Layers Shift and Pucker While Sewing

• 1). Remove the quilt from the machine and pick out the bad stitches with a seam ripper. Stretch the quilt taut with all layers meeting at the edge. Tape the quilt to your work surface (floor or large table) and add more safety pins.
  
  
• 2). Place pins so that they are evenly spaced, about 8 inches apart and covering the entire quilt. Ensure that the pins go through all three layers so that the backing does not pucker up and shorten while sewing. Remove tape from quilt.
  
  
• 3). Sew the quilt again, starting with a section near the middle of the quilt. Work your way gradually out from the center, flattening the area you are working on with both hands. Check frequently for puckers underneath the quilt.
  
  

Inconsistent Stitches and/or Breaking Thread

• 1). Check that the machine is threaded correctly and that the thread isn't snagged on anything. Ensure that the thread is a high quality brand.
  
  
• 2). Lengthen the stitches to about nine per inch. Check your machine manual for specific directions on how to do this. Decrease the thread tension to one or two numbers less than the tension you used to piece the quilt top.
  
  
• 3). Place a scrap of batting between two fabric scraps that mimic your quilt in weight. Sew through the layers of scrap, adjusting the tension and stitch length until stitches are consistent and not raised on top or bottom of scrap. Throw away the scrap and use the same settings on your quilt.
  
  

Free Form, Rambling Patterns

• 1). Drop the feed dog (the jagged-looking mechanism below the needle that moves the fabric from underneath as you sew). Sew with the feed dog in this lowered position, enabling you to move in any direction and to make loops and curves.
  
  
• 2). Grasp the fabric tightly with both hands on either side of the needle, and move the fabric manually. Keep the fabric moving or the needle will simply go up and down in one place. Move gently and slowly.
  
  
• 3). Stop sewing, lift the foot and needle, and drag the fabric to another area to sew another area. When finished, cut the connecting threads.
  
  

Breaking Needles

• 1). Insert the needle completely into the fabric whenever you lift the foot and pivot the fabric. This will keep the needle from bending and breaking.
  
  
• 2). Change a bent needle before it hits underneath and breaks. Ensure that the needle is completely seated in the needle shaft. Locate the tiny wing nut that holds the needle, loosen it to check the needle position, and then tighten completely.
  
  
• 3). Ensure that the needle is facing the right way in the shaft. Check your manual for correct positioning.