2016 so far has been the year of the missing sewing mojo. But, I think I may have found one reason why I dont want to sew lately. My Janome 8900 has been skipping stitches, which is so frustrating! This problem has been on-going and I have tried using all sorts of new needles, different brands of threads, cleaning the machine, and switching out feet.
This weekend I was determined to quilt up the tops for this year's Hands 2 Help Challenge. It was a frustrating mess of skipped stitches everywhere. It got so bad that I started looking at new machines. I googled the problem and found that the Janome purple tip needles may be the answer.
I spent all day Saturday searching for these needles in different shops and bought the last pack in the 4th shop I searched. Could this new needle really be the answer to all the frustrations?
YES! I started testing the needles first by sewing together a stack of scrappy house blocks with no problems.
Next it was time to quilt. Just simple straight line quilting. So far, so good. Everything was working great, but then came the big test, Could I attach binding without skipped stitches? It seems that this is where there is always a problem with the machine. There are always skipped stitches sewing through multiple layers of fabric no matter what type of needle, thread, or foot that I used.
The binding was sewed on great without any skipped stitches, and I have one finished quilt for the H2H Challenge.
The quilt pattern is Lolly from Tula Pink which I have made many times. It was made with scraps I received last December, when I wished on Instagram for scraps. This will be my first entry into this year's Scrap Quilt Challenge.
Linking today to Oh Scrap.
I was having trouble with skipped stitches, too, mostly when I was quilting with my walking foot. Using the purple tipped Janome needles helped me, also. Glad you got that figured out!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you have fixed your problem. That can certainly eliminate the sewing mojo! I adore that little quilt. What a great scrap quilt. I am so pleased you shared it with Oh Scrap!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on fixing the problem.
ReplyDeleteLove the lolly quilt! I will have to keep those needles in mind for skipped stitches.
ReplyDeleteLove the lolly quilt! I will have to keep those needles in mind for skipped stitches.
ReplyDeleteI love your colourful houses, and the lolly quilt is fun too. I'm glad you resolved the stitching problem.
ReplyDeleteI am glad to hear that you have solved your problem of skipped stitches. Love that lolly quilt.
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