Susan in TN Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 I mean, it doesn't have a soul... (or does it? Mmmmwwwaaahahaha) Nasty. Evil. Thing. I'm trying so hard to make my girls little aprons for our trip to Colonial Philly/Williamsburg. I found some cute frilly edged pillowcases - I mean, sew some elastic to the top, attach ribbon, and you're done. The girls are tingling with excitement. But no - my top thread breaks. And breaks. And breaks and breaks and breaks. I change the tension. I change needles. I change thread. I rethread. I cut the pillowcases so I'm not sewing through so many layers. Now my bobbin thread is getting wadded up and stuck. The thingy is getting out of place. I give up. I hate that stupid thing. We leave in 12 days and I don't have the time or money to fix the machine and I can't possibly sew the elastic on by hand. (can I?) At least I got the mob caps done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meriwether Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 :grouphug: I both love and hate sewing. My mom dislikes sewing, and so I was mostly self-taught. I have no advice, but I feel for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 It's not wrong, but it's unwise: if the sewing machine gods are angry w/ you, cursing them will only make matters worse. ;) Dh has become adept at making appropriate offerings on my behalf. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHowell Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 I can't be much help since I yell at mine all the time....... How about tacky glue? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs_JWM Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 After a completely annoying experience yesterday, I thought about when Laura realizes that Ma hates sewing as much as she does...so, NO! Curse away! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Well the sewing machine holds all the power right now. You might want to wait those 12 days, and then curse it. ;) Seriously I feel your pain. I'm pretty good at diagnosing and fixing minor problems with my sewing machine, but it makes me crazy when it acts up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassoonaroo Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 The sewing machine is the only appliance I routinely cuss out. Tonight the food processor broke so I cussed it out too. Never out loud though. It is necessary to swear at a sewing machine because it's like machine oil. It needs a certain amount of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lang Syne Boardie Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 The previous posters are right. You pray to the household deities and do not curse them, because they hold all the power AND they often work together. That's why when you swear at the garbage disposal, the toilet backs up. Try leaving little gifts of dryer lint in front of the sewing machine overnight, and a bottle of WD40. Might be more tractable tomorrow. If you don't believe in household gods, I recommend better quality thread. The thread available at craft stores nowadays is absolutely awful for snarling, tangling, and shredding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Careful...because you may reap what you sew :D So. Sow. Sew. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celticmom Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 I would consider handsewing it. That sounds like it may be easier and faster. The issues do sound tension related though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 I've had this happen to me so many times. First of all, it definitely helps to walk away for a while. Then, take the thread off the machine, and rethread it. Then, remove the bobbin and reinsert it. Make sure the thread is going the right way. Usually my problem is the top thread being messed up somehow, although it appears to be the bobbin. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indigomama Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 I don't curse, I just don't...except for when I'm crafting. DH knows to keep the kids out of earshot when I'm sewing:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 :grouphug: I both love and hate sewing. My mom dislikes sewing, and so I was mostly self-taught. I have no advice, but I feel for you. :iagree:This is me, too. I enjoy the finished product, LOL, but the "getting there" is fraught with frustration. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 I mean, it doesn't have a soul... (or does it? Mmmmwwwaaahahaha) Nasty. Evil. Thing. I'm trying so hard to make my girls little aprons for our trip to Colonial Philly/Williamsburg. I found some cute frilly edged pillowcases - I mean, sew some elastic to the top, attach ribbon, and you're done. The girls are tingling with excitement. But no - my top thread breaks. And breaks. And breaks and breaks and breaks. I change the tension. I change needles. I change thread. I rethread. I cut the pillowcases so I'm not sewing through so many layers. Now my bobbin thread is getting wadded up and stuck. The thingy is getting out of place. I give up. I hate that stupid thing. We leave in 12 days and I don't have the time or money to fix the machine and I can't possibly sew the elastic on by hand. (can I?) At least I got the mob caps done. Perhaps your top thread is getting stuck on the little groove on the spool that is supposed to hold the thread in place when you're not using the spool? This happens to me all the time. Annoying. Try turning your spool another way -- reverse, upside-down. Or tape over the little grove. HTH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 I mean, it doesn't have a soul... (or does it? Mmmmwwwaaahahaha) Nasty. Evil. Thing. I'm trying so