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Sewing Machine Adjustments

Adjusting Your Sewing Machine for Optimum Results

I took my machine to a professional seamstress friend of mine and she knew to try all of the things you had mentioned in your article.

Unfortunately none of these attempts corrected the machine.

She suggested I take my machine to a repair shop, but I thought I would check the internet for suggestions first.

When I try to sew on a piece of material I get a bunch of big loops on the back of the material and a bunch of threads coming up from the bobbin compartment. Not just a tension adjustment here - major clunking noise also.

Please advise if possible.

Thank you very much.

Ronda

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“Major clunking noise” is definitely not good. It may mean one or more parts are loose or damaged and not meshing properly as they turn. This guess seems pretty likely since you’ve tried the sewing machine maintenance tips written by sewing machine repairman Reuben Doyle.

However, there’s a small chance that the works are just gummed up; so before you drag the machine to the repair shop, try these things. Even if they don’t resolve the clunking noise, they will leave less work for the repairman and should lower your bill.

Unscrew the needle plate and remove any lint. Open up the bobbin case, remove the bobbin, and do the same.

You can use the tiny brush that came with the machine, but I prefer a pipe cleaner because it can get in and around all of the works.

Run a heavy piece of thread between and around the numbered tension disks (just like you would use dental floss). It might pull out some lint or even pieces of thread.

If you have the manual, follow its directions for drizzling a good quality sewing machine oil into all the indicated places. If you don’t have a manual use common sense, trying to get oil to flow over all the moving parts.

Any holes that don’t have another obvious purpose are probably openings for lubrication. Don’t be stingy; you really want to lubricate well. Have paper towels handy to wipe away excess from time to time.

By the way, if you don’t have a manual, you may be able to find one for your machine at SewUSA.com.

They have the manual for my 30-year old Kenmore Ultra Stitch 6. I bought the machine at a yard sale and it didn’t come with one.

You can purchase the entire booklet which they will mail to you. In addition they have some basics available online, including threading diagrams.

Next put everything back together and un-thread the top thread. Follow the diagram in your manual or online to re-thread it.

Big bunches of loops on the bottom are not usually due to incorrect tension settings but to incorrect threading through the numbered tension disks or gummed up tension disks (if someone has used heavy oil to lubricate them which then solidified).

Here are the SewUSA threading directions for my machine with some explanatory notes by me in brackets. Most older machines are very similar.

“Raise thread take-up lever to its highest position by turning hand wheel toward you. Raise presser foot lever [This releases the two tension disks so the thread can get in.].

Place thread spool on spool pin. Draw thread through guide [The little notched opening that guides the thread straight down to the numbered tension disks]. Holding spool stationary with right hand, pull thread [clockwise] through [between and around] the tension disks.

Pull the end of the thread taut with the left hand.”

Pulling the thread taut into the tension disks ensures that it will be under pressure when you lower the presser foot.

It may sound odd that the top tension disks could cause that mess in the bobbin case, but when there is no top tension, the take-up lever (which pulls the top thread up and down as you sew) can’t pull the thread around the bobbin case.

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Recommended Reading

These books are excellent resources for sewers of all skill levels.

Sew to Success: How to Make Money in a Home-Based Sewing Business
By: Kathleen Spike

Simplicity's Simply the Best Sewing Book
By: Anne Marie Soto

Sewing for Dummies
By: Janice Saunders Maresh

The Complete Book of Sewing: A Practical Step-By-Step Guide to Every Technique
By: Chris Jefferys

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