Please HELP / Sewing Machine trouble and I have order to fill
 

It did great, sewed just as it always does when I sewed 5 belly bands. They were thicker material so I adjusted everything as needed. But now I go to sew a dress using reg lighter weight cotton fabric and it keep messing up. I have ripped it out twice now and started again. Same thing happens.

The top thread just is not pulling tight enough, I can see loops where its not tight at all and the bottom side just looks like one straight line, there is not tension at all _._._._._ I've had this issue before and was always able to fix it.

I took out the bobbin and it was in the wrong way so I fixed that but its still messes up. I've tried re threading my machine several time and still same issue. I tried changing the tension to several other positions and still messed up. Ive changed the stitch length and still nothing. .


Any ideas ??? I'm desperate, I have orders to fill for Valentines dresses and do not want to disappoint my customers.

Could it be my needle or that my machine is too cold. Its set up in the basement but I have a heater going for 1/2 hr before I even start sewing.

I pulled the stitches on the front to show how loose they are. Im lost Please help.

I don't know how old your machine is but try turning it off for a few min to let it reset itself. I would change the bobbin and rethread it again. Put your tension settings where you usually use them and try it on a test piece. I'm going to send you a PM

Thank You so much for taking the time to message me and to speak to me on the phone. I will see if I can get it going tomorrow afternoon and will get back with you than. :)

did you change your needle?? does your machine need cleaning out??

On my machine there are two places to adjust tension. There's the obvious tension adjustment on the front of the machine where the top thread passes through, and then there is the bobbin tension, which on my machine is a flathead screw that you adjust in the bobbin compartment.


Did you look at your owners manual regarding tension?

Going to try that next, and I've don't that.


I've already adjusted both the machine and the bobbin tensions.


Haven't gotten out the manual . . I've been using this machine for 15 yrs and am very comfortable with tension controls.




Well the baby is sleeping finally so I brought my machine up from the basement to see if maybe the cold was an issue. Going to try a few other things to see how it goes.


Thanks for your responses ladies !

Changed the needle and whether that was the issue or just the cold environment was its Running smoothly as usual . . . oh an is sound much better too. Before it was sort of chugging along which I thought was odd. I guess the oil had gotten to thick from the cold.


Thank you ladies, you a life saver !!! :D

It may have been the thicker material , messed up your tension or left behind a lot of fluff , that an sometimes cause this. Hope that's it sorted.

I change my needle after one or two uses or that happens to me.

OK SCRATCH THAT . . . . IT'S STILL MESSSED UP..UGH !!


I've got the owners manual out and checking for solutions now.


I changed the bobbin and blew out the fluff and still same thing. :( I just don't understand. Any additional suggestions would be great. I just got another order, HELP !!

What brand/model machine is it?

Dawn, I'm sorry you are having problems. I KNOW how frustrating it can be. Before I got my dream machine which is all metal, all mechanical and is over 60 years old, my trouble shooting went something like this....

1) Rethread machine and bobbin
2) If that didn't work, I changed the needle
3) If that didn't work, I would change both the thread - both top and bobbin
4) If that didn't work, I'd turn off the machine and leave it for a couple of hours (giving the machine time to "rest" and me to quit having evil thoughts.

Good luck and think positive more orders! YEAH!

Top tension is too loose. May be gunked up and getting stuck intermittently? Try hitting it with a hair dryer on high heat, and or a spritz of WD40. Run it on scrap till all the gunk is gone, and/or take a thicker, absorbent cotton or gauze and draw it through the tension disks (assuming there are disks). When that's all cleaned up, a tiny drop of oil on the tension assembly then run till no oil on the thread, or wipe with the gauze again. Sew on scraps till running clean. Also a drop of on the bobbin race thingy....

Its a Kenmore ... and the darn manual was NO help.

Thanks !!


Kathy, most of what you said is gibberish to me . . I can do the hair dryer and the WD40 thing with the cotton.

Don't know about disks it a 2000 model.

And what type of oil to I use, none ever came with it when we bought it.

Mommy to the rescue . . called my 72 yr old mother who has been sewing her entire life and she's going to take a look at it for me and if we cant get it going she is lending me one of hers. I'll take all of your suggestion about the oil and stuff and see if the two of us can figure it out. :D I just hope that I don't have problems figuring her machine out.

