Arrghh! SO frustrated! Is there some trick I'm missing?

[granola_mom]

So a year ago I took sewing classes and really liked it (sewing that is, not the class, but that's a different story). And made a really nice skirt out of amy butler fabric. I only ever used their sewing machines with their help because I kept using a different one each time. I never did any sewing on my sewing machine. That class was right before DD was born, so I didn't sew for a while after it ended. When I finally got around to it, I just couldn't thread the machine... I got the top thread down but I couldnt for the life of me get the bobbin thread up through the machine! I figured, I'll let it rest for a bit and come back to it another time.

Well, here I am ONE YEAR LATER, I have attempted threading this machine about five times, each time struggling and cursing for an hour because I STILL can't get the bobbin thread through and I end up throwing the machine into the back of my closet again to collect dust. My sewing machine was bought used and I don't have the manual, can't find it online, and every single sewing book I look at doesn't have detailed instructions on getting that stupid little thread up through the machine!!! Arrggh I'm sooo frustrated! I spent so much money on that class, the machine, all the sewing stuff and I haven't sewn one thing! Not one!

Is there a trick to getting the thread through? I am winding the bobbin correctly as far as I know, but the thread just doesn't get picked up. : HEEELP! Before I throw my sewing machine against the wall, please!

[happyfrog]

((hugs))

first off you said you bought it used.

did you have it serviced AT ALL since you purchased it?

Could be that it needs a timing issue or something's wrong with the feed dogs or bobbin mechanism if you're not getting it to function.

It'll cost a little to do - the servicing but it'll be well worth it to have a good working machine (should be under $100 - maybe even less depending on where you live). and the repair person will (hopefully!) sit down with you and explain exactly how to use the machine, what to clean fluff out of, which way the bobbin goes (yes, there's a right and wrong way), where to add oil, the proper threading path, etc.

((hugs))

BettyAnn

[happyfrog]

forgot to add in my post that i found a dealer that sells my machines (i inherited them from my mom before she died) adn i thought my serger was broken). i brought it in fully intending to leave it for servicing and instead, the owner sat down with me and explained the whole thing to me and showed me what was 'wrong' there was a little trick to getting it threaded and functioning properly. ...

she charged me NOTHING!!!!

she spent a good 2 HOURS with me that day.

Just something else I'd put out there. if you find the dealer that sells the kind you have, they may do similarly. they want happy sewing folks and understand the newbie thing.

because of her assistance, i now sew ALL THE TIME and even have a small sewing business! Before that, I didn't even know how to use my machines!

And yep, she's got a customer for life.

[snitker79]

Well first make sure your bobbin case (the metal dodad that the bobbin goes into) is correctly put back into the encasing. Usually you have to pull the thread up to the top, so that there is some thread sticking out of the top of the bobbin case before putting it back into the machine. Leave quite a bit out the top so that the needle can grab it. Once you have the bobbin case put back into the machine, hand crank your needle down into the machine (like you where starting a stitch). The needle will grab the thread from the bobbin, hold onto the top thread and pull just a bit when the needle is finished going down and then is back up. Take a pen, scissors or something and run it along under the pressser foot and it will grab both threads and pull them all the way through. You will then have both threads.

I hope this makes sense. I'm not usually the one to answer a technical question, so I hope it helps.

Miranda

[lightheart]

first off, breathe, take deep breath let it go, okay calm? let's try and get this pernickerty machine working for you! what kind of machine is it? brand? model? do you have a picture of it so I can try and id it if you don't know. a manual would come in handy, let's see what you have and I'll try and figure out something close enough to work,

not being able to pull the thread from the bobbin t the top...

do you have needle in all the way?

are you using the correct needle? do you know which needle it is susposed to take? most take a regular old one like you find everywhere but becasue you say it was used, a couple of the older singers I know off the top of my head takes an odd size.

is the needle facing the right direction?

is the machine a drop in bobbin (1 piece just the bobbin) or a 2 piece set up with a bobbin case?

A PP explained this just before me but I'll do it again, sometimes hearing things a little differently will catch on...

leave a tail on the bobbin thread, anywhere from a couple inches to about 4, once the bobbin is in the machine have the top threaded, leaving a 6in or so piece of thread for it, turn the handwheel so that the needle goes down all the way then on it's return trip up the bobbin thread should pop out of the needle hole entwined with the top thread, do this slowly, what's happening? if it didn't do it on the 1st try do it again, slowly, might have just missed...

Remember you CAN do this! don't loose heart, it will work! let's see what machie your working with before I start my spill on possible things to try.

the main 'trick' in sewing is holding your mouth just right, have a mirror handy to look to see if your doing it just right, :LOL

[granola_mom]

Thanks so much everyone for your replies! I guess the universe must have picked up on my frustration and sent me a break because I figured it out! (with the help of my engineering partner lol)... It turned out just to be such a simple solution: I wasn't holding the top thread right. I was letting the whole thing slip down into the bottom instead of holding it back behind the foot. DUH! I feel like a huge fool now : but soo happy that I finally sewed something for the first time in a year! Just a simple little sacchet with some lavendar in it... yay!

[orangefoot]

Happy sewing!

[Katie Bugs Mama]

Originally Posted by granola_mom

It turned out just to be such a simple solution: I wasn't holding the top thread right. I was letting the whole thing slip down into the bottom instead of holding it back behind the foot. DUH! I feel like a huge fool now :

I won't laugh at your bobbin trauma, if you promise not to laugh at mine: I absolutely could not get the bottom thread to come up properly no matter what I did. After probably 10 calls to my mother who tried to walk me through the process (it was her old machine,) I dragged the whole thing 50 miles to my MIL's house. She immediately treaded the bobbin with no problem at all. It turns out that I was turning the fly wheel the wrong direction.