Thursday, February 4, 2010

There, I fixed it...kind of. (Sewing machine repair the ghetto way)



My sewing machine was recently assaulted by one of my boys, I'm not sure who the exact culprit was. I had made the mistake of leaving it out in the livingroom the next day after working on a quilting project the previous night. While I had the foresight to put the fabric and scissors away in the moderately safe hall closet, I made a fatal miscalculation in assuming the machine would be left alone. I awoke the next morning to discover my spool holder snapped off and wailing on the floor next to the machine.

So I did what any reasonable crafter in the middle of a big project would do: I set off to make a quick fix until I can repair it properly. I used Krazy Glue in a weak attempt to reattach the spool holder to the machine, which ended up failing miserably, since just a slight amount of pressure would snap the stick right off again. So I took it to the next level and applied a fresh squirt of Krazy Glue, and then wrapped the sucker with electrical tape I found in my husband's toolbox. It's a tad wobbly, but it works.


Oh, the horror!

Now, my major problem is that the children also were kind enough to adjust my settings for me, and in my approx 10 years of sewing experience, I have no idea what many of these nifty knobs mean. I've never really used the machine for anything fancy. I know how to change the stitch size and spacing, and the different types of stitches. I know how to change presser feet. But I have no idea what the wheel on the top is, nor the wheel on the side-top-left.

So now when I attempt to sew, I've got tiny holes being stabbed into fabric and not much else. The bobbin thread is not attaching all of the time...it will sew correctly for a good 2 inches and then quit. I'm assuming this is a bobbin problem only. But I can't be sure. I've rethreaded over and over again with the same results. I've tested the bobbin tension and it seems to be okay. I've checked for jams and don't see anything (though I haven't opened the machine's case up at all).

Any ideas?

2 comments:

Kari on February 11, 2010 at 12:07 AM said...

Hi, I just found your blog and love it. You may have already worked out the machine issues but if not try out different top thread tensions and change to a brand new needle. A new needle can heal all kinds of evils. Hope it's fixed!

Rachel on February 11, 2010 at 2:04 AM said...

Thanks Kari! Glad you like the blog :) I'm still having some major issues with the machine (and I just got the part in the mail today to replace the broken spool holder :( ). I think I need to bring it in to get it serviced! Even my Mr. Fix-it husband couldn't repair whatever is going on.

Post a Comment

 

House Rules

Be kind to others and don't copy my stuff please (but feel free to link to it of course!).
Does This Make My Blog Look Big? Copyright © 2010 | Contact