When I attach the free motion/darning foot the machine won't pick up the bobbin thread. I have cleaned the race and bobbin area well. When I put the regular foot back on and raise the feed dogs again, everything is fine and the lower bobbin is working properly. Can't figure out why when I have the darning foot on (and feed dogs lowered) the lower thread just remains below and is not picked up.
You must lower the presser foot to use the free motion/darning foot.
SOURCE: picking up bobbin thread
First easy thing to check, are you using the correct length needle.
If this is not the problem then somehow the needle bar has moved and the the needle depth is to high or the timing is wrong..
Unless you really know what you are doing then I am afraid a sewing machine tech needs to reset the needle depth and subsequently the timing.
SOURCE: Bobbin thread not picking up
Glad you managed to fix it yourself, in addition to the 250kms I would guess the cost would have been a lot.
SOURCE: Free Motion Sewing - Jams
I don't have a solution, but wanted to remind users of this machine that it does not do the proper free motion action until you reach a certain speed. This information is on page 26 of my manual (older machine, so page no. might have changed with newer manuals). You can stitch at the lower speeds, but it does not "hover" and allow you to move the project swiftly and smoothly.
If you can sew regular sewing without thread/bobbin issues, then it is probably something to do with how you have set/threaded/used the free motion to cause the stoppage. Make sure you have a sharp (i.e. new) needle of the correct size for your thread, that the bobbin thread is the same weight thread as the top thread. Turn on the Needle Down button. There is a Free Motion setting in the Set menu, but I have no idea what it does. I turn it on anyway, just in case! What foot are you using? If you don't have one of the free motion feet (there are quite a few to choose from!) use the embroidery foot (small clear plastic one).
Pam
SOURCE: Free Motion Sewing
You need to set the stitch length to '0', use some stabilizer to help stiffen the material slightly (you can use it to trace your design onto as well) and try using an embroidery hoop this sometimes helps.
When you start you must push the needle down through the material and up again using the machines wheel and pull the bottom thread through from underneath. Do a couple of stitches to fix the thread and then go.
The most important thing to try and get right is the machines tension, this can sometimes be trial and error I am afraid. My machine tension works best on about a '3'.
Good luck!
SOURCE: Bernina Activa 131: Feed Dogs won't come back up
Raise feeddogs with switch, then turn handwheel one full revolution to re-engage the gear......unless something is jammed, that should do it. Do you have your manual ?
Remove yourcurrent presser foot from your sewing machine, and attach the darning foot asyou would any foot. Darning feet look different, depending on the manufacturer,but most will maintain a "C" or "O" shape using eithermetal or clear plastic at their bases.
Drop the feed dogs, or use a cover plate on your machine if feeddogs are not available. If this is not possible, adjust the stitch length ofyour machine to zero or as low as your machine will allow.
Slide your fabric or quilt sandwich into place below the darningfoot. Lower the lever of the darning foot, and hold onto the upper thread withone hand.
Take one complete stitch, and pull up the upper thread to bringthe bobbin thread to the surface. Take multiple stitches in the same place tosecure the threads.
Run the machine as you free-motion sew or quilt your fabric piece,using your fingers to move the fabric instead of the feed dogs, until yourstitching is complete. Replace the darning foot with your preferred presserfoot when finished.
Read more: How to Use aDarning Foot ' eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_5143471_use-darning-foot.html#ixzz1AprkDyhm
Thanks for rating
Good luck
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