I guess if that don't work, I'll take into the shop and pray it don't cost me an arm an a leg for repairs.

Regular sewing machine oil is best, do not use 3-in-1 or any kind but specifically made for sewing machines. On older machines, the oil can turn into something similar to glue after many years... and turns a dark, sticky yellow color.

It sounds like something is preventing the tension disks from operating normally, either a chunk of dirt or dust, or fibers from the fabrics from sewing.

If you can post a pic of your machine or find the model #, I can look it up and maybe offer more specific instructions/things to try to get it up and running....

I tore it apart top to bottom and cleaned out all the fuzz I could find. Almost didn't get it put back together..


I appreciate any help you can find: Kenmore-Model 385.1551600 / bought in 2001.

Free manual here: http://www.searspartsdirect.com/part...mManualTabPage

Shows oiling diagram. Needle threaded from front to back? Is the needle set correctly? Did you remove the feed dog plate and clean under it? If you've had any needles break it may need a tune-up/adjustment. There could be a thread stuck in the tension area... Did you try loosening the bobbin tension? Did you thread the machine with the presser foot up? Using correct needle size for fabric weight? Bobbin area clean and bobbin placed correctly (unwinds clockwise)? Are you using a quality brand needle? Some machines are picky and cheaper needles can cause problems..

If I think of anything else I'll be back!

The only thing that I have not been able to look at clearly is the tension wheel. Everything else I have done or tried. I have the manual and now know where to put the oil, thanks. I have torn this thing apart and cleaned it as best I can all except the tension wheel which I suspect may be the problem.


Thank you to all you ladies for taking the time to help me . . .Headed to the sewing shop and to my moms, lets hope I come back with great news or at least loner machine..

This machine is worth keeping, even if your SM guy refuses to work on it. I'll be watching for an update... I have a few other resources I haven't checked on yet, but I'll wait to see what happens. It never hurts to have a back-up machine anyway!

Well thanks to a little bit of oil and yet another new needle it is running smoothly, sound the Best it has in years and as far as I can tell is sewing properly.

Keeping my fingers crossed, I'll be back !

Oh yes, very much worth keeping . . although I did see a very nice one that the owner of the sewing shop showed me that I would Love to have but money is an issue at the moment.





I had to crawl on the floor and than sit on my butt in order I dragged my moms machine out (all 25 lbs) of it from under her sewing cabinet. Threw my back out in the process and than after all that it was just too heavy for me to lug all the way to my car. So, hoping mine is good to go or I'll be having my DH stop and pick hers up for me. Its an embroidery machine that she says the needles cost $22 each, yikes!

Oh dear, I hope you feel better soon. That's the only downfall with sewing machines... moving them around, lol! I've rescued a few machines that look as if they had been soaking in used gritty axel grease. I should own stock in Q-Tips, lol. I degunk with WD40 and or Liquid Wrench (kerosene in a can), and CRC QD Electronic Cleaner (from your fav Auto Parts store) and when the gunk is gone, I do a through oiling with Sewing Machine oil. Older machines like to be oiled often.

Oh yeah, it is very possible to have a faulty 'new', straight out of the package needle, so very good thinking of you to change it out again. Good Luck, I hope she stays a'runnin'!

Good rule of thumb to remember.....

If you have problems with the top thread, the problem is with the bobbin.
If you have problems with the bobbin thread, the problem is with your top thread.

And it's possible to have old thread, or your machine just not like a particular thread. If I'm having issues, and nothing seems to be fixing them, I try a different thread and different bobbin. If the machine works, it was the thread or bobbin thread. If not, it's a machine issue.

Thanks, and its better today. Its just my age catching up with me.


My Goodness you are quite the little machinist..... good for you rescuing them and giving them a new lease on life !!



Thanks Michelle; I didn't think that anything was going to work but my lovely mother, bless her heart got her oiled up and got her going for me. Love her !! ♥


Now she's purring like a kitten and I'm getting caught up on my orders.


Thanks everyone, very much appreciated.

You'll probably be able to sew even faster now! WooHoo!

LOl Im counting on it . . :D at least it wont sound like my machine is getting ready to fall apart !!