My sewing machine isn't pulling fabric through properly, what's going on?
I have an old, older than I am, singer and all of the sudden, it will not feed the fabric through, I have to yank from the other side to get it through and then the bottom stitches get all messed up. Basically it's stitching in only one place. My mom, to whom the sewing machine originally belonged to, seems to think that it's just old and dead, but I'm hoping it can be repaired. I've checked an adjusted eveything I can think to do, so any suggestions would be helpfull. Thanks.
Anonymous2008-04-21T21:07:24Z
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If it's a pre- about 1965 Singer, it's probably dead only if you've run it through a hammermill a couple of times. Or maybe a 10 story drop without a parachute. Or prolonged immersion in brackish water. <g> Otherwise, it's probably repairable.
Chances are it's impacted lint under the feed dogs, misthreading, a bobbin jam, the feed dogs have been dropped, or there's a broken gear. In addition, there was a period when they were using a rubberish sort of feed dog that disintegrates.
If you're a determined do it yourselfer and this is a mechanical machine, you might poke around in the files and archives of the yahoo group "wefixit", a group of pro and amateur sewing machine mechanics with a lot of expertise and willingness to share.
The correct answer is rethread your machine! Do not! I repeat do not! ever adjust the bobbin tension. If you adjust the bobin tension you will never get it back to factory settings, unless you take it in to have it serviced. The top tension is the only one that should be adjusted. Make sure the presser foot lever is up when you thread it. Too many times people do not understand that the thread cannot get in the tension disks if the presser foot is down, that is what closes them. Raise the presser foot and make sure the top thread has gone in between the disks and then the thread should be brought up to the take up lever and threaded, usually from right to left. (That's the part that actually goes up and down on the front of the machine) It actually pulls the thread through the tension disks, if it has no thread in it the top thread just gets jumbled up under the fabric. At this point pull gently on the thread and you will feel it pull easily, then lower the presser foot and pull on the thread again. You should feel it is harder to pull. That is tension. If at any time the threads are messed up on the bottom it is always the upper threading. If the bobbin thread is pulling up to the top, then it is the bobbin threading. Always the opposite of what you might think. I help people with this problem quite often in my sewing machine store!
It may be old but I hardly think it's dead. I have personally sewn on machines that were made in the late 1800's and converted to electric from treadle that were still going strong. I do suggest taking it to a shop for a quick check-up. It will most likely turn out to be something easily repairable (I'm thinking something wrong with the feed dogs here). At any rate you can not now buy a new machine any where near the quality of the one you have.
Your machine should be tuned and cleaned yearly. The feed dogs could be broken, or I suppose clogged with lint. Or, you could have accidentally flipped the switch that lowers them out of the way for free-form sewing. .
try altering the tension on the bobbin (there is a small screw there) and adjust by screwdriver. if it gets worse, then adjust the opposite way. then by alternating between both tensions, you will suceed in correcting the situatiion, then as a last minute check, re-threadle the cotton from the start to finish. that should do it. if not ring janome, any janome, their sales persons are sewers and know what they're doing.