I get my Bernina tuned on a regular basis, and yet am still unable to even attach a binding without skipped stitches. Any ideas out there? Happens whenever I try to sew through more that just fabric (ie batting, fleece, etc)
Does this happen when you are machine quilting (if you machine quilt)? Just with the walking foot or with a free motion foot? Are you going through just one side of the binding or are you sewing the front and back down at the same time? In other words, are you going through
5 layers (binding, binding, quilt top, batting, and back) or 7 layers? This shouldn't make a difference, I'm just curious.Have you changed the needle recently? Sometimes that's all it takes to fix a problem and if you used the same needle through the entire project, it may have gotten bent or have a burr or something - it might be time to change the needle.
What thread are you using? Is it regular sewing thread or a specialty thread? Do you have a needle that is appropriate for the type of thread you are using?
Has this always happened or is it a new development? If you broke a needle, you might have pushed the take-up level out of wack a bit. That is easy for the technician to fix.
You should mention this to your technician.
I had a similar problem with my first Bernina - it would skip stitches when I was free-motion quilting. I knew why - my son had put the machine on zig-zag when I had the straight stitch foot on, so I broke a needle. I took the machine to my technician twice, explained (both times) that the problem only occurred when I was free-motion quilting and not when I was just stitching, and both times they claimed to have fixed the machine, and both times the problem still occurred. So, I took the machine to a different technician and explained the problem to him. When I got the machine back he explained that there were a couple of things that were so very slightly out of spec that they wouldn't usually fix them, but in my case he did - and my machine worked perfectly. It pays to have a technician who will listen.
The other thing you can do is to take your machine and quilt to your Bernina shop and show them what is happening. It's easier to help diagnose a problem if you can actually see what is going on. Call first and make sure there's someone available to help you before you haul everything in to the shop.
-- Teresa in Colorado snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net
What size needle are you using? That's the first place I'd look in this case.
Skipped stitches mean that the needle is not matching up with the hook properly. Assuming there's nothing majorly wrong with your machine (and I'm ruling that out because it doesn't happen most of the time), it means the needle is "deflecting" when it's down in the fabric. That's usually for one of three reasons -- the needle isn't beefy enough for what you're doing, the needle is bent, or you are pulling too much on the fabric, causing the needle to deflect. That last one is common with free motion, but you're using a walking foot.
Whatever size needle you're using, I'd try a couple of sizes up -- if you're using a #80, try a #90 or #100. I've found sometimes the same size, but in a Jeans needle or a top stitching needle works. The shank is a little less flexible, and can help with deflection problems.
Good luck!
Teresa and Kathy both get gold stars and atta boys for those answers. Wow. Couldn't have done better myself - although I "do" know everything and could have done as well. Maybe. On one of my better days. Polly
I'll try other needles. I think I've already done that - but I may not have gone as big as a jeans needle. hhmmm.
I had this problem on my Janome. On advice, I changed to sharps needles and the problem vanished. The sharps made the difference between hammering with a blunt instrument to cutting a swathe through butter with a hot knife.
earthmagic in oz
I echo what Teresa, Kathy, and probably some others have said. Take your machine in to your technician and let him (or her!!!) watch the whole process, not only while they are using the machine but also while YOU are sewing on it.
I am a Bernina technician and in this case I would want to watch the thread as it travels through the machine. I would want to see if there's any deflection of the needle that might cause the hook to not travel through the loop of thread that is formed. I would want to see if perhaps the thread is getting snagged on something that might cause it to not form a big enough loop for the hook to travel through. The more information you can provide (i.e. the exact fabric, needle, thread, bobbin, presser foot, how fast you sew, etc.), the better your technician can serve you and get your machine to perform the way it was designed to. That's what we (the techs) are there for - to make sure that you are happy with your machine's performance.
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