What is wrong with my sewing machine?

No mystery and no need to fix the tension.

Check the bobbin area to be sure it is clear of tangles.

EVERY TIME you thread the machine, do so with the presser foot up and you will have no more tangles.

Normal setting for the tension is 4 - 5 on the dial/selector.

Don't touch those tension dials yet!

Rethread the machine, top and bobbin. Change the needle, sometimes a dull or blunt needle doesn't engage the hook properly.

It sounds to me like the bobbin is put in backwards. Check your manual to see which way it goes in. Unfortunately, I think of a toilet paper roll. Does the machine want the bobbin thread to go over or under??

If you don't have a manual, do a test run, once with the bobbin thread going over, once under. If that doesn't fix the problem then you can try the tension suggestions, but I have almost never touched mine in 15 years of sewing professionally.

I have one that does that tool It's often the tension setting on upper and/or lower (bobbin) threads. There's a dial on front of machine above need area for top thread with numbers. Set it to 5. Take out the bobbin.There's a little screw that holds the tension of the thread when Bobbin is loaded. Gently pull thread from bobbin. If it feels loose, tighten screw a tad. Test on a scrap for 2 inches or so and adjust again if needed.

Also, if the fabric is heavy or fine these tensions needs readjusting.

Your stitching looks something like:

http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/2191661...

or

http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/2191655... ?

Blue thread is the needle thread; red in the bobbin, fabric is

muslin, stitch length is 3mm.

If that's true, you're probably a victim of poor or no tension on

the upper thread. There are several possibilities here:

1) misthreading, particularly threading with the presser foot

down -- it must be UP so the upper tension disks open. This is

the most common reason for this problem.

2) upper tension set too lightly. Just for grins, set it to 4 --

that's the usual tension setting for most fabrics, most stitches.

3) dirty upper tension -- usually rust in a poorly stored

machine, or fluff and yuck from cheap threads, or from trying to

run hand quilting thread in a machine.

4) thread too heavy for the machine, especially too heavy for the

needle size. Home sewing machines are not meant to take heavy

threads like upholstery nylon v69.

5) old dead needle or bent needle -- they really should be

replaced every couple to 6 hours of needle up and down through

fabric time. Bad needles make all sorts of crazy symptoms on

sewing machines. Also replace needles if you hit a pin or the

presser foot or the needle plate.

6) trying to sew with the presser foot up -- that's a fairly

common newbie trick, or when you've got heavy fabric (like trying

to hem jeans).

7) you're not starting a seam correctly.

Do you have a manual or at least a threading diagram for your

machine?

Let's see if we can cure your machine.

Take all the thread off the machine -- spool off the spool pin,

bobbin out of the bobbin case.

Using brush and vacuum (not compressed air) clean your machine

according to the instructions in the manual. Pull the needleplate (the thingie the needle goes through) and clean under and around

the feed dogs and around the bobbin case area. Oil (sewing

machine oil only, not WD-40 nor 3-in-1 type oils) your machine as

specified in the manual. Some machines do not require oil.

Find a piece of much-washed cotton fabric -- a bandanna or

pillowcase hem is perfect. Moisten a fold of the fabric with

rubbing alcohol or unflavored vodka. Raise the presser foot.

"Floss" the tension disks with the moistened cotton fabric, then

floss again with dry.

Replace the needle with a brand new size 80/12 sewing machine

needle, turned the correct way. Needles have fronts and backs and

backwards needles skip stitches or don't sew at all. See:

http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/1720679...

Rethread from scratch, top and bottom, using the manual to make

sure you're doing it right. "Floss" the upper thread into the

tension (remember, that presser foot should be up!). Use

"dressmaker weight" thread, usually size 50 cotton equivalent,

and don't buy cheap thread:

http://sewing.about.com/library/weekly/aa102100a.h... There are

decent, inexpensive threads out there. The 3 spools/$1 sort is nothing but trouble.

Fetch up the bobbin thread and pull out 3-4" of both top and

bottom threads.

Put a folded scrap of medium weight fabric (like a piece of old

shirt) under the needle.

Use the handwheel to drop the needle into the fabric.

Drop the presser foot.

Holding on to the ends of the threads behind the presser foot,

take a couple of stitches, and then drop the threads and sew

normally.

What does your stitching look like? If it looks like this:

http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/2191669... ,

congratulations,

you've fixed it, keep sewing.

If it looks like this:

http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/2191666...

with loops of bobbin thread on top, either the bobbin is

misthreaded, the top thread is too tight, or the bobbin tension

needs adjustment.

If it looks like this:

http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/2191661...

or maybe not quite that bad, the upper tension needs adjustment

Generally speaking, if you can't get stitching that looks like

http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/2191669... with the

upper tension set between 3 and 5 and the machine properly threaded, cleaned and lubricated, it's time for a trip to the shop.

FWIW: all the "bad stitching samples" are from my main machine --

to produce the bad stitching, all I did was misthread the machine

or not hang on to the thread tails when starting a seam.

Mine does that each and all the time too. attempt re-winding the bobbin. My stitching gadget has a timing concern. it truly is between the cheap $one hundred Brothers. My mom and sister have the comparable difficulty with theirs. Mine grow to be merely appearing up each time I switched fabric or to a heavier thread, then to each time i ended the gadget, now if i circulate quicker than an inch a minute ( i will circulate quicker on my grams foot powered stitching gadget). attempt messing with the rigidity (mine gave the impression to be no longer something yet an ornamental knob nonetheless, loosen it each and each of ways the thread broke, tighten it the thread broke or the bobbin have been given all tousled). in case you have the money and stitching is something you do on a primary foundation i might placed money right into a sturdy gadget. I merely went out and have been given a clean Viking. i think of I fell in love with it on the save. My mom's Kenmore began catching the bobbin too (it truly is 30 years previous nonetheless) Her bobbin winder grow to be no longer winding properly. If it feels like the thread is loose on the bobbin or that it truly is angled (no longer calmly allotted) it may be that.

Your tension needs to be adjusted. There are knobs on the front, near the top. The tension knob is probably smaller than your stitch length knob. Use a scrap piece of material to practice adjusting that knob until it gets better.

take it where you bought it and ask what's wrong with it