auntpiggyipn was very helpful. Bookmarked it so I can go back and watch more videos. Thanks again for all your help. Hopefully I will succeed but it seems like this may be like patting my head and rubbing my stomach at the same time and I've never been able to do that :)
It seems to me, and I am certainly no expert, that some machines just take to FMQ much more easily than others. I have 2 machines that I regularly sew on. My Juki did FMQ easily the first time I tried it. Not perfect but much much better than my Kenmore/Janome that I use for my piecing, etc. The Juki didn't have the tension issues or the loopies on the back, etc. If you own more than one machine, just do a sample practice piece on one of the others or try out a friend's machine.
If you have the opportunity, get a fellow quilter to try out your machine. The teacher of a class at a local quilt show sat down and adjusted my machine during one of her classes. This was very helpful. She had a bit of a problem with my Kenmore and reset several things. She suggested that I just use the Juki for my FMQ because the Kenmore's tension really had to be adjusted a LOT to get rid of the loops and keep the stitches on top even. I also have to be sure that the K. has thread that it "likes".
What was so frustating for me when I had my first issues, i had everything set up for FMQ, Janome 7700, slidy thing that you put under your quilt to make it easier to move the quilt, what else could I do? I was doing something wrong in my set up, once I fixed that, it went along fine. Scared me off of trying FMQ for months.
If your local quilt shop has a classroom, I'd take the machine up there and show them what you're doing. Then they can tell you exactly what the problem is. I do that all the time with mine.
Read all the post and watched some videos on FMQ and I actually was able to do some stippling without breaking a needle. I used a little larger needle, speed up the needle and slowed down my movement. No loops on the back but some of my stitches were really small, also my thread broke a couple of times. Is one type of thread better for FMQ than another?
Also tried leaving my feed dogs up and decreasing my stitch length to 0, my machine didn't like that. Anyway the needle problem seems to be resolved or at least I have figured out why it was breaking. Just need to keep practicing. Thanks for everyone's input. :)