If you are a regular reader you know that I machine quilt my quilts on with a Pfaff Grand Quilter and Next Generation Frame.
I have lamented about problems I have had with thread breakage. It has plagued and plagued and plagued me. I have asked for help from online groups and have followed their advice. I have begged for more advice. Honestly, I would stitch five inches and the thread would break. Sometimes it would be fine…other times AWFUL. I started to take notes on each quilt I was working on…the size, the thread, the batting, everything I could think of. I hoped no one could sell a machine this crappy…there HAD to be a solution.
I started pricing different machines but I could not justify spending more money on something that might be equally frustrating. I began to replace some parts as people suggested…a new bobbin case, new throat plates, new clamps…new rails…the list goes on. Nothing helped much.
Then one day I read a message on the Pfaff Grand Quilter Yahoo group I belong to. The lady said that she raises the front bar. WOW…I was so excited I ran upstairs to the machine and thought this could be it. I don’t raise that front bar….
I got to my machine and investigated…..
WHAT? I can’t raise the bar. That lady must be talking about a different model.
My hubby came in and I dragged him up to look…He started talking about how he could “build something” and attach it so the front bar could be raised. Then spring planting came and he forgot all about it.
Then one Sunday I was up working on a quilt and he came up and was talking to me….I was again lamenting about thread breakage and how I thought there has to be something so that bar can raise….Why would there be measurement lines if the bar cannot raise? We talked about new machines and then he hollered STOP! He asked if he could look at the frame. After a minute or so he grabbed some tools and said he had an idea…..
While the quilt was on the frame he unscrewed some screws and raised the whole front…if you compare the two pictures you will see that the piece that has the word Pfaff on it is higher in the second photo.
I quilted the rest of the quilt….no thread breakage. I was ready to sing and shout! I wanted to tell everyone but I decided no….I have thought I fixed this problem before…and hadn’t. I have since quilted THREE quilts on the frame….NO THREAD BREAKAGE!!
When I am working on a quilt, I raise the front bar AND the take up bar. I now have no thread breakage problems.
Here is another view….
If the sides of your frame are not even with the front and back piece, you need to raise it up. Along the sides there are several sets of holes that screws can go in…you need it to be in a higher set of screws.
I have heard of SO many people with this problem…please spread the word that this is a possible fix for thread breakage in your Pfaff Grand Quilter and Next Generation Frame.
So glad you solved your thread breaking problem. Nothing worse then having problems when you are quilting. If your like me, I want the quilting to be as beautiful and perfect as possible and when he thread breaks…ugh! So glad your back up and running smoothly…by the way that’s a beautiful scrappy quilt on your machine!!
I know there is nothing more frustrating than thread breakage while quilting a top! I’m so glad it seems you found the fix!! Quilting will be so much more enjoyable now.
Well, bless your DH for figuring it out. That little bit of info might help lots of other quilters with the same machine and frame. I have a Gammill Premier and am so thankful it works as well as it does…doesn’t seem to be picky about thread or anything like some machines I’ve read about. Hope your quilting will be stress free from now on.
I had a similar problem with my Pfaff grandquilter on the Inspira frame and tried everything! Then I got the Inspira topstitching needles- size 16 (100) and I have quilted 12 quilt tops in the last few weeks and have a queen size Double Delight one on right now! Sure makes it more enjoyable when the thread isn’t breaking every little while!! Congrats!!
It always helps to join in on a group dedicated to the specific product! Good thing you discovered the solution!!!
I love how the quilters all share. I have had issues with my sewing machine and sadly when I write the company they tell me to go to ta dealer. My Yahoo groups are the ones who end up with the answers. I love my sewing machine even with my issues but very disappointed with the customer service. You would think the companies would want to help us so we will buy more machines in the future. Thank-you for your posts. One of these days I want to get an long arm.
I have the 1200 pfaff grand quilter on the Inspira frame. It will sew fine and then acts like the thread in the bobbin catches or snags. There does not seem to be a burr on the bobbin case, no lint or threads hung up inside that I can fine. I can tug on the machine and it will come loose and sew again. It has been oiled, cleaned, adjusted, took off and checked but I still have the problem. Any suggestions to solve the problem.
I have a Pfaff Grandquilter 18.8 and am using Invisafil thread in the needle and bobbin. My bobbin thread is continually breaking. Is it the tension on the needle or the tension on the bobbin case that is causing the problem?
I have a PFAFF 18.8 GrandQwilter my Aunt gave me I have no use for it is there anyone looking to bye one? you can email me at aydensmommy932@gmail.com Thank you
Pfaff Grand Quilter and Grace Frame (or maybe it is an Inspira). Regardless, my top thread is breaking constantly! I tried the tip of raising the front rail which seemed like a great idea because. I was 3/4 finished with a 99×110 quilt.
Still thread breaking!!! So now I noticed that the plastic track under the cart that the machine rides on is cracked. Could this be the cause of my problem?
Thanks for any help in advance.
I have a 18.8 Pfaff long arm and was half way thru my lap quilt when the machine started to give out a very loud and high pitch stretching noise I immediately paused it I have a pfaff quilt artist. The stretching is coming from the back where belt is. I checked the belt it turns for a while than stops a stretches….Please help I live in a small town and no service repair companies around here.
I have a Pfaff Grand Quilter on a Grace Next Generation Frame and my machine isn’t moving smoothly along the quilt frame. It’s very jerky and hard to move up/down or left right for stippling. Any suggestions? Thank you.
I bought a used INSPIRA QUILTING FRAME for the Pfaff GrandQuilter, as well as the machine, and set it up. I am wondering if I would be able to use a Qbot version 2 on this machine with this frame? And if so, does it take special cables and/or wires? Any advice or help would be welcome! Thank you!
I was having the same problem for 20 days. Tried everything…was out of options and the I thought to change the foot.. I had purchased a ruler foot. It was my third quilt with the foot. Once the old foot was back on no more problems. I have contacted the manufacturer of the expensive ruler foot to see if they have an idea of what was wrong.
Mitzi I have the same set up so yes the Qbot has different setups for the different machines. good luck
Thank you so very much, I tried this and OMG is worked so well only had to tighten the thread tension. Now I love my machine and promised it I would not kill it. Its great when you find a solution that seems so simple as the fabric needs to feed evenly and be level with the sewing surface and not pull it down, which is something I follow when quilting on my regular machine so why did I not think is should be the same on the quilter. Again Thanks.