blasted walking foot is skipping stitches again

Hi Martha,

I'm not sure this would help you but when my MIL was sewing over rather thick edges (she was a seamstress making men's suits) she would gently 'hammer' the thick spots she had to sew over - but I don't know if this would work for quilting. I have that trouble too and to be honest, it never came to mind until I read your post.

good luck

Adjusting the presser on the foot - maybe it is too high?

-Irene

-------------- You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.=20

--Mae West=20

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Replace the needle again. It just could be that the new one you put in is defective. Maybe your SM would like a different kind of needle? And just for the heck of it, change your spool of thread. FWIW, I tried to quilt with a WOW backing one time that defied every reasonable or outrageous solution. That quilt now belongs to the Yorkie. Polly

Hi Martha - if you are using a size 12 needle - try changing to a size

Lots of good advice already. FWIW -

I realise that this will sound heretical to many, but I press my seam allowances open most of the time. It makes for a more even distribution of seam bulk where pieces meet in a block and for much more even feeding through the machine. A few years ago this was almost unheard of, but I have noticed that more publications have instructions that say press open these days. If you are using good thread and your sewing machine is set up to sew with correct stitch length and tension the seams should not be weakened by presing open. Dress makers have done it for decades lol.

I missed the beginning of the thread, but if you are trying to quilt through a sharp thick "mound" of seam allowances you may not be able to avoid skipping stitches - even if you hand turn the wheel and set each stitch one at a time. The sudden added tension on the thread from being forced through so much fabric prevents the thread from feeding around the bobbin shuttle properly and the stitch is not formed.

I notice that no-one suggested using a 'jeans' needle. I would do that if I a lot of seams to sew over/through. They are extremely sharp and very strong. One other thing I have done, that I didn't see mentioned is *really* helping the machine along by, not only turning the hand wheel instead of the foot pedal, but also lifting the presser foot and easing the whole thing along a fraction. It does slow you down but helps. . In message , Martha writes

The first and last time my machine skipped stitches it was due to the timing being out of whack. The hammer solution sounds less expensive than taking your machine for a good cleaning and checking. ;o) - I would definitely try all the other wonderful suggestions before surrendering your machine.

I was going to suggest using a jeans needle too.

I had problems with free motion quilting recently. Was going nuts trying to adjust the tension, etc, etc. Then I did a trial run on some scrap batting and realized that the problem was not my machine it was trying to quilt over too many layers of fabric. (I had a project with raw edges and there were multiple overlaps in some areas). I ended up sewing v-e-r-y slowly (there was not much to do) because I didn't have a jeans needle available.

I think the problem arises on thick fabric because the needle has a hard time pushing down and can't get far enough to loop around the bobbin thread before it is pulled back up again.

Good luck Allison