Ready to Sew... Not So Fast.
I was finally ready to start sewing the first top I was making for myself. I sat down, loaded my bobbin with a beautiful purple color, I threaded my machine and went to bring the bottom thread up... and it wouldn't. The top thread was not grabbing the bottom thread. Why?
I really just wanted to sew. My Singer HD 500 is only a few months old, and I have not sewn much on it. I only have a few moments each day that I can allocate to sewing. Between taking care of the house, homeschooling, trying to keep up with my daily movement for health, working on the pieces for the international move that is coming up in now less than a month, and just the fact that my eyes get tired and start hurting by 9:30ish at night... I only have a few moments to practice. I just wanted to start sewing.
Ok. Yes. I also want to learn to repair and service sewing machines. I have watched a couple of YouTube videos here and there. And, yes, I started reading a book about learning how to service sewing machines. It went over the basic parts and how they function together and even how to do some adjustments. But that is all so new to me... I was waiting for the course I will take in person in July! It's too soon!
No... it is nerves. I can do the hard things. I can think and I can try.
I knew enough to know the problem could be because of a buildup of lint in the bobbin area. Although unlikely as I haven't used this machine so much and it is still less than a year old. It could also be a problem with the needle as I have heard often enough already that this is often the culprit, a bent needle or damaged in some other way. And one of the videos I watched trying to identify the problem, did suggest I rethread the machine so that could also be the culprit. There were other more complicated fixes that I didn't want to explore yet... I could start with the simpler ones.
Even though it might not be the problem the first thing I wanted to do was to clean the bobbin case and the hook area. I wanted to get those pesky nerves out, the ones I get when I am trying to learn something new but my body is being reluctant to take that first step. So... I unscrewed the needle plate and removed the bobbin case.
There I did it! It wasn't so hard. (I found out later some bobbin cases take a few more steps to be removed but mine was pretty simple.)
It was not super dirty, but I have learned enough that it is not a good idea to add any oil until you first clean the lint away. Otherwise, I am asking for more problems! So, I used the little brush the machine came with and then I took out the can of compressed air I had purchased anticipating wanting to try to clean the machine, but the same can I had avoided for a few weeks now... and I followed the instructions to blow away the remaining lint I saw.
I had watched this short by Lisa Seamswell where she explained that there are two spots any sewist should be oiling, and that was my goal here. The spot in this photo is the felt wick that is right under the bobbin case on the hook. One drop of sewing machine oil is enough.
And then also one drop of oil on the hook race that is on the edge of the bobbin case as shown here. Can you see the oil?
I rethreaded the top of the machine because I do think I did not thread where the tension disks go correctly (always thread with the presser foot up so they go into the tension disks correctly). I also paid extra close attention when threading the needle because I noticed if I went too fast the thread looped into a knot, instead of going smoothly from front to back of the needle.
When I tried to put the bobbin case back in, I actually put it in wrong. I found that out when the bobbin thread was getting stuck when I was trying to pull it out! So, I took it back out and put it in correctly. I also referenced the photo above to make sure the position was correct.
Then I used the advice Amanda Allen gives in this video, of holding the two threads while turning the handwheel to bring the needle down and then tugging on the top thread to pull the bottom thread through. Now I have sewn without doing it like this before, but I was trying different techniques since I had just had this problem.
After all of that it finally came up properly!
I did not need to fix the timing of anything although it had crossed my mind, and at the end I am not sure if it was just one thing that caused an issue or several. But I felt so satisfied having done it. I listened to wise counsel, and I did the hard thing with God's help! I did ask Him to help me at the start of this. My mind was feeling so cluttered with thoughts and just bogged down not thinking too clearly. But He calmed the mess in me and helped me work through it one decision at a time!
Thank You my Creator and King because you are helping me become a Proverbs 31 woman one decision at a time!
Please, I would love to read your story of when your sewing machine stopped working on you. What did you do? Did you go for help or try to fix it yourself? Or both? Have you finished the project you had been trying to work on?
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