Baby Lock Tiara II (BLTR16-2) Instruction and Reference Guide - Manual (Page 16)

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Inserting (or Changing) the Needle
Figure 7
The needle that is in the machine when it arrives at your
home has been used for 20 minutes of testing. It is possi-
ble that it could be damaged in shipping or as you remove
the machine from the box. For these reasons, Baby Lock
recommends that you replace the needle before beginning
to quilt with your new machine.
1. Move the needle bar to the highest position by turning
the handwheel.
2. Confirm that the power is turned off and that the ma-
chine is unplugged.
3. Loosen the needle bar clamp thumb screw with the
disc-shaped screwdriver or fingers (see Figure 7)
enough to assure that the needle can be inserted all
the way up to the top of the sight hole.
4. With the scarf (small recess area on the back side of the
needle just above the needle eye) facing the handwheel
location of the machine, and the long groove down the
front of the needle facing the bobbin case side
(see Figure 7), push the needle all the way up inside the
needle bar – until it can go no further. Look into the
sight hole to verify that the butt of the needle reaches
the top of the sight hole.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If the needle is not fully inserted
inside the needle bar, the machine timing will be off and
it may be possible for the needle to collide with internal
parts causing damage not covered by warranty.
5. Carefully tighten the needle bar clamp thumb screw.
Over-tightening the thumb screw will result in dam-
aged threads or stripping of the screw hole. A side effect
of damaged threads from over-tightening the needle bar
clamp thumb screw is that it may become difficult to
insert the needle properly into the needle bar. Stripped
holes are not covered under warranty. When tighten-
ing the thumb screw using the disc-shaped screwdriver,
gently turn the screwdriver until the screw is tightened
snuggly. This will avoid over-tightening the screw.
NOTE: Changing the needle is recommended for each
new quilt sewn with the machine or any time the needle
becomes bent, dull or burred.
Needles are inexpensive and are important to the success
of your project. Plan to change needles every 5-7 hours of
quilting or more often if working with a lot of fusibles or
heavy materials. Quilt batting dulls needles quickly.
CAUTION: Never leave machine unattended
while plugged in. Always unplug this machine from the
electrical outlet immediately after using and before main-
tenance.
Needle/Thread Selection Guide
Needle Size
12 (80)
14 (90)
16 (100)
18 (110)
20 (120)
Thread weight
Monofilament, 100 wt. Silk,
60 wt. poly, mylar
Silk (100 wt), 60 wt., monofilament,
glitter, some metallics
60 wt., 50 wt., 40 wt., monofilament,
glitter, metallics
50 wt., 40 wt., 30 wt., metallic
30 wt., 20 wt., 12 wt.
Needle
Bar
Clamp
Screw
Sight
Opening