free motion quilting woes

If you are sewing with a regular foot that is your problem, especially
with the feed dogs up!
An embroidery foot or a darning foot will press the fabric down just
at the point when the machine is forming the stitch then it will 'let
it go' for a moment allowing you to move it freely, therefore, free
motion.

oh no, I've taken the foot off, I initially dropped the feed dogs as all the
instructions seem to suggest, but have tried with the feed dogs up as
suggested in one online tip specifically for Janome machines.

What I was saying about the fabric being held down applies to the shank the
foot would be attached to, so it's quite close to where the needle is and
this particular machine it's quite low.

Anne

I still think you need to find a proper quilting foot.

Sewing with no foot is not only dangerous but it can be the root of
your problems as well.
When the machine forms a stitch there are very small tolerances as to
how high the fabric can be above the machine, if the fabric is not
compressed properly or is too lofty the stitch will not form properly.
That is why a darning or quilting foot only compresses that fabric
while the stitch is being formed and lets it go for the rest of the
time.

You need a foot!

Go to www.webofthread.com for "Needles -What the home sewer needs to know"
(thanks to whoever posted this link, some time ago.)
80/12 is simply the size of the needle, and it may be too big for the thread
you are using. Go down to a 75, which will make a smaller hole in the fabric
and fits normal thread.
But you are right, it may just be time for a service!
Roberta in D

"Anne Rogers" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
...

Your bobbin tension is probably OK. If your machine sews a plain straight
stitch with a regular presser foot and gives no problem, then I wouldn't
start tinkering with the bobbin. Lots of times, the problem is user
speed. Most machines perform better if the thread pulls out of the bobbin
case in the "normal" direction. When you free motion, of course, you are
going in all kinds of other directions. Try slowing down in the odd
directions and see if this helps. Replacing the needle more often can
also help, as well as using the needle size best suited to your thread.
I've never used a Janome, so no experience on your machine.

the odd thing is, that after this session of quilting practice, when I
went back to piecing I did get bunching of the bobbin thread underneath
and I have occasionally had that before, for no apparent reason, the
machine isn't misthreaded or anything, rethreading sometimes sorts it out,
sometimes doesn't.

I replaced the needle to do this practicing, 80/12, which as far as I can
tell is the best one, it takes generic needles, so I can't see why it
would need a different size. I've even tried a specific quilting needle.

I rather suspect getting the machine serviced would be a good idea, I'll
have to decide whether to try and find a Janome servicer, or just use the
guy that picks up from the Viking department at JoAnns.

Anne