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!

Have a look at craftsy and sew with Nancy they have some free video tutorials

I offer a few ideas.
Re-thread with a quality thread such as Guterman, Drima, (Coats/Silko cotton only if you are using 100% cotton fabric). Not Moon thread made by Coats that's only suitable for an over locker.

Check the needle is in the correct way round, flat side to the back. Exceptions to this rule are vintage singer and industrial machines.

Load the bobbin correctly, there will probably be a diagram to show you. Close the bobbin cover.

Foot still up and no fabric, turn the balance wheel towards you. This will send the needle down into the bobbin case. Keep turning until the needle rises to its highest point. A loop of thread should have been brought up from the bobbin, pull it free and pull top thread and bobbin thread out to the back and to the left a good few inches.

You are now ready to put your fabric under the presser foot. Lower the presser foot and start sewing. For straight stitch width 0 length start with 3 and adjust to what suits you, upper tension probably around 4 adjust as necessary. Don't adjust the bobbin tension. When you start sewing hold the threads out the way so they don't get tangled up and cause a big birds nest of a knot.

When you finish your stitching, raise the needle to the highest position (again using the balance wheel) before raising the presser foot. Pull your work away so as not to break the needle. Either cut threads with scissors or use the thread cutter on the machine.

If you do exactly as I say and still can't get a good stitch then I think you must have a dud machine.

Hope it works for you.

Have you also tried adjusting your tension?

Check the threading path

Look in the manual and check out tension adjustment. Have a practice go with it.

Make sure you have same thread on bobbin as on top.

Make sure the needle is inserted the right way round (see manual, as they vary). Also that you're threading it from the correct side.

Check out YouTube for videos made by other people with the same machine.

Look underneath (where the feed dogs are) if you can, and check there are no thread jams from earlier. Also check out around the bobbin case for thread jams.

I wouldn't waste money on buying different bobbins, the ones that came with the machine should be fine. I haven't read the whole thrad but if you bought from a sewing machine shop, maybe take it there and ask for a lesson - they should be more than happy to oblige.

*Thread

Loads of good advise here! Fortified has pretty much said it all...

But are you going hell for leather and slamming the foot down on full speed? Slowly slowly at first may result in a line :)

And a sewing class is just the thing to go for, don't give up yet!! Your get there :)

Do check that you are using a good thread and a sharp needle. Those two issues can cause problems and are easily fixed.

1. Be sure it is correctly threaded
2. Be sure you have the bobbin wound in the correct direction
3. Be sure you have a straight, sharp needle
4. Be sure the tension is correct

If you have done this, then the machine is not working properly. Can you get a friend to come and check these things for you? I did this for a friend, to get her up out of the ground. She had the bobbin incorrectly inserted into the bobbin case.

I have a Singer about the same price class. One thing I found was the plastic bobbins that came with it were shite. At my sewing class, I was told to buy metal ones instead and for some reason the tension is better. Take a plastic one with you to the shop and get the corresponding ones in metal.

How are you getting on OP. Just to make you feel better I had one of most brightest year 9 students 'help' another on the sewing machine. It all went horribly wrong. When I was asked to detangle the mess the bright student had somehow threaded the bobbin thread through the needle. It took a screwdriver and cursing (in my head) to sort it out. Luckily the Technician wasn't around [sigh]

I'm dying to know how it's going! Have you faced off with the sewing machine again yet?

I'm a beginner machinist too. I found mine does with cotton from a cheaper starter sewing kit that dh bought me - thinking quantity of coloured threads was good. I second using guterman (they're not actually that expensive) cottons.

The cheaper reels are slightly fluffy looking and I can only think they get snagged and that's where it goes wrong. I use them for hand sewing the dc's camp blanket badges and tacking jobs only now.

Beginner here too. I am learning all the time from making mistakes just like the one you mention.
It can turn you into a mad bit sweary woman quite quickly!

I was really struggling to see even a few straight bloody stitches then found that my bobbin was not locked into the damn machine. Ever since then it's been easy....apart from the curtains I made (full length ) with the stitch length set to zero and had to push them through the machine which was exhausting. Steep learning curve. Big glass of wine and you tube!

Afternoon all.
Me and the sewing machine, I've called her Beast, have had a couple more set to's.
BUT I managed to sew two bits of material together!!!!!
I took everything apart, new cotton thead, bought a gutermans one, rethreaded everything, new needle in, may have lobbed the bobbins across the kitchen a couple of times when they weren't doing what I wanted.
But I did it! Thank you all 😄
My next step is to sew more bits of material together in what will probably be a futile attempt to make a small quilted blanket, the best friend is TTC so I figure I've got at least 9 months to manage it!

Yay, well done!! Maybe make a few cushion covers or simple shopping bags before launching straight into a quilt loving the determination though, brilliant stuff!

Haha thanks 😄 I was supremely proud of myself! I sat there with a very smug look on my face with a triumphant brew in my hand whilst I observed my fabulous scraps of material and the chaos of my dining table.
I'm working the next seven night shifts so will probably be back at square one when I next try!

I am considering a 4 week beginners course and thought I would have a little look at this topic, first thread is yours.

I am sitting here with a ridiculous smile on my face because you sewed two pieces of fabric together! Well done.