Tensio question
 

My sewing machine has given me a fit all weekend. I am getting loops on the bottom of my project. I have tried to rewind bobbin, thread machine over, bought new thread and changed needle. I am using size 14 needle and sewing 100 % cotton (4 layers). I Tried to adjust the tension to a higher number and then to a lower one. I managed to get it better but still not right. I am hoping someone here can tell me what else to do/check. It is a Brother SQ9500. While it is an inexpensive machine, I have pieced many tops and quilted 9 quilts on it and I love it.

Have you cleaned you bobbin area to ensure there's no fuzz? Tension has always been a mystery to me. It works one minute but mysteriously changes on it's own. What's up with that? I bought some of those Magic Bobbin Washers and haven't had any problems since...it might be coincidental, but who knows? Good luck!

Loops on the bottom mean a problem in the top thread path. Are you threading with the foot up? Have you missed any of the thread guides?

Maybe a bigger needle? I use a 90 top stitch needle when quilting with King Tut thread.

My sewing machine is doing the same thing. I have loops on the bottom of my fabric. My dealer said there must be thread in the top part of my sewing machine. I have to drive two hours to get to him for him to fix it. :-(

After a thorough cleaning of all lint and even examining your bobbin case really closely to be sure there are no little tiny thread pieces or lint anywhere, making sure all threading is correct and needle new and good I would tighten the main (upper) needle tension bit by bit. Also, this may sound totally dumb, but make sure your presser foot is in the down postition even when free motion quilting. I, ONE TIME, quilted with mine up totally witless as to what was going on on the back side of my quilt...lots of loops and a real waste of thread. Never did that again.

I have a Brother Runway Edition. It was doing the loopy thing. After trying everything else, we unscrewed the cover for the top & found a small piece of thread. Once this was removed, sewing was back to normal. We used a piece of dental floss to find the thread. It was black, which I love to stitch with since I like vibrant, strong quilts, but was basically invisible when it was caught up in the machine.

Good luck!

Take a feather to try and clean or remove any bunnies from down the split that doesn't open up any way . Silly yes but it does work. I used some thread which I forgot had been sitting uncovered for awhile and was covered with dust. It came off as I sewed an stopped in the bit you do up and over into metal thingy me bob.
Hope you understand.