My thoughts on the Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.0 after one month

Thank you for the EXCELLENT info on the QE 4.0! I am relieved I am not the only one with the fabric eating problem. glad to know my old foot will fix things right up.

I hope you sent your well written comments to Pfaff. They need to do some adjusting! And I agree–the bobbin bugged me, too.
Kim

Emily,

Thanks so much for this great review. I’ve been trying to decide between this machine and the Bernina 440. I’ve tried them both out extensively, but I still can’t decide which one to get. I haven’t seen any reviews on this machine, so your review is very helpful.

I never had any problems with the fabric getting eaten up with the 1/4″ foot when I tried out the Pfaff QE 4.0. Maybe there’s something wrong with your machine or it needs to be tweaked or something. I would definitely bring it in to your Pfaff dealer and have it checked since it’s still under warranty. Or maybe there’s something wrong with the 1/4″ foot that came with your machine. For that much money, I’d be very ticked off if that happened to me. I didn’t try sewing anything with pressed seams, so I don’t know if they would flip like they did for you, but that would really annoy me, too.

Thanks for all the great info. I’ll have to try sewing through a bunch of layers like a quilt sandwich with binding to see how well it does. And I never noticed if the fabric veered to the left. That’s all really important info to know before buying such an expensive machine.

I was wondering if you knew if there was a way to disengage the auto presser foot lift that goes up halfway each time you stop sewing so that you can control the presser foot with the knee lift. Sometimes I’d like to be able to control the foot manually without the foot going up on its own all the time.

I also own the Pfaff Expressions 4.0. I’ve had similar problems and this is what I have used for fixes. For crooked seams, I purchased the Pfaff 1/4 inch foot that has a metal guide attached to it. No more crooked seams. I also purchased a single hole needle plate to help prevent chewing of the fabric. And for the times when the bulky items just won’t move thru the machine, I learned to increase the pressure of the presser foot (it’s in the toolbox) and now things move along just fine! I hope this helps!

Thanks so much for your review. I’m also trying to decide on a new machine. I think I’ve narrowed it down to the Pfaff 4.0 and the Elna 7200. I’m really leaning towards the Pfaff as I really like the machine, the dealer seems more knowledgeable, and the support and service seems more readily available. I do wish I could find more reviews on it though which is why I’m happy I found this. Overall it sounds like you’ve been able to work through and find solutions for most of your “cons” and that the machine does have many positive features as well.

As for the machine eating fabric… I read somewhere online of someone else having the same problem. It turned out that the machine was not being threaded properly. The presser foot needed to be in either the up or the down position (sorry - I do not remember which way it was). There may have been another trick to threading as well. The other thing that helped in that case was to be sure to hold onto the top and bobbin thread when sewing the first couple stitiches of each seam. I’m not sure this info will be helpful for you as it seems you’ve been able to correct the problem but maybe it will help someone else.

Thanks again for all the info on the 4.0. Now to decide!

responding to Veronica:

You can turn-off the auto presser foot lift in the toolbox. Then you can control the presser foot with the knee lift.

Peter,

I e-mailed Pfaff about disengaging the auto presser foot lift (the one that goes up halfway each time you stop sewing so that you can pivot) and they sent me a reply back that you can’t disengage it. When I was at the Pfaff dealer, a salesperson and I tried to turn it off in the toolbox. Even after we turned it off, it still kept going up halfway. I tried using the knee lift with the auto foot lift turned off, too, and it still kept going up halfway, which kind of defeats the purpose of having a knee lift. So I’m guessing it can’t be turned off. I’m wondering if it’s just the regular presser foot lift that you can turn off (the one that goes up all the way to the top).

