Thread: okay WTF is causing this?!

awww that looks like what happened to me every @#$%^ time i tried to sew ...sympathy offered!

I might be able to help!!

I have found myself in similar situations!

Lemmee see if I can explain.

When you wound your bobbin thread did you do it evenly up and down the spool? As in, no cone shape with the thread filling out the bottom or top only of the bobbin first and then filling in the other half? Try filling a new bobbin very perfectly evenly up and down throughout the whole thing until it is full and replacing the current bobbin.

This may solve the problem.

And yes, agreed tension adjustment may fix it as well.

These are moments when we want chuck the sewing machine out the window!

Originally Posted by Azhia

*shaking fist at thread tension doohickey*

I'm sure my partner would recommend to "RTFM" (Read the F--g Manual). Uh, this machine is from the 1940s, I'll have to get my hands on a manual. Anyone have access to a Necchi BU (plain old BU, with "NN" in the center) manual? ,f::

Maranajla, this is definitely causing me to want to stuff an Oh Henry bar in my face. Hm, direct causation...

"RTFM" LOLOLLOLLOL.....That is what I did when I had this problem, hence my explanation. I have to add that acronym to my list. sooooo funny............

here is a post with a threading diagram-is this similar to your machine?

Necchi BU Sewing Machine Threading Diagram

it looks like my mother's old Singer (no book).....and my old New Home (I do have a book for that c.1923) and they are both the same as far as threading.

When my newish machine started misbehaving because I probably knocked it out of time by busting a denim needle HARD, trying to sew a belt loop back on a pair of jeans that I was altering for my big ole butt I put a walking foot on it. Presto! The machine started behaving and I could sew knits like crazy. It was about thirty bucks.

Clean machine, pray, make sure it is the right bobbin, pray, spool the thread onto bobbin while assisting tension with finger, pray, insert bobbin in correct direction and adjust tension, pray some more.

Now, I was caught praying by hubby one time (#$%^$#@&!!!!!), he called it blasphemy, I called it praying with intensity. Potatoes / pototoes...it's all the same.

Hoping it all works out for you.

This happens to me from time to time.

It's usually one or a combination of 3 things. Either the bobbin hasn't been threaded through the bobbin holder correctly. The machine isn't threaded correctly, or the tension was adjusted correctly and checked prior to sewing.

D@$$#$@%#^!!!!!!!

I know I have the machine threaded correctly.

Now I have skipped stitches (no stitches are being produced or they are uneven and inconsistent), and my needle thread constantly snaps/breaks. The tension is set at 3. I cannot sew one inch of a stitch without having to stop.

WTF?!

I ordered the FM so that I can RTFM. I know I crash computers. I know I turn off street lights or whole rows of them when I walk underneath. How could this happen to me with a mechanical machine??

There might be a big old gob of gunk or fluff living in your machine that needs to be cleaned out. It is old after all. "hairballs" have been known to mess up a perfectly good sewing machine.

Originally Posted by andalee-oriental

There might be a big old gob of gunk or fluff living in your machine that needs to be cleaned out. It is old after all. "hairballs" have been known to mess up a perfectly good sewing machine.

No hairball sitings. This machine is surprisingly well-kept and lint-free for its age.
..cr.:..cr.:

pull the bobbin case out (leave the bobbin in it) and pull on the bobbin thread....does it come out fairly easy or do you have to tug? If you have to tug....pull the bobbin (make sure it's in the right way) and reinsert.

Put a new (correct size) needle in. Run a piece of cardstock through the tension disc to make sure no fuzz-bunnies are living in there. Re-thread. Tug. run thread through needle. Manually crank the machine to pull up bobbin thread. Pull both threads....does they come easy or do you feel any tension or do you feel a tug-release?????

If you feel a tug-release you might have a burr somewhere (most likely on the bobbin or on the bobbin case).

Eat some chocolate and practice some deep breathing and try placing some cotton fabric in the machine and crank by hand and see what happens. If it looks good, hit the pedal.

How do you know for sure you have the machine threaded properly if you don't have a copy of the manual?

Some kind of threading issue still seems like the most likely culprit.

Grasping at straws here, but how old is the thread? Just asking because when I inherited my grandma's 1950's industrial quality singer, I also got a big box of her sewing notions and many spools of thread. Unfortunately most were decades old, and would break easily with the least bit of tension.

Originally Posted by TailaDances

pull the bobbin case out (leave the bobbin in it) and pull on the bobbin thread....does it come out fairly easy or do you have to tug? If you have to tug....pull the bobbin (make sure it's in the right way) and reinsert.

Put a new (correct size) needle in. Run a piece of cardstock through the tension disc to make sure no fuzz-bunnies are living in there. Re-thread. Tug. run thread through needle. Manually crank the machine to pull up bobbin thread. Pull both threads....does they come easy or do you feel any tension or do you feel a tug-release?????

If you feel a tug-release you might have a burr somewhere (most likely on the bobbin or on the bobbin case).

Eat some chocolate and practice some deep breathing and try placing some cotton fabric in the machine and crank by hand and see what happens. If it looks good, hit the pedal.

I will try this, but especially the chocolate part.

From the voice of experience: Change the needle. But before you do, take the plate off and clean all the crap out of the feed dogs. Remove the bobbin AND the bobbin case and clean the crap out of there too. Open up covers on your machine to expose any working parts and remove any crap from those places. OIL. Then replace the needle before you start messing with the tension.

Nine times out of ten this will fix your problem.

Souzan

Originally Posted by TailaDances

pull the bobbin case out (leave the bobbin in it) and pull on the bobbin thread....does it come out fairly easy or do you have to tug? If you have to tug....pull the bobbin (make sure it's in the right way) and reinsert.

