sewing machine troubleshooting

rosekitten

have you managed to get it to work yet ?

98jdougl

nope, it did finally get pulled up but still wouldnt get caught after that. is what you get when you buy a cheapo mini i guess

Smithills

If you haven't hurled it out of a window yet (I was once very tempted to do this to my overlocker, there was a tension problem, both the overlocker AND me!), is the spool in the case the right way around ie when you pull the thread out of the spool case at the top, does it undo clockwise or anti-clockwise? This has caused me problems in the past....

(This is very hard to describe without waggling my hands around a lot!:D)

Hope you get it sorted- maybe try again in the morning. Unthread it all and start from scratch, and best of luck.

rosekitten

If you do end up lashing this in the bin,
have you thought of looking out for a
good secondhand one ? I have an
Elna and they really are idiot proof.
Not that I think you are but I know I
have had real problems in the past
with other machines.I like the drop
in bobbin on mine it really is the
easiest machine to use and everyone
who has ever tried mine instantly
falls in love with it.
Its how I came to buy one myself
one go and I was hooked and had to
have one,long lasting too mines a
good twenty years old.

If you can find an old machine cheap
put it in for a good service around £30
you will have a machine that will give you
years of problem free sewing.

I have saved a fortune over the years
in repairs,making curtains,cushions toys
dresses etc.My next project is a pair of
curtains for the sittingroom in a lovely
William Morris fabric,that if I went to
John Lewis to have them made up
would cost a fortune,by making them
its coming out at well under half price

The important thing here is dont give up
I think everyone here knows the frustration
of a machine that wont work.

funkymonkey849

Hello everyone

Been using my sewing machine for an hour or two and no problems, then it jammed and the thread snapped. I removed all the thread, rethreaded it and started again but it's making a funny grating sound, and it's sewing really slowly like something is stopping it, and then it jams again. I have had a look inside to see if any thread was stuck, and removed the bobbin and cleaned around that area but no luck.

I guess it will have to go in for repair, just wondering if there's an obvious problem I've missed

nuttywoman

Mine did that once , it sort of jumped out of sync.My sis did something to it but can`t remember what, but try turning the wheel in reverse .
Someone on here will prob know how to fix it, hopefully.

purpleivy

If you have done the obvious like cleaning it out and rethreading top and bottom threads then it sounds to me like it needs an expert.

I recently had my machined serviced after not having it done for rather too long. It was like having a new machine and well worth the money spent. It's much easier working with a 'healthy' machine.

Kentishmaid_2

It does pay to have the machine serviced every blue moon - I found that when mine went out of sync it behaved better by having the spool full of thread and then I had it serviced........ and wondered if I'd got the same machine back as it ran so well!

angeltreats

It definitely sounds like there's something stuck - probably a little bit of thread or possibly if a needle ever broke, there might be a bit of it left inside. Take out the bobbin, then unscrew or unclip the metal bits behind the bobbin. They should lift out easily. Give it all a good brush out and a blast of canned air if you happen to have any. Then put it all back together again, thread it up (and make absolutely sure it's threaded properly) and see if it's any better.

valk_scot

Change the needle. Nine times out of ten grating noises like this are caused by the needle getting slightly bent, either when you've been pulling the fabric clear or sewing over a pin or thick lump.

You should put in a new needle for every new garment you sew, of appropriate weight and point type. Or every twenty hours of sewing time. It's astonishing how much difference a new needle makes! And yes, you should clean it free of fluff and oil it regularly too. I do this at the same time I'm changing the needle.