Help needed with electric sewing machine !!

[pop1973]

Need some advice, have read the instruction manual. Machine about a year old.

The machine when being used, runs for a little bit, then the needle stops in the material. There seems to be a tangle with the thread from the bobbin area. When I cut the thread and detangle the material, I am left with a stitch on top of the material and underneath no stitching and just a mess of thread.

Any ideas why ? I took the machine into the sewing machine shop today, they checked the bobbin was fitted correctly and the machine was setup right.

Its a toyota RS2000 series. Any advice would be appreciated. I was quoted £65 for a service to look at the machine.

[LIZS]

Is the tension set correctly ? Do you feed the bobbin thread up before starting ?

[3littlefrogs]

Have you checked the tension?

Are you sure the thread from the bobbin has been "picked up"?

Have you got the same thread in both the reel and the bobbin?

[3littlefrogs]

Sorry - i meant the same type of thread.

[pop1973]

Liz, sorry total novice at sewing, which is why I took it along to the sewing shop today to check.

'Do you feed the bobbin thread up before starting' ? I don't thread this up, the manual said that it would be caught in a hoop from the needle. Is this correct ?

How do I know if the thread from the bobbin has been picked up 3littlefrogs ?
No there is different thread in the reel and bobbin, shall I change it to the same. How do I check the tension ?

[3littlefrogs]

If you look at the instructions for winding the bobbin, you will see that you have to turn the handle or wheel very slowly by hand in order to pick up the thread from the bobbin in the compartment under the needle. the needle picks up a loop, which you then have to pull through under and behind the needle - I usually use my closed scissor blades.

You should end up with 2 threads trailing behind the needle - one from above and one from below. Sorry - I am not very good at describing this. There should be pictures and instructions in the book.

You should use the same quality /type of thread in both, in case one is weaker/more stretchy than the other.

There should be a tension control somewhere on the right near the wheel. Set it somewhere in the middle and try a few stitches - you may need to experiment a little - the idea is to equalise the tension so that the top and bottom threads are pulling through the material at the same rate.

HTH

[pop1973]

Yes the machine is picking up the thread, it is as you described. The needle picks up a loop, which I just pull through and tuck under and behind the needly to the left.

The 2 threads aren't tangled, but just have one directly from the needle and one from the bobbin area.

I haven't tried the same type of thread, will do this.

I will look for the tension control and try that. I'll report back later on or tomorrow, thanks.

[GinghamRibbon]

I would say that your tension is wrong to be honest.

[MadBadandDangeroustoKnow]

And have you checked that the top thread is threaded correctly from start to finish? On my Toyota, the top thread sometimes seems to jam, which causes tension problems and then broken stitches.

[stephla]

I had this problem once being caused by the wrong sized bobbin - it looked OK but apparently it wasn't