hard to make my girls little aprons for our trip to Colonial Philly/Williamsburg. I found some cute frilly edged pillowcases - I mean, sew some elastic to the top, attach ribbon, and you're done. The girls are tingling with excitement. But no - my top thread breaks. And breaks. And breaks and breaks and breaks. I change the tension. I change needles. I change thread. I rethread. I cut the pillowcases so I'm not sewing through so many layers. Now my bobbin thread is getting wadded up and stuck. The thingy is getting out of place. I give up. I hate that stupid thing. We leave in 12 days and I don't have the time or money to fix the machine and I can't possibly sew the elastic on by hand. (can I?) At least I got the mob caps done. Another thought. You could fold the top edge over twice, iron & pin it in place, hand sew the casing, and thread the ribbon through the casing. It wouldn't matter too much how neat your hand-sewing is, because you're going to gather the top along the ribbon, anyway. HTH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Have you tried a different bobbin or rewound the bobbin thread? If the bobbin thread isn't wound properly, it will mess up the tension. I taught sewing to middle-schoolers. 99% of the time, it they had a problem, it was because the machine wasn't threaded right, the bobbin was inserted wrong, or the the bobbin was poorly wound. I did just have some really bad machines too (the cheapest Bernina machines are JUNK). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam Wilhelm Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 :lol::lol::lol: I learned a lot of curse words from my Mom when she used to sew. My kids have learned a few from me....when I try to sew. It's a family tradition. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 You can curse your machine all you want. It will get revenge by ignoring you and continuing to be difficult proving how pointless your curses were about anything but raising your blood pressure. bwahahaha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 (edited) Curse away. But only if you are willing to ask for forgiveness later! Check your owners manual and rethread according to the manual. Over time, it is easy to forget small details especially if you have had more than one model of machine (search online if you don't have it anymore) Reset your tension to factory defaults and after you do the rest of this list...then adjust the tension. Vacuum/brush it out, to free any wayward fuzz Oil the moving parts (again....check the manual) Get a new spool of thread and respool a fresh bobbin to make sure it isn't a thread problem. (or just grab another that you already have and use a scrap of fabric to practice on until you get a good stitch and then switch to the correct color) Check the owners manual on inserting the bobbin. Insert a brand new needle. Make sure you needle/thread/fabric coordinate. Edited August 14, 2011 by Tap, tap, tap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 You are making the mistake of thinking the sewing machine's loyalty is to you. In actual fact, it is madly crushing on the chap at the repair shop just like everyone else's machine. Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 You are making the mistake of thinking the sewing machine's loyalty is to you. In actual fact, it is madly crushing on the chap at the repair shop just like everyone else's machine. Rosie :lol::lol::lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted August 14, 2011 Author Share Posted August 14, 2011 :lol: You guys are great! I'm giving that machine the silent treatment for a while. I don't trust myself to keep it out of the back creek if we have any contact. We will have to have a serious "Come to Jesus" meeting next week. I have, however, decided to go the "colonial sewing route" and skip the elastic altogether. Much more authentic to sew by hand. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenpatty Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 :lol: My sewing machine and I are never on good terms, either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Ok, more helpful advice: mine had tension problems off & on for YEARS. I got the thing when I was 16, & when I was 29, dh looked at it for the first time. In under an hour (I won't say how much under an hour!), dh figured out that the bobbin had to be threaded a particular direction. That solved everything, BUT there is no indication on the bobbin, in the manual, online, ANYWHERE that this is the case. :glare: So I go back to my original advice: get a priest to make an offering on your behalf. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted August 14, 2011 Author Share Posted August 14, 2011 So I go back to my original advice: get a priest to make an offering on your behalf. ;) Is there a patron saint of sewing machines? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Is there a patron saint of sewing machines? Apparently St Anne is the patron saint of seamstresses and St Martin of Tours is one of the patron saints of tailors. Clearly we're not the first generation in history to have these problems... ;) Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misidawnrn Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Nope! I call my sewing machine "stitch and b i t c...(you get the picture)" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewingmama Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Apparently St Anne is the patron saint of seamstresses and St Martin of Tours is one of the patron saints of tailors. Clearly we're not the first generation in history to have these problems... ;) Rosie :lol::lol::lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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