why does my sewing machine keep jamming?

[janek]

i got my sewing machine out yesterday to make dd1's ikea duvet cover fit her duvet and it kept jamming - it would sew okay for a while, then the needle seemed to hit something that sent it off-kilter and it would jam fast, so that it would only loosen if i removed the bobbin, and its casing.

any idea why this might be/what i could do to prevent it in future?

tia

bobin tension would be the first thing to look at. on an older style machine with a casing you put the bobin in it has a screw on it, you adjust this by a fraction of a milimetre.

have you actually opened you machine and given it a really good clean out inside?

did you try a good qulity cotton like guterman?

are you sure you have the machine threaded properly?

have you tried using a new needle?

does it do this with other fabric of a different weight?

do you need to oil your machine?

cant think of anything else right now.

that's a pretty comprehensive list of suggestions, thanks!

i don't use the machine very much, it was new in 1992 - does that make it an older style machine or not? it is a riccar, and it was serviced about 10 years ago, but has barely been used since. do you mean the bit that comes out for the bobbin to go in - is that the bobbin casing? the bit i had to remove to get it to unjam was the bit that that fits into iyswim.

how would i go about opening it up to clean the inside? what am i even opening?

yes, it was guterman thread, i didn't know that was good quality, so well done me....

i'm fairly confident it was threaded properly.

the needle has barely been used, having been replaced during afore-mentioned service.

i think it may always have done this actually, i definitely remember being furious with it as a teenager and asking it why it was trying to ruin my dress (it didn't answer).

i bet i do need to oil it, which bits would i oil.

as you can see i really know nothing about sewing machines, so am grateful for any light you can shed...

Ooh, I had to oil mine recently for that very reason.
I used machine oil from an ordinary fabric shop ('twas less than £2) and the instruction book from the machine had a diagram showing me where to put the blobs.

Is the thread on the bobbin wound evenly? Sometimes if this doesn't happen when you are filling the bobbin it can cause jamming problems.

The other thing is that every maching I have ever used sulked - could be sewing like a dream in the evening and the next morning, loops of cotton on the underside, jamming, you name it they did it. Evil bastards. I knew one that even spat - it was a 'Darling'.

It probably needs a thorough service. It sounds like a tension issue which should be sorted out if it gets reconditioned. I don't think simpy oiling it will help.

thanks to all, i hope the instructions are in the loft, sadly i am not, so i may wait a while before oiling. i'm not that keen on servicing cos it sounds pricey, i have a feeling the machine came with some oil, i have never used it. perhaps there is a link...

Did you use IKEA thread- if you did my recent experience is that'll do it.

no, but thanks for the tip...

Don't know whereabouts you are, but there is a really reasonable sewing maching mechanic in Widnes, charges £25 for a service (or did) and will come and do it at the house.

Make sure your needle didn't get replaced backwards. My MIL brought me her machine to fix, and that was the problem...doing the same thing! I checked everything else and cleaned it before I noticed.

backwards?!? what is this backwards of which you speak? it could easily be that, i had no idea of such a thing as the wrong side of a needle...

mine jams like that if I've put the bobbin in back to front.

the needle should have a flat section at the top. this bit goes to the front when you slide it in.

did you trye oiling it? if you did you might also need to leave it a couple of days to soak into the right places.

i had a sewing machine that i did not have serviced for twn years. it did the same thing once so i took off the outer bits and cleaned everything i could with vacume and cotton buds then oiled all over and everything was right again. i now have my much more expensive machine serviced regularly.

thanks mcm, i'll look at that. i did have a quick look for my instruction book so i could work out where/what to oil, but i can't find it which is a bit annoying.

soupdragon: i don't think i can put the bobbin in backwards can i?!? do you mean backwards into the casing, or the casing into the machine (not possible on mine, i don't think...).

Backwards into the casing. I still have no idea which way round mine's meant to go!

i have never noticed a difference in the sides of the bobbin. or do you mean the direction the thread goes around the bobbin (ie does the bobbin turn clockwise or anticlockwise)?

all of this is new to me, thanks for all the advice btw.

so, i've found my instruction book (turned out to be in the instruction book drawer...) and it turns out that there are some quite specific instructions on which way round the bobbin + needle need to be. and also some advice on cleaning and oiling.

i'll be keeping that to hand in future. and having read a bit more closely i may be tempted to take sewing machine lessons (i know of some locally, but they are a bit £££) so that i can use all of the features of the machine, rather than just the 'sewing in a straight line' function, useful though it is.

so in summary, all good. although i haven't actually attempted any of the repairs yet. that may well be a whole other world of pain...

pmg to much wine i think it does actually go in with the flat bit to the back. you need to have another go with this.

if it is an older machine that needs oiling then no harm in doing this. also no harm in a good clean out of anything you can see.