Thank you so much for your review. Across the world from you, in Norway, I’m trying to decide wether to buy a Pfaff Exp. 4.0.
I never had a Pfaff before. The machine I have now is Husqvarna Sapphire 870 quilt. I’m very happy with it but I like to change sewing machine when something better comes along. I’ve hadde the same problem with my Husqvarna eating fabric. I’ve found out that it happens sometimes after using the automatic thread cutter, because the thread jumps out oft place.
Are you mostly pleased with your Pfaff or is there too many cons and frustrations?

Joana

Emily, I tested it again today and I was able to keep the foot down, but when I used the knee lift, I couldn’t control the height of the foot. It kept wanting to automatically go all the way up. When I use a knee lift, I like to be able to control the height of the foot so that if I want to pivot the fabric just a little and want the foot to come up a tiny bit, I can do it with the knee lift. But it doesn’t look like you can do it with this machine. I still love it, though, and am planning on buying it. It’s the my favorite machine out of all the ones I tested.

Do you know if they still make the old 1/4″ presser foot like the one you have? I wonder if you can still buy them from Pfaff dealers.

I’ve found that lot of times when you are trying to get the 4.0 to do something, and it continues to do different than what you want, just simply shut the machine off, wait a few seconds and then turn it back on. I’ve had instances where the presser foot would raise every time I stopped sewing - even if I hadn’t selected the needle down position. That was so annoying. But by simply turning the machine off and waiting a bit, it seemed to reset itself.
My dealer offers pfaff classes and if you take one, you can get 20% off all accessories. That helps a lot on the costs of the feet. You could check with your dealer and see if they have that type of promotion.

Just wanted to add that there are cutouts now for the 4.0. The sew-steady portable table http://www.dreamworld-inc.com/ and the sew perfect table
http://www.sewperfecttables.com have written me this week to let me know they do indeed have the pattern now for this machine. The slanted front on this machine drives me insane! I am constantly dropping my sewing stuff! Has anyone used a sew-steady table? Does it feel high to your arms when you are sewing?

I use this portable table for my Bernina, and I´m very happy about it.
http://www.sezeziusa.com
I think I´m going to buy the Pfaff QE 4.0. Thank you for your comments about your 4.0.

Emily, I have so much trouble with the slant because this is the first time I’ve had a machine that has a slant and is not sitting in a cabinet. My previous machine sat flush in my sewing cabinet. The 4.0 doesn’t fit in my cabinet so now I am in search of a new one. Can you show me a photograph of what yours looks like?
Mia, I couldn’t get your link to work but I think I figured it out. Is it
http://www.seweziusa.com ?

Emily, when I tried this machine out, I noticed that when I stitched a long, straight line, I couldn’t see each individual stitch. All the stitches ran together like one long stitch. I didn’t like that and when I asked the lady at the Pfaff dealer about it, she said you can never see each stitch unless you change the color of thread so that the top and bottom threads don’t match. I know this isn’t true because my machine that I have now (Janome) shows each stitch when I have the same color thread on the top and bottom. So I was wondering if you noticed the same thing as I did with your machine. I’m wondering if this is a Pfaff thing. Every other machine I have sewn on in the past has stitched with each stitch separate from the next (with matching threads), which is the look I like. I think it looks more professional when you can see where one stitch ends and the next one starts.

Sue, I whrite wrong link, but you find the right.

Thank you so much for this review! I’m finally getting around to purchasing a computerized sewing machine I think the Expression 4.0 is going to be it! I plan on quilting on it too so the large harp is a huge selling point!

Your work is just beautiful. When you do your top quilting you have the viking long arm quilter and what table are you using? You had pictures of two tables and Quilters and said the one was nothing but trouble. So just which one do you use of the long arm and the table. I ask because I am thinking about getting the Pfaff grand quilter and a table and a new program that is out called Qbot by inspira. It does the top quilting for you it is really cool but costly. Would like hearing back from you.

