Trying to find out why my sewing machine keeps binding and jamming on me?
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010 at
12:24 pm
I make quilts and blankets, I am tired of doing them by hand. I have to date tried three different sewing machines all with the same results. When I sew the material 1/8-inch from the edge the machine will jam and bind the material and the thread. I do not understand why. I have gone to several different sewing places and they cannot tell me why.
Tagged with: Binding • find • jamming • keeps • Machine • sewing • Trying
Filed under: binding machine review
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Umm there could be several reasons for the jam. I don’t know how experienced of a sewer you are so this may not help, but could it be that you’re not guiding the fabric through the machine? That was an issue I had when I first started. It also could be because the fabric you are trying to use is too thick for the needle and foot you have on your machine.
Have you tried cleaning the machine?
What sort of needle are you using? There are sharps and ballpoint needles available.
Another option would be to sew a 1/4 inch seam – perhaps at 1/8 inch, the edges are being dragged into the works. You could also wrap the seam allowance with thin tissue paper, sewing through the paper and the fabric, then rip the paper away from the finished seam.
How many layers are you working with at once? Perhaps you need a special quilting foot for your machine.
My primary suspicion would be the tension. Try adjusting the needle tension (never mess with the bobbin tension) and see if it gets any better. Also make sure you’re letting the feed dogs do the work and you’re not trying to push your fabric through. If you’re using something really fuzzy, you may want to drop or cover the feed dogs–sometimes highly textured fabric will get caught in them. Finally, make sure you’re using the appropriate type of needle for your fabric. If you’re using heavy weight fabric and a light weight needle, that’s a recipe for disaster.
Unfortunately employees of fabric/sewing stores are hired for stocking, measuring and cutting fabric and running the cash register.
It is not the tension, but you may want to lengthen the stitch length a bit. The thicker the item being sewn, the more thread is need to create the stitch.
I’ve had the same problem, which is due to not enough fabric under the presser foot to properly guide the fabric as the feed dogs are trying the move the fabric for stitching.
1/8 ” from the edge is pretty narrow.
If you have a sewing machine that features an adjustable needle position, you can move the needle to the right until you have the width you want for the seam while the foot is actually holding 1/2″ of fabric.
A very helpful accessory is the walking foot. It has the same effect as feed dogs, only on the top layer to help keep the top layer from shifting while sewing.
When changing the needle position be sure the needle plate and presser foot have openings wide enough to accommodate the new needle location so there isn’t any chance of the needle hitting the foot or plate and breaking.
Except for Bernina, you can find generic walking feet at fabric stores – I got one at JoAnn for less than $20.00.
As long as you are not using a computorized sewing machine, you can use a magnetic seam guide to help keep the fabric feeding straight (check the sewing notions area of a fabric store), or several layers of blue painter’s tape – it does not leave a reside like the tan colored masking tape.
Before sewing, open the needle plate and make sure it is clean from any residue from the jamming. Same for the bobbin case and surrounding area. You will need to do this pretty often when quilting due to the amount of lint it can create.
Make a little sample quilt and try the longer stitch length, needle position and walking foot – anything that is a new technique before working on your project ….this can be a real stress saver!
Good luck with your projects.
Are you starting the seam by holding the top and bobbin thread ends together behind the foot for the first few stitches? Are you using a straight stitch needleplate or at least putting the needle all the way to one side of the slot?
Is your machine threaded correctly, threaded with the presser foot up so the thread can enter the upper tension?
http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/22521551
Do any of these pair of photos resemble your results?
Are you chain piecing? Do you need a starter scrap to start your seam on?
http://www.templatesforpatchwork.co.uk/tutorials/PDF/Machine Sewing.PDF
Is your needle of an appropriate size and type for your fabric? I typically use microtex for broadcloth, fwiw, but some find a “jeans” point useful.
You’re trying to sew too fast, you have to go at the speed of the machine, even if you think it’s too slow. I know it’s hard, especially after sewing by hand, where you can go your own speed, but…