I have a broken sewing machine question. I have a pretty old Janome sewing machine that was recently handed down to me from my mother. It's a beautiful old thing and I had it serviced and the repairman said to hang on to it because it's an excellent machine.
Well I fear I have ruined this excellent machine. I'm a beginner at sewing. I was making a purse with wadding inside it and trying to sew up the edges (4 pieces of fabric and two thicknesses of wadding).
I recently discovered the fancy settings on it that let me do beautiful zigs and zags and interesting combinations of stitches. I chose a setting that was lots of small stitches together, then about every 5th stitch a bit mountain/zig zag. I got about 2cm up the side of the purse and obviously it was too thick for the machine/needle/thread/tension (I have no idea) and the needle bent. I removed the needle and replaced it, but now it keeps unthreading when I sew and is making a not so nice noise.
I just spent $200 getting it repaired and serviced. Is there any way I can fix this myself? or should I just take it straight back to the repair shop? I know that the repairman did a good job of fixing it last time and am pretty sure this is just my incompetence on the sewing machine that has caused the problem. Needless to say I'm devastated, as I have just discovered sewing and spend most nights doing just that, sewing! What an incredible craft it is.
Any thoughts or suggestions are very, very welcome.
By Fiona from Sydney, Australia
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You have a good machine, but it is a dressmaker not an industrial machine. You may have a bent shaft, timing out of wack and so so many other possibilities. If you are a beginner or not unless you know what you're doing, the worst thing any one can do is to take a sewing aching apart! Just go back to where you had it recently worked on and ask if they would take a look at why it's running poorly. If they are a reputable sewing machine service business, I doubt they will charge you at all unless a part is broken and you have to buy a new part.
If you could take a sewing class, to learn the basics in sewing and machine care, you would learn important tools in sewing you will use forever. Don't use heavy weight fabric on a dressmaker machine ever, ever. Guaranteed to ruin it. Stay with lite to med weight fabrics and use the correct thread of course. If later on you can, buy something like a Singer straight stitch machine, they are good strong work horses. Enjoy sewing, you have a great machine to use.
Even if you bent the needle and replaced it, that may not be your problem. You might have a buildup of lint around the bobbin case, and that is why the thread won't stay in the needle when you try to sew.
Or if that's not your problem, maybe when the needle bent, it might have thrown off the timing of the sewing machine. If you have to take it into the sewing machine shop, I don't believe that you'll be charged a second time for a repair since you've already paid out all that money to have it fixed the first time.
Since you sound like you are a beginner sewer it might be to your benefit to take your machine and go take a class. It will teach you about the stitches and thicknesses you should and should not use with your machine.
Ok, thanks for your feedback and thoughts. I think a lesson is an excellent idea. MCW your comment about the timing resonated. I since used my machine and it now is stitching straight stitches, but none of the 'fancy' settings work. I'll take it back to the repairman. : )
Thank you very much.
I am with MCW, you probably threw off the timing, just make absolutely sure you have it threaded properly and that there is no part of a broken needle in your bobbin case. I used to work at a Singer's store and so many times when people complained, it was something very simple like threading the machine correctly.
Even experienced sewers throw their timing off and bend needles. Some of us frequently. It does sound like the timing is off. That is fixable by a knowledgeable repairman.
It sounds like you may have bent the head or shift. So NO, don't try to fix something like this as it requires removing things., YES, take it to a good sewing machine center. They may give you a discount as machine was just serviced and $200. Was ALOT. They may even find that it was not your fault and fix or for no charge, or for very little out of pocket. And yes, yes, yes, that is a fantastic machine and sews quite nicely, so keep it serviced and STOP SEWING USER THINK STILL!
When working with thick fabrics you will need a walking foot which is used in machine quilting and you need a heavy duty needle. You can look in user manual for which needle is good for which fabrics. Some sewing machines are not cut out for thick fabric & quilting, most machine quilting and thicker fabrics need the heavy duty brand of choice. You can also find free info on line and youtube
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