Stitches forming incorrectly...help me!?

Question

I have a Kenmore zig zag machine that's over 30 years old. Barely used by my mom, I have aquired it. It's in great shape except for the stitching. It will sew a straight stitch fine, but the bobbin thread is loopy and isn't forming a proper stitch. I've adjusted the bobbin tension and the upper thread tension. I have to finish a quilt for my 81 year old dad this month! Help. What can I try?

Answer 1

First, remove the thread (both top and bottom) and give everything a good cleaning with a small paintbrush or clean mascara brush. You want to be sure there isn't any lint or thread trapped anywhere. A tiny piece of thread caught in the bobbin area will throw the bobbin tension off completely.

Do you have the instruction book for the machine? Make sure you put the bobbin in the bobbin case correctly. Some unspool clockwise, others counterclockwise. Now check your bobbin tension. For piecing, you don't want the bobbin to be too loose. Hold the tail of thread and lift it in the air. The entire bobbin case should lift up with it. If you give it a flick of the wrist, the bobbin should unspool slightly, but stop quickly. If it unspools too much, turn the little screw on the bobbin case to tighten the bobbin tension. If it doesn't unspool at all, loosen the bobbin tension.

Once you have the bobbin tension set, it's time to move on to the top tension. Be sure to have your presser foot UP when you thread the top. This opens the tension disks so the thread feeds through them. When you put the presser foot down, the tension disks close and hold the thread. You'll need to fiddle around a bit with setting the top tension - be patient. Use different colors of thread in the top and bottom so you can easily see which thread is causing the problem. If the top thread is showing up at the bottom, your top tension is too loose - tighten it. If the bobbin thread is showing up at the top, loosen the top tension. Keep adjusting in very small increments until the tension is just where it needs to be.

Answer 2

Check the thread path, make sure that both the bobbin thread AND the needle thread are entirely inserted in the correct slots and other places, according to the owner's manual. Believe it or not, faulty threading, can cause bobbin thread to snarl up under the pressure foot. I have a White and it does this anytime the needle thread pops out of the uptake levers over the tension dial. If you are working on thick fabrics, this can easily happen.

Also check for lint in the bobbin case, and where it fits into the machine and under the pressure foot and also under the feed dogs.

Answer 3

When I get loops on the bottom, it usually means the bobbin thread has slipped out of the case. Make sure you put it in so that it comes off the bobbin to the left, and get it firmly in the little slot.

I also get a tune up every year on all my machines and that helps a lot too.

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Answer 4

Use good cotton thread for one...no polyester. Have you tried refilling the bobbin? Make sure that the area where the bobbin goes in is clean...lots of lint can get trapped in there. One more thing...when you insert the bobbin spool into the bobbin holder and pull out some thread...the bobbin should spin clockwise! Hope this helps!

Answer 5

Hello,
Make sure you are using a brand new needle. I was told that you should always use a new needle for a new project--a dull needle can cause stitch problems. If the machine has not been used for a while it may need to be oiled as well.

Answer 6

you may have the machine threaded wrong, if the thread isnt standard sewing thread it may not work, if the needle is dull sometimes it wont work and if the needle is in the wrong way it wont work , and mine will break the thread if the spool isnt oriented just the way the machine wants it.

Answer 7

may want to try a stronger thread. Older machines can be picky sometimes and the thread today isn't made like it used to be.