I, too, have recently purchased a Pfaff Quilt Expressions 4.0 after quilting for 12 years on a 1475. I’m having a lot of problems with the automatic cut device especially cutting the bobbin thread. It works intermittently then not at all. This especially occurs when free motion quilting. I take off the tacks at both ends (obviously) as well as the automatic cut and use the manual cut key and it still doesn’t work. Other problems include: using my stitch in the ditch foot which has to have the needle position offcentered from the usual 0 (in the exact middle of the foot) to a 3 to force it to actually stitch in the ditch; when free motion quilting, it skips stitches, makes grinding sounds whenever using batiks, and does not accept good high quality threads(King Tut, Mettler, YLI, etc.) whenever changing from one to another. I’ve tried changing needle sizes and types, using all different weights of threads, rewinding bobbins, rethreading the machine, cleaning bobbin case, rechecking settings repeatedly. I’ve reproduced these problems on my dealers demo machine. Anyone else experiencing similar problems?

Gloria, Oh my! It sounds like your machine is out of alignment somewhere. Has your dealer offered to replace the machine or send it in for repairs?
I’ve read a lot of forums on this machine and I have never heard of anyone having the above problems. Have you had these problems since day 1 of ownership? What does your dealer say about all this?

Gloria, I was just curious where your 4.0 was made. They were being made in Sweden and I just found out that they are now being made in China. I just bought mine yesterday. Unfortunately, I’ll have to wait until the middle of next month to get it because the 4.0s are backordered from the Pfaff factory in China. I was kind of leery about buying one when I found out about that, buy my Pfaff dealer assured me that Pfaff will still maintain the strict standards they’ve always had. I’m still kind of nervous, though. I hope I don’t have any problems with mine.

I checked with my dealer today and she said all the Pfaff Expression machines are being made in Sweden. The Pfaff Select Machines are now being made in Shanghai, China.

Hmmm. I wonder if my dealer got it wrong. Although, she worked for Pfaff for 10 years and has a close relationship with them, so I’m inclined to believe her. Maybe there’s still hope for my machine to be made in Sweden (got my fingers crossed!). I’ll have to ask her about it the next time I talk to her. Thanks for the info.

My 4.0 Expression was made in Sweden. A friend bought the same type from the same dealer a couple days before me and has had the same troubles and even more so when changing threads. Hers rebels but cuts the threads more often. Our dealer has called Pfaff a couple times, made their suggested adjustments (some worked and some made the problems worse), he has torn her machine apart and is now in the process of putting it back together and will test run it tomorrow. I’m waiting to see how hers runs before taking mine in. Meanwhile, I’m not using it at all as it is too frustrating. Thinking of just asking for a new machine if simple adjustments can’t be made to make it right. I’ll be sure it is made in Sweden. Free motion quilting seems to be the downfall on both our machines and the floor model. Tried out the 2.0 and it also skips stitches and won’t cut 100% of the time on free motion quilting.
Thanks for the comments, gals. Will let you know how it turns out in a couple days.

Any news on the free-motion problems? I just bought the 4.0 and I’m very accomplished free motion quilter and I can’t get the machine to free motion quilt well at all. It skips stiches every few inches and then the upper thread breaks. I’ve tried all the normal fixes I would tell my students to go through…new needles, threads, etc. I can’t believe Pfaff would release a “Quilter’s Edition” with a new free motion setting and not test that it would actually free motion quilt! That would be a major blunder. I’m hoping someone has found a solution…my thread cutter works fine thankfully. Thanks! Darlene

I found that the free motion stitching was awful and I couldn’t get it to look nice at all, so I’ve sent it back and a grand quilter is on it’s way

Thanks for your comment Sarah, I have just purchased a QE4, and it works fine in all respects but today I tried free motion quilting, and I can’t seem to get the tension right. The bobbin thread seems to be too slack. I have tried trying to adjust the tension in the menu, but this makes no difference.
Any suggestions from anyone, also I don’t like the free motion foot jumping up and down whilst quilting. Is there any way I can stop it doing this, and just hovering over the fabric?
However, the 10 inch space is great for large quilts.

