white sewing machine when the needle and goes down it will not pick up the thread?

Question

I have an old White sewing machine when the thread is in the needle and goes down it will not pick up the thread that is in the bobbin what do I do.

Answer 1

Check that you've got the bobbin loaded correctly. If the top thread still won't fetch the bobbin thread up properly, try turning
the neeedle around 180o and reinsert it. Needles have a special place the sewing hook must pass (called the "scarf"), and if the scarf isn't in the proper orientation, the machine may not be able to pick up the bobbin thread. If it does manage to pick up the bobbin thread, you still might get skipped stitches or no stitching when the needle's in backwards.

If you've never seen needles magnified, you might want to take a look at some I took pictures of. They're at http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=17206792&uid=9417699 -- the last photo of the three has one needle that tipped on its side, and you can see a dished-out area on the right side of the needle -- that's the scarf. Needles are a lot more complex than most of us think!

Answer 2

1/ First check that the machine is threaded correctly.
2/ Could be the bobbin isnt in right( wrong way round) or thread pulled through bobbins tension (usually on side of bobbin)
3/ Is the thread the same in bobbin as your using on top?
Look it it says anything in your handbook about fault findingof this type.

Answer 3

This might be a silly question, but are you holding onto the tail of the top thread with your left hand as you roll the handwheel down to pick up the bottom thread? It will not come up until you pull on the end of the top thread with your left hand.
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