file:///C:/AW/Maya4.0/docs/en_US/html/UserGuide/Cloth/Cloth.htm
Setting frame samples and time step size
If your animation is moving fast and you notice that your cloth is penetrating the collision object or that the cloth motion is jerky, you can adjust the Frame Samples and Time Step Size.
Frame Samples and Time Step Size work together to control how the solver works. Frame Samples is the number of times the solver samples the collision object geometry between successive frames. Time Step Size divided by Frame Samples is the maximum time, in seconds, that the internal dynamic solution advances.
If you notice jerky motion or penetration, first try increasing the Frame Samples value. If that doesn't fix the problem, decrease the Time Step in small increments.