I just bought a Singer Quantum XL-6000 programmable embroidery
machine. It works well when I use it with solid non-stretchy fabric.
But, when I try to embroider on a 50% cotton 50% polyester T-shirt,
the machine birdnests regularly.

According to the last question on the Singer FAQ at
    http://www.singerco.com/support/faqs.html
all I need to do is make sure the machine is threaded correctly. But,
that can't be right because it doesn't birdnest on non-stretchy
fabric.

I tried increasing tension from 10 to 30 (whatever those units mean),
but it didn't fix it.

Is there a trick to embroidering on stretchy fabric? Should I use the
smallest possible needle size? Should I try increasing the thread
tension even more?

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Clarification of Question by mxnmatch-ga on 06 Oct 2005 22:58 PDT

Ok, I just ordered some stabilizing paper. Hopefully that'll do the trick.

Hey, it suddenly occurred to me why machine embroidery on knitted
fabrics is backed by a piece of stable cloth.
Get some iron-on patching material and try it.

No, I can't post this as an "answer".  It is just a freebie comment.  :)