As a sewer, you probably have had many frustrating days. One of the most annoying would be when your sewing machine has problems. This not only will take some time to fix if you’re not careful it could wreck your project. After many frustrating days, I know what to do when my sewing machine has problems. Here is my common sense guide to sewing machine problems.
Know Your Machine
To prevent and easily fix sewing machine problems, know your machine. When you first get your machine I would dedicate some time to figuring it out instead of just starting on a project. I learnt the hard way after getting my first project ruined by my sewing machine. It might seem like an annoyance to take the time to learn how it works but it will save you time in the long run. What had ruined my first project was major problems with my tension. How I fixed it, was threading the bobbin the other way, the right way. It would have saved me so much time and frustration if I would have just sat down and played with my machine until I learned all those little things about my machine.
The Power Of Rethreading
Knowing your machine doesn’t mean it would always work perfectly. If it starts giving your grief the first thing I would do, is rethreading it completely. Rethreading your sewing machine can eliminate your sewing machine problems. This is something I always hated doing, how long it would take to take it out and putting it back in fix the problem. Instead, I would look and see if it was threaded properly and it usually did look good. Then I would go and fiddle with my machines settings trying to fix the problem. Let’s just say it easy to rethread the machine, then messing up your settings and now having to fix your settings as well as rethread the machine since that was the problem.
When Rethreading Doesn’t Work
I used to think rethreaded means that the problem fixed.So I would go right back to sewing on my project most times it works but the times it didn’t I would have to do lots of careful stitch picking. Don’t do that; test it on a scrap first. If the problem still there try adjusting your length and width. If you do this all on scrap you won’t wreck any good fabric and it will save you time.
Manuals Are Super Helpful
If you’re not sure what the problem is I would refer to your manual. Mine even has a list on the back of common problems and how to fix them. If you don’t have a manual I would google it. And never take anything apart that you’re not a 100% sure you know how to put it together again.
Take A Break
Now the might be times when nothing is working. If you’re having a day like that take a break. You might be thinking that not going to help, I need to get this done. From my experience, taking a break and getting rid of the frustration can work wonders. Some days just aren’t good for sewing. So take a break and come back to it when you feel refreshed and ready to tackle the problem. In a refreshed state it is amazing how much easier the sewing machine problems become and sometimes they might disappear altogether.
What do you do when your sewing machine has problems? Is there somethings you always check? Share in the comments below