You’re in class and your sewing machine is misbehaving. What do you do? Panic or fix the issue and get back to sewing? Your instructor might be able to help, but the expectation is that you come to class knowing how to operate your sewing machine and that said machine is in good working order.
Most issues are simple to fix. Take a deep breath.
A student in a class I recently took experienced machine issues. She’d purchased a new 1/4″ foot from a dealer and her needle kept hitting the foot instead of going through the hole. She also had stitch quality issues. The instructor tried to help and another student assisted, but the machine was still misbehaving. I offered assistance when I heard the instructor tell the student to remember to bring her manual next time.
I had the machine stitching fine within 5 minutes. What did I do? Perform basic troubleshooting steps found at the back of any sewing machine manual. I’ve done this so many times I generally don’t need a manual for most machines I come across in a beginning sewing/quilting class.
She had two issues: needle hitting the foot and obviously poor stitches
Issue #1 – Foot
- Check foot and ankle – correct foot for machine? – yes – but not correctly attached and loose ankle – reattach snap on 1/4″ foot and tighten ankle screw.
- Check needle – okay – inserted correctly and not obviously bent/broken
Issue #2 – Tension
- Re-thread upper thread with presser foot up
- Move stitch width dial back to 3.5 (center needle position)
- Set stitch length to 2.0
- Set upper tension dial to 4 (it was on 7) and test sew – moved to 3.5 and it sewed a perfect stitch.
- Had the tension issue not be solved at this point, I would have changed the needle before proceeding.
Other helpful troubleshooting steps: Remove the needle plate and clean out the bobbin area before reinstalling the bobbin. Check to see if the bobbin winder was accidentally engaged and/or check the presser foot pressure setting.
If a machine throws an error code because the needle broke from hitting something (like you selected a zz stitch and have the straight stitch foot on), turn the machine off, install a new needle and wait 5-10 minutes. Your machine should work fine once it’s turned back on. This is a safety feature in many newer machines. It’s not always published in the manual. Here’s a handy checklist of common sewing machine issues from New Mexico State University. If none of these troubleshooting efforts work, it’s time to take your machine in for service.
My classmate was SEW happy that I got her machine working and showed her what to check in the future if she has machine issues again. She thanked me profusely and texted me the next day to say that her machine was still stitching fine. The instructor also thanked me for my help.
This is why I always advise students to take any lessons offered by their sewing machine dealer or review the videos found on the machine manufacturer’s website or uploaded by other sewists to YouTube. Obtain a pdf copy of the machine manual and download it to your phone for future reference. Assemble a basic machine maintenance kit for travel: lint brush, travel-size oil bottle, stubby screwdrivers that fit your machine, extra needles in sizes/types that you commonly use and extra bobbins.
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