While these tasks might not apply for every longarm quilting machine, this checklist will remedy most issues we have with bad tension or thread breakage on our Gammills.
- Is the machine threaded correctly?
- Does the height of the back bar need adjusted?
- Is the backing too loose or too tight?
- Pull out the bobbin case. Was it inserted correctly? If not, check remaining and reinsert correctly.
- Is there fuzz or loose thread in the bobbin area? If yes, blow out.
- Is there fuzz or loose thread in the bobbin case? If yes, blow out.
- Use a TOWA tension gauge? If yes, recheck tension.
- Are there loose threads or thread nests underneath. If yes, remove before beginning to quilt again and review your starting and stopping techniques.
- Are you quilting from right to left? If yes, either stop your stitches at the end of each row and begin again at the left, or be sure to quilt more slowly when returning in the leftward direction.