Hi Jenny, You can tighten the bobbin tension. It doesn’t tell you this in the manual but you take off the needle plate, remove the small grey plastic piece closest to you and remove the bobbin case. On it there’s a black screw that takes a flat screwdriver and you turn it anti clockwise maybe only quarter of a turn. However while this improved my normal stitching the free motion was still rubbish. Maybe you’ll have a bit more luck. I just decided to return it as I already have the 2058 so only wanted the extra space for quilting. The grand quilter isn’t here yet and I’m getting impatient! I’ll get back to you about the foot going up and down in free motion mode as the 2058 does the same but I haven’t tried to turn it off before. Hope this was helpful.

Hi Sarah, and many thanks for your comments, I will definitely try the bobbin tightening technique. If I discover how to stop the foot jumping up and down I will let you know. Free motion quilting is a pain with any machine, I think it is a question of perseverence and trial and error. Do you find the 2058 is a good free motion quilter? I have a cheapee Brother machine and although it is a bit involved to set up, the free motion quilting is good, although the throat space is very small, so no good for large quilts.
After spending so long deciding which quilting machine to buy, I shall be disappointed if I can’t crack this.
I will let you know how I get on, if at all!

Yes the free motion stitching is great on the 2058 which is why I thought the expression would be the same as most of the functions are very similar. I don’t think that you can stop the foot going up and down as you cannot operate the foot function whilst in free motion mode. You get used to it though, I find it’s Ok if you set the needle to stay down when you stop. I love my 2058, I just can’t do big quilts on it. I thought the expression had it all, but now I think I’ll be better off with the two machines instead, the 2058 for piecing and the grand quilter for quilting.

Hi Sarah, I thought long and hard about buying the Grand Quilter instead of the QE4, but as I understand it, it only does straight stitching, which of course is all you need for free motion quilting. I am interested in applique on quilts, so need the satin and blanket stitch as well. I thought the QE4 would be all that in one machine, which it is.
I am sure I will get used to this system in the end, but I wish I could sort out the tension problem. I will keep on tweaking! I am determined to get there in the end.
Any thoughts on my tension problem Emily?

Recently I purchased a new Pfaff Expression 4.0. Within a day I realized that the sewing machine would not do free motion quilting without skipping stitches and not always cutting the thread. All other operations seem to work good. I have done a lot of quilting on a Pfaff 7570 and it has always worked good in the free motion operation. I returned the sewing machine to the dealer a few times without the problem being resolved. About a month ago, the dealer sent the machine back to the “Pfaff experts”.
Today, I tried to get my money back from the dealer without success. They said that they would “replace it when they get some in” without knowing when that will be. Now, I’m out the money and the defective machine.
I’ve lost a lot of confidence with Pfaff.

Would they replace it with a different machine? I changed mine for the grand quilter and still use my 2058 as well. It seemed a good idea to get one machine that does it all but the expression doesn’t seem to live up to expectations. Changing the machine for another the same might not help you as loads of people seem to have trouble with the free motion. Good luck with getting it sorted!

Jenny… I would love to hear how you make out with free motion quilting on the 4.0. I’ve never done it before so couldn’t try it out prior to bringing home my machine. Now I’ve been so busy with other projects that I still haven’t tried it. Thanks!

Julie… Well, I am gradually getting there. With the Spring free-motion engaged in the settings menu Page 2:16 in the manual, and reducing the thread tension to around 4.5 (will differ with different threads and needle sizes) I use a needle with a large-ish eye as the thread will be whipping through the needle at a fair rate - Topstitch around 90 or 100. Also use the speed control to get a constant speed when you press your foot pedal. Move the fabric around smoothly preferably with quilting gloves (or thin gardening gloves - a lot cheaper!) to give you some grip on the fabric. Go easy and steady and it should work. Practice makes perfect though, don’t give up. Your first attempts will probably look a bit ’spikey’ but will get smoother with practice. Good luck!

