sewing machine help needed

[battricia]

Hi. I need some help with a sewing machine problem that i'm haing. I'm making a pillow cover for my grandmothers chair and for some reason I keep having a problem with the machine getting jammed. The fabric is pretty thick, and the thread is pretty thick, however I've sewn thicker fabric with thicker thread, so I don't see where the problem is. I have a presser foot that is made to move fabric (has a big box on the end of it, puts a lot of pressure on the fabric to be sure it moves) and the foot has worked really well with other things, but for some reason the fabric will not advance, and it causes knots to build up on the underside. I've taken the bobbin mechanism apart to make sure nothing is stuck, I've cleaned the whole machine of dust, etc. is there anything I might not be doing? Also if you know of any sewing message boards i might be able to post this on, that would help. Thanks for your help.


tricia.

 

[pumba]

is it to high .......do you have a book that you can check on this problem.......I Know my HUSBAND is behind here saying.......read the book the answer is always in the book......well I know that the tension has alot to do with if it goes or gets stopped up.......

 

[battricia]

I did read the book (just to let your husband know ) I'm also a 'read the manual' type person, however the manual just says about tension 'if its getting stuck try changing the tension' so i tried changing the tension in both the bobbon and the top thread every which way, apparently i can't find the best combo What tension do you suggest for heavy fabric/heavy thread? Do you think it could be the needle? The book also says it might be the needle, if it's not the tension, I really don't want to have to go get a new needle, as I don't have any means of transportation right now. Like I said, i've sewn through thicker fabric w/ the same type thread in the past, I just can't seem to figure it out. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll probably keep working on that.

tricia.

 

[lisa_from_nj]

Check to make sure the machine is threaded properly. On my machine, there is a silver thing at the top that the thread feeds through (don't know what it is called - it's open in the back) where the thread can sometimes slip out. This causes the knots like you described.

Hope this helps!

 

[paulinewdw]

It it is knotting up on the bottom....you have a tension problem(too tight) adjust the tension to make the thread looser....test it out on a piece of white cotton (it should be very loose on the top and bottom in order to go thru thick fabric....also are you using
a straight stitch? Thick fabrics do not like any of the fancier stitches.

Hope this helps!

 

[battricia]

about the tension: do you suggest I adjust the tension on teh top thread, or the bottom thread. and then do you suggest I adjust it looser, or tighter? It's weird because I kept trying it out on another peice to see what was going on (A very thin peice) and it was working fine. Then when i would go back to the thick stuff it was knotting up again (knotting on the bottom, the top stitch looks fine WHEN it advances, but it doesn't do that often.) and yes it's a strait stitch, so i guess that can't be the problem.

Thanks again for all your help.

tricia.

 

[paulinewdw]

If it is knotting on the bottom...your top thread tension is too tight
for the thickness of the fabric that you are working on!

 

[Nette]

I've had this problem....

It was caused by using Singer needles in my White machine. I know they are all supposed to be interchangable, but the Singer needles are a tiny bit longer and they threw the timing off when I was sewing really thick fabrics or many layers. (Seemed to work fine on less fabric)

I even took it to the shop to have the timing adjusted, it came back working perfectly, but then I broke the needle and replaced it with a Singer needle and whammo it was jamming again. When I replaced the needle with an Organ needle it started working beautifully.

Just my experience.