New Machine, a Novel Thread Treatment and Mikey
I’ve been looking to buy a new machine for awhile-one that 
would better handle the larger quilts that I do. After looking at what was currently available, I chose a Baby Lock Jane. It’s a straight-stitch-only machine with way more room in the harp to accommodate larger work and a motor that is almost twice as fast as standard machines.
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I really did not understand why people were buying these machines until I looked into it. Here’s the math: my Bernina’s harp area measures 7.5″ wide by 4″ high. The Baby Lock is 8.5″ wide by 6″ wide. That doesn’t seem like a lot of difference….but it actually is. If you do the math, the Baby Lock has 70% more room in the throat and that makes an enormous difference if you 
are trying to quilt larger pieces.
You can see how much more room there is in the Baby Lock’s harp area. Don’t get me wrong-I’m still a Bernina girl, but they don’t make a straight-stitch-only machine, so what’s a girl to do??
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What the pictures don’t convey is how much more sight area you have with a SSO(Straight-Stitch-Only) machine. This view from the top of the Jane shows how skinny it is compared to a standard machine. Your quilting is just way more visible with a SSO machine.
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I do have some gripes about this whole category of machines. The free motion foot is very wide (blocks the view), it’s clunky, and you need a screwdriver to put it on-ditto for the needle. The needle threads left to right-huh? Changing the bobbin requires contortion and threading it is unnecessarily complicated.
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BUT, I started quilting this 93″ square charity quilt and it’s a dream to quilt with a SSO machine-I would have dreaded doing something this large on my Bernina. It handles bulk with ease, it’s so easy to get it to sew fast or one stitch at a time, plus your quilting is just so visible-I love it!
So, what’s this picture got to do with anything??? I am continuing on with the “Sharon Way“ (Sharon Schamber) and she told us to briefly immerse our thread in mineral oil! I know, there’s a high “ewww” factor to this, but we tried it in class and it worked well.
The theory is this: the oil strengthens the thread, preserves it, it runs more smoothly in the machine and oils your machine as it runs through. So yes, I did dip that big ole honkin mega cone of Aurifil into the mineral oil ($35 of thread on that one cone!!). And now my bobbins kind of glisten, which is weird, but I have no bobbin issues and it really does seem to run more smoothly. I even have done this to my, gasp!, silk cones. Surprisingly enough, there is no residue left on my quilts-go figure!
Remember Mikey in the old cereal commercials (“We’ll see if Mikey likes it!”)? I feel like Mikey, testing this hand basting method, this weird thread treatment, quilting with a SSO machine… I’ll let you know if I like it!
You are really brave dipping your expensive thread into mineral oil. Does one quick dip do the trick or do you soak it? I was gasping at the thought of little oil marks all around the stitching but sounds like that is not the case. You have really shared some interesting tips lately. Thanks.
Yes, it’s a quick dip. You wipe the spool down after you dip. I think what happens is the oil absorbs into the thread so therefor does not bleed onto your fabric. Sharon ran a high end clothing factory for 20 years and has a unique perspective. We did the “dip” in class to try it out and we all were surprised at the result!
Jenny, you are very brave to test your thread in the mineral oil – wow! Let us know how the thread basting method works on the large quilt as well.
The same free motion foot came with my Juki when when I purchased it years ago. I rarely use the large foot anymore – because of the visibility issue. Juki came out with a small 1/5″ diameter foot (similar to the small closed toe Bernina foot) that I use most of the time now. I also have a couple of generic plastic free motion feet – you can purchase open toe ones now too (I had to cut the front out of my plastic foot with an exacto knife). I keep a collection of free motion feet for both of my machines, and find different feet useful for different types of quilting. Ann Fahl has recently blogged about her experiences with different free motion / darning feet as well.
Nice quilting on on the charity quilt!
Thanks Diane! Unfortunately it looks like Baby Lock has designed their machine to use their feet only. I immediately tried the Brother feet which also work on the Juki I believe, and they did not fit. I’ve tried 2 generic feet to no avail and even other Baby Lock feet don’t work.
So I got out my drill to at least get the plastic out of there and the drill lost that battle. I was still using the altered foot and kept on getting thread breaks-took me awhile to figure out that it probably was the mutilated foot that was causing the thread break…duh. I actually hate the foot and I WILL find a way to alter it to my liking!
On my Bernina I have a full free motion foot inventory (5) and my favorite now is the “embroidery” foot #15. But Baby Lock does not have those kind of choices for the Jane, sigh.
