I hate sewing machines!
By ElicBxn
@ElicBxn (63235)
United States
November 28, 2015 11:19pm CST
And they hate me!
I bought a good Singer sewing machine.
Not FANCY, not a Babylock , not a serger, just a basic sewing machine with AUTO tension on it. Why auto tension? Because EVERY sewing machine I've ever used has fouled up tension pretty quickly.
And, yes, so does this one. But not as bad.
However, tonight I started making the throws my roomie wanted me to make for her nephew and his family.
I finish one perfectly fine. Not a single problem.
Then, don't you know, as SOON as I started on the second, it was nothing but trouble.
I don't know what is wrong, but there is something going on with the bobbin. Its making all kinds of hideous noises and isn't feeding correctly.
So, since I can't fix it. I know my limitations and I have no clue how to fix this, tomorrow I'm going over to Sears and buy a new one!
Baby Lock: dedicated to the love of sewing for over 40 years, offering innovative, easy-to-use machines for sewing, embroidery, quilting and serging.
4 people like this
8 responses
@ramapo17 (30441)
• Melbourne, Florida
30 Nov 15
@ElicBxn I use to make a lot of my clothes when I was in high school. I started sewing when I was very young and loved it. I haven't made anything in a few years but after reading this I might get the machine out and start something. Thanks for getting me in the mood.
2 people like this
@BarBaraPrz (45514)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
30 Nov 15
I used to have an old Singer treadle... loved it... but when we moved out west I left it behind. Out there I had a new Kenmore. It was ok but I left it behind when I came back to Ontario. Now I have my mother's old Alfa... don't do much sewing any more though. But with all these machines I've noticed that there was a right way and a wrong way to put the bobbin in. Did you happen to reload before it started acting up?
3 people like this
@ElicBxn (63235)
• United States
30 Nov 15
Yes I did, but I opened it up, took out the bobbin and could see what it was catching on, for whatever reason. Its part of the bobbin. Guess I'll take it to the sewing machine hospital and see if he can figure out why it is acting up. The new machine, while small, did a work horse job of finishing up the throws for me.
2 people like this
@ElicBxn (63235)
• United States
30 Nov 15
@ramapo17 ... do I know Joanne's? Come on, I've been crafting since college. My mother made a lot of our clothes, even though she mostly went to a local fabric store.
I went to Joanne's on Saturday and was STUNNED to NOT wait for cutting! They actually had the cutters LOOKING for people to cut for!
We had gone there to get the threads before the machine broke for the projects.
I knew they did repairs, but, because I do like to support local small businesses, I'll probably take mine back to the store where I bought it, a local small business that sells and repairs Singers.
I only bought the new sewing machine at Sears because I needed it NOW and I didn't have any money.
1 person likes this
@ramapo17 (30441)
• Melbourne, Florida
30 Nov 15
@ElicBxn I don't know if you are familiar with JoAnn's Fabrics. It is a material store and arts and crafts along with many decorations for Christmas and all holidays. They have a large assortment of silk flowers and so many other things. They have a lot of sale material that you can buy and if you are not good at sewing yet, buy some of the cheap material to practice on.
I use to work there and was amazed how cheap some of their things were.
They also hold sewing lessons there a few times a week and might do machine repairs too.
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (157615)
• United States
29 Nov 15
My best machine is very old, I have another I bought third hand and have not had a chance to work with. I also have an inexpensive one that is portable. Plus a serger. I have not sewn in years. LOL
3 people like this
he thread would get messed up and I never used it again.
@ElicBxn (63235)
• United States
30 Nov 15
Me too. Except its been so long since I was in school and I never got good at button holes or zippers, I don't do them. I could visualize doing more and, there's an artist here in the Austin area, who actually does "paint" with fabric and thread far better than I even visualized.
2 people like this
@ElicBxn (63235)
• United States
1 Dec 15
@k270585 I'm a crafter, a needle crafter. I can needlepoint, cross stitch and bead. I can also crochet, a bit. I taught myself how to needlepoint out of a magazine in college. I picked up some little cross stitch kits and learned to cross stitch that way. I looked at a pattern book and learned how to do waste canvas cross stitch. Hated the pattern, a "country-style" goose, not into "country-style" or geese. Felt a little bad to "cheat" the system, but I wasn't going to pay $10+ for a pattern I was never going to use. Mind you, I have lots I haven't, but at least I like them.
@crazyhorseladycx (39515)
• United States
25 Mar 16
i've been fightin' with bobbins myself lately 'n blame't on the thread 's i'd no troubles til this latest project. perhaps 'tis the project itself?? i'll jest say i've gotten way too familiar with that danged seam ripper, lol. i was happy to read further down that'cha got 'em done.
1 person likes this
@ElicBxn (63235)
• United States
25 Mar 16
@crazyhorseladycx it was really easy, more of a "dog blanket" than a jacket and since it was made out of the fleece we used for the great-niece, it'll be super easy to care for.
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39515)
• United States
25 Mar 16
@ElicBxn i've made horse blankets fer winter, but aint been brave 'nough to make a pup jacket - kudo's to ya!! perhaps some day i'll venture into such.
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21736)
• Canada
20 Dec 15
What kind of thread are you using? Until I started using top quality threads I had constant problems with my tension. Now I clean and oil my machine frequently, but the tension seems to stay stable.
1 person likes this
@ElicBxn (63235)
• United States
21 Dec 15
@Morleyhunt yes, I had it in the right way, just gummed up the works... heck, after carefully reading the new machine, making sure I got the bobbin in correctly, I still had a problem, but not an unfixable one. I got the throws all made and they are now sitting under the Christmas tree in Kansas.
@Morleyhunt (21736)
• Canada
20 Dec 15
@ElicBxn God you have the bobbin in the right way?
1 person likes this
