I'm attempting to teach myself to sew and it's not going well.

[PeachyStone]

As the title really.
I treated myself to a sewing machine, it was about a £100 entry level one.
But I'm crap. Seriously crap.
I bought some cotton shirts from oxfam to practice just stitching lines on and no matter what I do I get the fabric bundled up in the metal but under the needle, please tell me what I'm doing wrong! I've had to cut lots of bits of fabric out and what I thought would be a nice hobby is getting me stressed!

Maybe you haven't threaded your machine correctly? Do you have a seeing group around you? Or a friend who can show you how to thread it?

I've threaded and unthreaded it about 50 times 😄 Have got a beginners seeing book and watched umpteen YouTube videos! I went to the haberdashery down the road and the woman in there didn't sew!

It's not you, it's the machine. Don't write yourself off yet. Try hand sewing first?

Are you starting with just cotton? Other fabrics of different weights are harder to sew with and require different needles, tension and even feet. Is your machine set up how the manufacturer recommends it for tension?
I would recommend getting just scraps of fabric to practise with for now.

Yeah I've got bog standard cotton. I think I'm just going to have to dismantle it all tomorrow and start from scratch.
I've got a week off work and it will not win me, I will sew two bits of material together!

OK which sewing machine is it? Are you using a video or a manual?

Which bobbins are you using (I had a total disaster using the wrong shape for my machine)

Best thing I did was book a one day beginners workshop - it went through the various bits of the machine, threading, stitch selection, etc and in the course of the day we made a small bag with a button, so had lots of opportunity for practicing the basics. Our local haberdashery did them but some adult education centres might run similar, or if you're near an Abakhan fabric I think they do too. After that I just played about and then got brave and threw myself at the mercy of a couple of patterns

Where did you buy the machine? Thus should not be happening, is it under warranty?

Bobbins are the ones that came with it, I shall take them to the shop and purchase any and every alternative tomorrow.
I was gently, in my eyes, guiding it through.

If you lift the foot up and start an inch or tow in does it still happen

If it's the bobbins you got with it they should be OK

Is the thread the same in the bobbin and the main reel, and a decent quality thread? Is the needle new? You sound confident in the threading - problems are often caused by mis-threading rather than tension, but hopefully you're avoiding both

Your description sounds like the material is getting snagged in the teeth underneath, is that right? When you put the fabric in, lift up your presser foot, and put the fabric underneath. Make sure you are starting with the fabric not too far forward - it should stick out a cm or two behind the presser foot when you put that down. Start sewing forwards, slowly, and see how you get on.

Come back and tell us if that helps, or whether we need to keep thinking!

Yep, it's happened every time apart from two 6 inch lines of stitching I've done. Which I'm very proud of 😄
It's definitely me and not the machine, I was shit at sewing at school. I think the advice about booking myself a beginners class is something I definitely need to do!

Does the plate underneath the foot have teeth ? If so check your manual as you can change the setting of how much it 'grips' ( helps with different weights/types of material) - it may be you need to alter the setting. If you do have them , they should move up and down. If the material is bunching, it is probably set too high . Does that make sense?

I've not changed the needle it came with, I shall try that! I just assumed that the one was fitted would be sharp.

In going to try all these suggestions tomorrow and let you know, I've had two glasses of wine just now, so if I give it a go now I'll end up sewing myself to the bloody thing!

Yeah it was a big decision. I wanted something for beginners that also wasn't shit.
I used various websites and it was unanimously rated as good for beginners/home sewing projects, which is why I think it's me and not the machine!

No worries, I think I've been clutching at straws by thinking it was the machine and not its operator!

If you look I had a total nightmare with an overlocker last week - I followed the video religiously but in the end I had threaded it wrong there was a tiny bit I couldn't see until it was pointed out

So don't blame yourself they can make it tricky

I'm sorry if this sounds condescending, it is not intended as such. I teach Textiles to secondary school students and the error that comes up time and time again is that the students forget to lower the presser foot. Does the machine sound right or is it making a bad noise? The technician and I can hear it from 50 paces. . What type of machine is it?

It's not condescending at all! It's all really helpful!
I've always had the presser foot down, so that its in contact with the top side of the material.
It seems to be making a happy humming noise and then it all gets bunched up and jams it. I have the feeling I'm putting the material through too quickly. It's a singer 2250.

As was mentioned up thread, guide the fabric through, don't pull it through the teeth dogs do that. Have you got one hand in front and one to the side? don't pull at the back. The other thing is to make sure the bobbin is facing the right way up. Thread usually needs to go to the left, but all machines are a bit different.

Is there a Singer shop any where close to you? If so, go in and ask them for help, take some of your sewing with you to show them what is going wrong, they will be pleased to help you.
Another idea is if you have a John Lewis nearby, ask for help and advice at their sewing machine shop, they are very helpful there. Also Hobbycraft some times have sewing machine demos, again, they will be glad to help you.

Just reading your post I would say there is a problem with the fabric feed, perhaps set too high, or you are pulling the material through rather than letting the machine do the work and you guiding it.

Don't give up, this is a great new skill for you to learn.