Find a local tool and die maker or metal machinst.. they can fabricate a foot to your liking. I’ve had my husband do it for me but we have the tools.. I LOVE the mineral oil trick! What an awesome idea! I have run it through with machine oil to get the lint out of my Lizzie but never thought of just dipping the thread cone! Can’t wait to hear how you like your “Baby” .. I had a SSO Juki before Vern and loved him you’re so right about line of sight.. though I did get used to Vern his is 9.75 X 4.5 .. I just raised him up higher.. it’s not the same but it works for me.
I just got back from the hardware store and I’m using some o-rings to raise the foot up a bit-tip from Diane Gaudynski. I am going to get someone to alter it for me-thought I could do it myself…not! Lucky that your hubby can do it for you!
lol at all the comments! i was just bopping in to say I love the detail work on your new quilt! :)
i guess when you teach freemotion quilting, you really do have to have machine expertise!
Thanks Cyn! Yeah, I have to know something about machines when I teach because there are always machine problems.
Great post thanks for sharing. You have a great layout here. Quilting is something I really enjoy doing. It passes the time and is very relaxing.
Glad you enjoy it!
I am thinking of trying dipping my thread in the mineral oil. Does this stop all the lint that accumulates from some threads? Would I have to wait for the thread to dry before using it? If so, how long dies it take to dry a cone like what you show?
It’s been awhile since I did this and I have to say, I don’t do it anymore. I use great thread and a machine that performs beautifully without the treatment so I just use regular thread now.
I meant, does, not dies, on line 4! lol
Oh, I think it took just overnight before it was “dry”.
I have been looking at many machines including the Jane and I also worried about the quilting foot that comes with the machine. My Babylock rep showed me a Shank adapter you can purchase. It screws in to the Jane and I can use all of my brother low shank pressure feet with it. They also sell a metal U shape open toe generic quilting foot that looks like the Janome quilting foot. That one is pricy at $50 but I was told I could bring it back if I didnt like it.
I am very nervous about the manual tension adjustment and would like to hear your thoughts how its working for you using all the different thickness of quilts you are quilting
Hi Kaye;
Truth be told I am not using the Jane at this point-it’s not even set up. But your note may change my mind!
I was sooooo unhappy with that foot! You just cannot see where your needle is going-it’s entirely unacceptable to me. So I will try the new set up you described and maybe it will be like a new machine to me!
As to the manual tension-it works well-no problems at all for me. I did use it in all kinds of thicknesses-thin to thick and simply set it at the appropriate level to just skim the surface. If you get it too high it will skip stitches (“flag”).
The machine itself is great! But if the dog gone foot doesn’t give me visibility then it’s useless to me. I am currently quilting on my Bernina 730 Artitsta (not the new one). But thank you so much for letting me know there is a new choice that might give me good visibility!!
I would love to know it they work out for you. I am just beginning my quilting journey and your quilts are so inspirational. I would hate to invest in the machine and not have it work out
Hi Kaye;
Machines are such a personal thing! My joke is that if everyone had the same space restrictions, budget, husband and sewed/quilted that I did, then everyone would have a Bernina 730. But you don’t. So what is important to me may not be for you.
Here’s what I like about my Bernina: feet! They change with just a flip: on/off and ready in seconds. All feet. Most machines have snap on feet EXCEPT the free motion foot which requires a screw driver. And to change the needle plate to straight stitch is also a screw driver. I just pop and plop the new plate on my Bernina-done. But I go back and forth a lot between free motion, straight stitch and zig zag. If you have a dedicated machine that is primarily your free motion machine, all of that is irrelevant.
What I like about the Jane: high speed, big throat, fabulous visibility. Don’t like the foot (but that may change with the info you gave me). The foot was the only deal breaker for me, but it was a deal breaker.
No matter what anyone says, choose what feels best to you. Try to project what you want to move into as you move forward with your quilting/sewing. Say you have always wanted to embroider-that would be a whole different machine. I would try to buy a machine with a convenient local dealer if possible. When I first got the Jane I had all sorts of problems-all of them Operator Error!
I was thankful to be able to stroll into my local dealer, talk to the Babylock educator and resolve my problem. She knew right away what was wrong because my local dealer spends thousands of dollars each year sending their people to school.
In fact, just remembered this, I actually paid several hundred dollars more to buy it from my local shop than I would have paid driving to San Francisco. Worth every penny.
A lot of people like the HQ16 and all those new sit down mid-arm machines. I don’t have the space for that and, (I’ve been told-don’t know for sure) that you cannot run a tiny needle in them. Well I use a lot of 100 wt thread and I do not want to do delicate work with a big ole honkin needle. See how individual this decision is? Most people would not care about that.
So except for the foot issue, the Jane is great. Let me know if you have any more questions! Good luck!
Jenny