Sewing machine 'eating' fabric?

[mrforbes]

Hi,
I have a Janome sewing machine and recently tried to sew a pair of little pants for our new arrival in Feb. and it kind of eats my fabric. At first I thought it was just the knit (I'm new to sewing to w/knits....) but I tried it w/ cotton and it did it as well.

Any ideas what could be going on? The fabric is getting grabbed down under and then the needle jams. The walking foot did come off recently and then I reattached it, but perhaps incorrectly? I'm hoping to get this figured out because I have craft swaps to do!

Thanks!

[EmmalinesMom]

Have you changed your needle, cleaned out any lint, and re-threaded the machine?

Your timing or tension may be off. If you can, take it in to a Janome dealer for a tune up.

Good luck!!

[Think of Winter]

I'd try a new needle (for a knit, I'd start with a sz 12 ball point), check your threading and your bobbin, and make sure you're using good, appropriate thread (e.g. not upholstery or quilting thread. Gutterman poly works for most clothing.). Check your bobbin tension by pulling up on the bobbin thread. It shouldn't be too difficult to pull out.

If your needle was bad, it could cause that problem on both fabrics, because it will be pushing the fabric down into the hole instead of going cleanly through.

[mrforbes]

Thanks ladies! I'll check my needle. I'm using Gutterman poly thread already and will retry everything. I know I sometimes have issues w/keeping the thread on the post, the Gutterman sometimes slips off and then the thread gets too loose.

[leighi123]

Also, dont start RIGHT at the edge of your fabric, start a little ways in, back stich to just inside the edge and then carry on.

[OkiMom]

If you haven't cleaned out your bobbin case in a while you might want to try that. Also make sure no one has accidently messed with your dials/buttons. My girls messed with mine and it took forever to figure out why. Also make sure you are using the right type of needle, if you don't know what to use check your user manual. I was trying to sew a minky blanket a couple of weeks ago and had the worst trouble with my machine, looked at the manual and found out that for the machine I have they recommend a ball point needle for sewing minky which I wasn't using. Changed the needle and it worked great again.

[texmati]

Originally Posted by EmmalinesMom

Have you changed your needle, cleaned out any lint, and re-threaded the machine?

Your timing or tension may be off. If you can, take it in to a Janome dealer for a tune up.

Good luck!!

this plus check you bobbin case and tension.

[AMum]

When that happens to me it is usually caused by the upper thread, not the bobbin. If you're sewing knits it helps to set the presser foot tension to 2 instead of the usual 4.