My sewing machine ate my first project!*Update* Anyone want to troubleshoot?

[Mama Poot]

Or at least it tried to! I should have double checked to make sure everything was where it should've been. I think my toddler did something to the bobbin thread and twisted it around something. So little did I know that the first time I try to sew something it makes a terrible noise, then stops and won't move. I had to cut a chunk out of the fabric then patch it back together. Thankfully it was nothing special, just a test run for a diaper. And I even think I'll be able to fix it well enough to make it a workable diaper too. I think I need a sewing machine cover....or maybe I should just make one. Yikes!!!



I posted about it. Keeps getting jammed, the knob on the right side will get stuck and the needle won't go up and down. Sometimes it lets go, but then it gets stuck again. DH thinks the parts need oiled??? Any ideas?

[cristeen]

Machines do that sometimes... even without the help of little fingers.

If you have a front loading bobbin, sometimes removing the bobbin and then twisting the needle control turner thingy (what is that called?) back and forth to jiggle the needle up and down will help loosen things up. If you have a drop-in bobbin though, it's not so easy.

[Mama Poot]

Well, it did it again. I have a front loading bobbin- I took it all apart, unthreaded the needle, and the darn thing is totally stuck, it will NOT move. The needle appears to be bent now : Guess I better go buy some good needles. I have no idea what to do with the machine in the meantime. Its totally jammed.

[orangefoot]

Did you have a whole bundle of threads trapped under the needle plate or on the underside of the cloth when you got it out? If you did then it may be that you had the top tension too loose. Loose tension sends far too much thread down to the bobbin and the excess gets wrapped around everything which will easily jam your needle down inside the bobbin casing. Releasing it all will bend your needle and then it won't sew again.

Don't be afraid to take the bobbin out and see if there is any thread stuck behind it. Sometimes just taking everything out and putting it all back in again can help.

As for needles they are relatively cheap so buy a few packets - some for heavy duty fabrics and some for medium weight and some for thin stuff then choose your neeedle according to what you are sewing.

Also set your tension at about 4 then sew a test to see what happens when you move it up the numbers and down the numbers and find which tension best suits your fabric.

[cristeen]

If there is thread in the bobbin area, take your scissors to it. Also unscrew the needle so it'll slide out and then try turning the needle advance to turn the bobbin case and try to loosen the rats nest.

Check all your tension settings, sounds like something's off.

[Mama Poot]

: Well, I cleaned it all up, there wasn't any thread or fabric in places it shouldn't be, and replaced the needle. The machine jammed again. Something is wrong with it. SOOO I took it to Sears parts and repair center, only to find out that my warranty expired FIVE DAYS AGO. So I'm gonna take it to a local sewing machine place. Something isn't right with the darn thing. And its brand new!!!!! GRRRRRR

[WC_hapamama]

Is your needle installed correctly?

[Mama Poot]

As far as I know. I followed the directions-its not that hard to put in, its a simple machine. Its not loose, the needle is brand new, can't think of anything that is out of place.

[courtenay_e]

Sounds like it needs to be oiled to me, too. You can get oil for just a couple of bucks and it should tell you in the owners manual where to oil it. This happened to me with my serger because nobody told me when I got it that it needs to be oiled once a month whether you use it or not. *sigh* Cost me an arm and a leg, and all it needed was a little oil.

Hope that's what's going on with you, but I'd definately oil it up before you use it again or it might seize, and that would be bad.

[eepster]

Originally Posted by Mama Poot

: Well, I cleaned it all up, there wasn't any thread or fabric in places it shouldn't be, and replaced the needle. The machine jammed again. Something is wrong with it. SOOO I took it to Sears parts and repair center, only to find out that my warranty expired FIVE DAYS AGO. So I'm gonna take it to a local sewing machine place. Something isn't right with the darn thing. And its brand new!!!!! GRRRRRR

How could the warranty be expired if it's brand new? How did they explain that?

Double check to make sure the bobbin isn't loaded backwards, then check to make sure the thread is feeding off the spool smoothly.

[lightheart]

take the bobbin race/hook out and clean behind it, not just the bobbin case

will try to explain if you don't know what I'm talking about
you will have the bobbin, the round donut you wind the thread on

the bobbin fits in the bobbin case, you have to take this out everytime you change bobbin

the bobbin case fits in the machine in a bobbin race/hook

if you don't know what I'm trying to say and you have a picture of the bobbin area that you can post I will try to explain a little better or the model of machine and I'll try and find a picture online

sometimes a tiny pice of lint or thread behind this will bind up a machine.

if the motor runs on a belt then possibly the belt is loose or worn, cheap fix if you can tighten or replace yourself.
if the motor runs on gears, possibly bad

to oil or not to oil... I play with the old machines and on those you can oil basiclly every part... on the newer ones, I am totally lost on where and where not to oil, somethings are self lubricating. look in your manual and they should tell you.

[Mama Poot]

It only needed oiled, thankfully. The machine was purchased a year ago but I haven't used it until now. Unfortunately the warranty ran out during that time. Sigh. But at least it doesn't need repaired.