Very interested to read the opinions and review here- I have a Quilt Expression 4.0 on layby at present-not far from paying off. During my test drive I quilted a wallhanging, bound the quilt, used decorative embroidery threads and decorative stitches, stitched button holes in cotton and poly thread, tested some applique stitches, ditch quilted, outline quilted and did a tonne of testing of different threads for FMQ on about 4 batting types, and a little strip piecing. I was very impressed and have bought it to do custom domestic quilting of very large quilts. I have a Mega quilter which I use for my FMQ and adore, and a Pfaff 2027 which is being replaced by the 4.0 as it is really just too small for doing big quilts easily.
I asked about the gobbling issue and the dealer said-which seems very logical really-that the reason this can happen esp. on fine fabrics is the 9mm wide slot for decorative stitching is just too wide for fine straight stitching with no wiggling. Solution is to use a straight stitch throat plate so there is no space for fabric to be gobbled up into.
There are many, many variants in tension issues and every machine I have ever used personally or for a customer’s quilt, or any student’s machine I’ve ever played about on, must be tweaked for the exact combination of batting, thread and fabric. It is just like adjusting the stitch length or stitch style…and we all do that without fear or worry. Learning to FMQ and to adjust tension can be frustrating but is necessary if we want to get good results from whatever machine we are using. I guess for people having issues, after consulting the manual, make the most of the dealers out there who know how to get the best from their products they stand by and sell. And of course, occasionally, lemons are produced on factory production lines, which may need tweaking or adjusting, or replacing with new machines if truly faulty. At least Pfaff are a good company to deal with in this regard.
Oh yes, the contributor who mentioned issues of threading the machine as the cause of tension problems, but couldn’t remember which way to put the presser foot-either up or down, is absolutely right- it is important that any machine, when being threaded, has the presser foot at full up position to open up the tension disks. Then once threaded, and the foot is lowered, the tension disks close around the thread and hold them in position. So if you thread the machine without lifting the foot right up, it is impossible for the thread to actually engage with the part of the machine that controls much of the tension that is applied to the thread. Hope this makes sense.

I know that there are two free motion modes in the 4.0, one for the sensor foot, which goes up and down at slow speeds then lifts up for clearance at high speeds, and another mode to accomodate the free motion spring foot-which where I live is not included as standard, but can be purchased. The idea here is to choose the foot that gives you the best results, since FMQ is demanding on a machine and there are so many variations possible in fabric and thread, and batting choices.
For those of you having trouble, it could be combinations of battings, fabrics, threads, needles, threading process and the foot chosen to FMQ with-so try the other foot if you have it. It may give you more control and eliminate the skipped stitches that some of you have been experiencing.

As to the China manufacturing, I have been assured that Pfaff are making the Quilt Expression 4.0 machines still at the Huskqvarna location in Sweden-and the box label on my machine confirmed this. The lower end smaller Pfaffs are now being produced from China however, in Shanghai.

I am really looking forward to getting my machine home- and putting it straight to work. My feeling was that I have purchased a very solid and easily adjustable machine that is capable of high quality stitches on a variety of combinations. I do hope that those of you out there with issues are able to happily resolve them and enjoy your lovely machine.

I just got my QE 4.0 two days ago and I really like it a lot. I haven’t had time to really test it thoroughly and put it through its paces, but I think I’m going to be very happy with it. I tested the free-motion quilting and I think it does a pretty good job. I haven’t had tension problems with it so far.

I do think I’m going to get the single stitch throat plate and the 1/4″ foot with the metal guide. My Pfaff dealer told me about a Quilter’s Toolbox that she’ll be getting and she thinks it’s supposed to have these two items, plus a a larger free-motion quilt foot that doesn’t come with the machine. The toolbox also has an 18×24″ clear extension table, quilting needles and a free-motion guide grip. Does anyone have this toolbox? Here’s a photo of it: http://www.pfaffusa.com/2714.html The picture of the 1/4″ foot doesn’t look like it has a guide on it to me. I’m wondering if they have the wrong picture up or if this is an older Quilter’s Toolbox. My dealer said Pfaff just came out with a new Quilter’s Toolbox for the QE 4.0.

