At Fixya.com, our trusted experts are meticulously vetted and possess extensive experience in their respective fields. Backed by a community of knowledgeable professionals, our platform ensures that the solutions provided are thoroughly researched and validated.
Re: How do I avoid breaking a needle on a 26 foot...
#26 is an embroidery foot. Why are you using an embroidery foot for free motion quilting? A #24 free motion embroidery foot will work but not the #26. Try using a darning foot that is just a smidgen shorter so there is space between it and the needleplate for you to freely move the fabric. (Adding a Supreme Slider sheet to the work surface of your machine helps make the fabric glide much smoother.) A standard presser foot is made to press the fabric against the feed dogs so the feed dogs will move the fabric. When free motion quilting, you would drop the feed dogs and move the material with your hands.
Depends which model Bernina you have (new or old style presser feet), which will work on your machine. There are also many generic darning/FMQ feet available that will work on your machine.
It usually takes about 5 minutes to prepare my sewing machine for free motion quilting follow these seven steps 1 Clean and Oil Take apart the bobbin case and use soft paint brush...
The vertical spring action of Quilting foot 29C presses the foot firmly to your project preventing the fabric from flagging and ensuring neat stitch pattern
- If you need clarification, ask it in the comment box above.
- Better answers use proper spelling and grammar.
- Provide details, support with references or personal experience.
Tell us some more! Your answer needs to include more details to help people.You can't post answers that contain an email address.Please enter a valid email address.The email address entered is already associated to an account.Login to postPlease use English characters only.
Tip: The max point reward for answering a question is 15.
The needle will probably zig-zag, but No the machine generally will not sew sideways unless it is stitching embroidery. To sew sideways, you can use a darning foot or free motion foot, lower the feed dogs, and manually move the fabric sideways as it stitches (see free motion quilting).
Ashleigh--Your machine will work satisfactorily ONLY if the presser foot is down. When the presser foot is up, the tension disk is released, therefore, no tension = a big knot of thread.
To free motion quilt, you should drop the feed dogs. Install a darning foot (this foot is shorter in length so when it is lowered, there is a space between the presser foot and needle plate). The space allows the fabric to be moved easily while stitching.
Some sewists will free motion quilt without a presser foot (if they don't have a darning foot), but that is very dangerous as one can easily sew through a finger. However, even when sewing without a presser foot, the presser foot mechanism needs to be lowered in order to properly form stitches.
It is creating "thread nesting" also called birdnesting. Could be several things: 1) make sure before you thread the upper thread, RAISE the presser foot so the thread will seat properly in the tension disks 2) drop your feed dogs before you begin to free motion 3) your free motion quilt foot, when lowered, should not rest on the fabric. (Be sure you are lowering your presser foot when you want to stitch!) You should be able to move the quilt sandwich easily under the presser foot. If the foot applies any pressure to the fabric, you may need to release the presser foot pressure (consult your manual). Or you are using the incorrect presser foot for your machine. 4) If none of the above, you need to tighten the upper tension AND try this method before beginning to free motion stitch:
Quilting with a walking foot is technically (IMHO) not free motion quilting. With a walking foot, the feed dogs are still activated so they can work in conjunction with the walking foot to (hopefully) prevent wrinkles in the fabric sandwich. Quilting with a walking foot is more suited for stitching in straight lines or stitching in the ditch. In this mode, you would not pull or push the fabric as the machine should do that.
FMQ Free Motion Quilting requires the operator to manually move the fabric sandwich under the needle. There are some sewists who do not use a presser foot, however, if you value your fingers, it would be best to use, at a minimum, a darning foot. Darning feet and free motion quilting feet are shorter than a regular presser foot so it does not make contact with the feed dogs or the needle plate. The space between the needle plate and darning foot is what allows a sewist to maneuver the fabric. Usually, the feed dogs are lowered when performing FMQ, but there are some sewists who don't. It's probably a matter of preference.
Most older sewing machines included a darning foot in the accessory kit. Newer sewing machines may have several presser foot options for FMQ. In addition, there are many FMQ presser feet available on the market that can be ordered to fit your specific machine, ie Big Foot. Nancy Notions Trusted by sewing enthusiasts for more than 3 decades
There are a wide variety of FMQ presser feet, some have springs so they "hop" on the fabric, some are metal, others are clear plastic, some are full circles, others are not round or may be open toe. There are also special presser feet that have a thicker base made for FMQ with rulers--the thicker base helps prevent the ruler from slipping under the presser foot and being struck by the needle.
In addition to the multitude of FMQ presser foot choices, there are a variety of other tools available, ie quilting gloves, quilting hoops, marking tools, pattern transfer supplies, silicone mat that covers the sewing machine surface making it easier to glide the fabric. Amazon com Queen Size Supreme Slider Free Motion Machine Quilting Mat...
There are tons of tutorials for FMQ. Just as there are many different methods, the right method is the one that works best for you. There are also lots of rules, but rules are made to be broken, so don't let someone else squelch your creativity. Quilt to please yourself.
Above all, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. I have a small whiteboard that I practice drawing designs. Muscle memory will make FMQ easier. There is also the need to get a comfortable sewing speed along with the speed at which you move the fabric. If you are breaking needles, your fabric movement is probably too fast for the sewing speed. Also, practice moving the fabric while keeping the sewing speed consistent.
Good luck! Remember, those awesome FMQers didn't learn it overnight. Many have been doing it for over 20 years, so don't be overly critical of yourself. You'll see improvement with every project you complete.
Which model are you using? Creative 4.5?, On the newer machines it drops automatically once the embroidery attachment is hooked up. On older Creatives v2.x there is a slide lever in front of the presser foot on the front.
Make sure your are lowering the pressure foot first before you start sewing. With the free motion foot, you still have to lower the pressure foot, this allows tension to be put on the top thread and allows the foot to work properly (when the needle goes down so should the foot and when the needle comes up it should lift the foot up.)
Also make sure your tensions are in a middle setting and that you are threading the machine with the pressure foot up.
The way to insure you will not get your problem is with the foot up, you should be able to pull the thread easily right before the eye of the needle and when you put the foot down you should then feel a fair bit of tension on the top thread.
Might be that you need to lower the tensions quite a bit, you'll have to juggle with top and bottom tensions though, and experiment for just this operation with the Sensormatic.
You're absolutely correct, you'll need to either drop the feed dogs (lever generally located near the bobbin case or on the outside base of machine) or cover the feed dogs with a plate (many machines have this included).
Then... you'll need to lower the presser foot - when you lower it, it should NOT touch the bed of the machine but sit slightly raised off the fabric surface. As you stitch the presser foot will lower onto the fabric to hold it taught as the needle penetrates.
Oddly enough it's easier to achieve smooth stitches when sewing at a faster speed, but begin by stitching fairly slowly until you get a feel for free-motion stitching. You'll be doing all the guiding and it may feel a bit strange and uncontrolled at first.
Position yourself at your machine so that when your hands on your fabric/bed of machine, your shoulders are relaxed (not all hunched up) and your elbows are slightly higher than the bed of the machine.
You'll want to stitch in a side-to-side or back and forth motion (as opposed to trying to turn the fabric.
Best of luck with this technique. Once you're comfortable with it, you're sure to enjoy the freedom of creating!
The Designer 1 usually has a very nice free motion stitch using the V1 stitch. It should pull only slightly to the rear so that no bobbin thread shows while doing free motion embroidery. Upper tension may be increased for balanced stitch when stippling. If your machine doesn't sew with the regular stitches with the teeth up, and it's properly threaded, the thread must be dragging on the bobbin case somewhere. First get the machine sewing a straight line, then try V1 again.
×