Hi Elle123,

My wife is a free motion artist and I am familiar with some the problems that arise. I am not familiar with your machine, but at the bottom of this message is a troubleshooting link for your machine that may be helpful. If you have already tried everything in the link, here are a couple of thoughts.

Make sure that no pieces of thread are caught in the upper head threading track or in the bobbin case. Try a different brand of thread. Some thread brands work better than others. Make sure the needle size matches your thread size. Try a different size bobbin thread.

Here is a link for setting up your machine for free motion:

http://www.nancyprince.com/Video_Player_Machine_Set.html

You may have to cut and paste this link into your browser.

Hope this helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: Brother PC6500 Thoubleshooting

Thank you for your response, TechieTom. I have watched the Nancy Prince videos (excellent, I love her work!). I was considering by her online workshop, but I need more how-to to just develop a little confidence and skill than an actual design at this point, and I wasn't sure if the course would include more tips and troubleshooting that the free videos she offers online.