These 4.0 machines definitely are being made in China. Mine says Made in China on the bottom of my machine. Some of the Pfaffs (like the Select models) are still being made in Sweden or the Czech Republic. The 4.0s are being made in China under the strictest of quality controls in factories that were already owned by Pfaff. So I’m not worried about my machine (knock on wood!).

Stephanie… I read you comments with great interest. Very informative and educational.
I have had my QE4 for about 3 weeks, and have FMQ a large quilt very successfully, using YLI cotton. I tried to do a little more decoration with YLI Fine Metallic, and oh my, it kept skipping stitches, and made a horrible graunching noise in the bobbin mainly when it took up the thread. I realise I have probably got the tension wrong, or perhaps I should have wound the bobbin a little looser. It was my first attempt at metallics.
I had YLI 50’s cotton in the bobbin, and used a metallic needle.
Any advice or ideas as to how to do the FMQ as successfully with mettalics?

Ah Jenny,
I haven’t used YLI fine metallic, but the only really successful high speed metallics I have used are made by Superior and come on a large cone.
Nearly always metallics run without trouble if you work upside down and wind the thread at low speed, onto the bobbin. Then quilt with the backing facing up. You can ditch stitch before you go to work upside down, just be sure to mark any directional lines in first so you know which way is up, when working on the back.
Also you can try to lower the tension, use a topstitch or even jeans needle, not a universal, and don’t thread the last threadpoint just above the needle. That is where a tonne of fray will happen. Sew slowly and all should be better than it currently is for you right now. Also well worth your time to make/borrow/buy a thread stand. The $9 sort seem to work 99% as well as the $90 variety from what I’ve experienced. Keep at it and experiement. You may prefer a finer thread in the bobbin if using metallic on top, something like The Bottomline works well for me.

About the previous post by Veronica, perhaps the 4.0’s had the early editions made in Huskvarna, Sweden, as mine says on the box, and then later production runs switched locations of manufacture? I know Husqvarna used to make their Sapphire in Sweden but are now making them in Shanghai… and Pfaff and Husqvarna and Singer are owned by the same company. Also you are right, so long as the quality control is extremely tight we shouldn’t need to worry-the parts are all genuine and not generic to my understanding, so the quality is much higher.
I am itching to get mine home, making good progress paying the beast off!

Stephanie, yes you are correct about the earlier models of 4.0s being made in Sweden. I think they switched later this year to being made in China. My dealer sold her last one made in Sweden a month before I got mine.

Hello, I have just purchased the 4.0 and set it up yesterday. I did a little experimenting with it yesterday. All of the stitches I tried were just beautiful. (By the way, it does say on the bottom that is was made in China.)

Anyway, I tried free motion with the included floating foot. The first try went well. After that the thread kept globbing up on the bottom. One time the machine stopped and I got an error message. I didn’t get a chance to try again today, but will persevere. I have 6 months of free classes from my dealer, so will make a list of issues and schedule a lesson after I’ve had more time playing with it. I certainly have high expectations for this machine and hope the problems have simple fixes. I also have the option of exchanging within 3 months for full value to an upgraded machine. Does anyone have experience with the Creative Vision?

Happy stitching. Thanks for this blog.
Dianna

Dear Emily and more friends.

I live in Ecuador, sorry my English is very bad. Like you all, a have the Patch Work hobby and now I need to decide for a new machine, please help me to decide for the best choice. I need some very sure machine, easy to maintain, not to much computerizing, home size, well verified, not complicated.
Very thanks of your opinion and maybe your friends can also help me in this question, thanks, I wait for you answer, I am Elena