Put a new (correct size) needle in. Run a piece of cardstock through the tension disc to make sure no fuzz-bunnies are living in there. Re-thread. Tug. run thread through needle. Manually crank the machine to pull up bobbin thread. Pull both threads....does they come easy or do you feel any tension or do you feel a tug-release?????

If you feel a tug-release you might have a burr somewhere (most likely on the bobbin or on the bobbin case).

Eat some chocolate and practice some deep breathing and try placing some cotton fabric in the machine and crank by hand and see what happens. If it looks good, hit the pedal.

I like this answer because it has lots of practical 'testing' and chocolate in it.

Originally Posted by Azhia

*shaking fist at thread tension doohickey*

I'm sure my partner would recommend to "RTFM" (Read the F--g Manual). Uh, this machine is from the 1940s, I'll have to get my hands on a manual. Anyone have access to a Necchi BU (plain old BU, with "NN" in the center) manual? ,f::

Maranajla, this is definitely causing me to want to stuff an Oh Henry bar in my face. Hm, direct causation...

Like this one?
Necchi BU Sewing Machine Threading Diagram

(oops this was out there already!)

It IS possible that the timing is off on the machine, and that you would need to have a service man fix.

It was demonstrated to me perfectly. Everything ran smoothly. Then I got it home, I touched NOTHING, and then all this stuff started happening...

...which is why I'm so frustrated.

Originally Posted by anala

Its called Anala's disease and it is usually fatal over a period of 1.5 hours.

..l;,

Happend to me sometimes and I usualy do the samething this little guy is doing with his computer:

Qamar

OMG, where did you find those other emoticons?!!

Ha, ha! They are from a French Québec forum:

Forum Taksim... Forum québécois de danse orientale

Same as for Bhuz, the appear when you write a message! C'est super cool! Non?

Qamar..l;,

Sometimes it IS a tension problem....just not in the machine! That's why the chocolate (and sometimes a glass or two of wine) is important.

Sometimes the machine just doesn't like the fabric. I have a Singer that refuses to sew on anything except cotton-so that is my quilting machine.

worst case scenario, take it in to the shop for a cleaning and tune up and have them show you how to thread it and make sure that they show you how to pop that bobbin in the right way, etc.

Old machines can get tempramental!

Yes, just like tension travels down the leash in the case of pets, I'm sure tension travels in profusion from me to the machine. I don't know why I expected this one to cooperate any more than the last 2. (They're all snickering at me, I KNOW it).

I don't plan on carrying this 30+ pound thing on the subway so taking to the store is not an option for me, unfortunately.

The 92-page manual contains some trouble shooting tips so in addition to what's been suggested above, I'll check those out and see if that doesn't help any.

garrrrrrr.....

Oh I am the QUEEN of F****** up sewing machines I've been banned for life from my mother's and nieces machines! That being said my mother said I was having that problem because I was not applying steady pressure on the peddle and messing up the tension. And going from fast to slow. (or it could be that sewing machines HATE me! I do all hand sewing now and beg others to fix things that need a machine!)

where does the thread break? seriously, if it breaks at the top, it may be something as simple as the thread catching in the notch of the thread spool. watch the spool while you sew your three inches.

HTH

Originally Posted by anala

Its called Anala's disease and it is usually fatal over a period of 1.5 hours.

Holy $h*t!! HAHAHAHAHA! I have this disease, too and it feels so good to know it finally has a name.

Hi, my older sewing machine is doing exactly the same, if she needs oil... some drops and it works perfect. I think you should try it, maybe it's the same with your machine. Good luck!

oh, I didn't read the whole thread, so please ignore if anyone had the same idea.

Originally Posted by kemintiri

where does the thread break? seriously, if it breaks at the top, it may be something as simple as the thread catching in the notch of the thread spool. watch the spool while you sew your three inches.

HTH

Originally Posted by SabuaSabua

Hi, my older sewing machine is doing exactly the same, if she needs oil... some drops and it works perfect. I think you should try it, maybe it's the same with your machine. Good luck!

oh, I didn't read the whole thread, so please ignore if anyone had the same idea.

Oh yeah....forgot about these!!!! Tells you how longs it's been since I hit my machines (figure of speech )

Originally Posted by ssipes

Also, when was the last time you had the machine serviced? They need periodic cleanings, adjustments, maintenance to keep them running smoothly.

It took me a long time to read this thread, but I'm glad I did!

My machine is 50 yrs old and I'm very very attached to it as my mom brought it west with her in 1958 ... and (and!) it's very groovy looking.

I can sew for quite a while before this EXACT thing happens, but now I'll check the threading. If I go fast at all, the thread can fling itself around a bit. I can just about thread it with my eyes closed, as there are only five steps and I've been doing them since I was 7. So I'll slow down a bit. ... and I do have the manual, heh.

... and I have seen the thread somehow reverse itself and wind itself around the spindle the spool is on ... not really sure how that happens! ,m::

I can't find anyone to do maintenance on this girl, so I'll use that brush/lint idea around the bobbin housing. And Earl (oil).

Thank you everyone! ... Oh, and it CAN'T be ugly fabric! Do sewing machines barf?? lol.

My machine (also a Singer) hates anything slippery: the feed dogs won't move the fabric (sigh)

By the way, I quit sewing the other day because it was doing exactly that, and just now I sewed a long, straight seam and the tension looks just perfect. ... sigh ... I think it just gets tired or something! Honest, I didn't rethread it, oil it, nothing. I just sat down and started to sew and how it's perfect again. ... narr ...