lyndawn

I have a fairly new machine (singer) and I haven't had much time to use in the last few months. I've done a enough sewing on it to play with a few stitches and learn the basics.

I'm not by any means a machine quilter. I have only done a few potholders by machine. In the past I have been strictly a hand quilter. I wanted to machine quilt this baby quilt as the baby is being induced this coming Mon and I haven't had time to quilt it. I still dont' really.

But, I cannot figure out how to do it! The machine keeps jamming within the first couple of stitches. I really have no idea what to do and I am so ticked off right now. I can't even find any info in the manual about anything like this.

I guess I"ll just have to lose a few hrs of sleep each day to do it by hand.

Sorry about my ranting, just needed to get that off my chest.

Lynette

cutebuns

are you FMQ or stitch in the ditch or what? how were you trying to quilt it? Give more details and someone around here migh tjust have the answer that you are looking for. and maybe save a few grey hairs in the mean time.

lyndawn

I was just trying to echo quilt around pinwheels with a walking foot. Nothing special. I just have no idea why it is jamming up. I didn't even get one stitch in.

Lynette

SulaBug

Have you double checked your threading?
I have had this problem before!! Also, if
you are doing stitch in the ditch, have you
attached your quilting foot? Just a few
simple ideas for you.
:D :D :D :D :D :D

MissMermaid

ive found in working with the lower end "in home" machines, that they tend to jam up sometimes.

my first suggestion is to check how your bobbin is wound and loaded into the machine. if fiddling with that doesnt help...

check out your tension, if the upper thread is the problem, its mostly likely the tension, if the lower thread is the problem, its still a likely culprit.

from there, if neither of those is the fix, if you can take out the bobbin casing and/or throat plate and clean the machine out with some compressed air (comes in a can, like what is used to clean out crumbs from a computers keyboard)

ETA...OH! and as the above poster mentioned, check out if youve accidentally gotten it threaded wrong...that could be causing some major issues as well, and its a simple fix.

dunster

First take a deep breath. It's probably something simple.

Clean the machine thoroughly, especially the bobbin area and under the plate. Look for thread wrapped up in the bobbin area. Change the needle. Completely re-thread the machine, and check the book to be sure you are doing it correctly since you haven't used this machine a lot. Check to be sure that with the presser foot up and the needle in the up position you are able to freely pull the thread from the top and bottom. If it hangs up, there's a problem somewhere. Try just a few stitches on scrap fabric and see if the thread is still collecting on the back. Hopefully all will be working now.

cutebuns

Check to make sure that your needle is in all the way as well, recent problem as with all the sewing that I had done the needle was loose, it was fine on the piecing but hated the extra thickness. So make sure that everything is tight.

Prism99

Does it jam when you are just stitching two pieces of fabric together also? Or is it only jamming when you are trying to quilt? Are you using a walking foot?

Lower-end machines tend to be fussier. A few things to check in addition to what has already been mentioned: be sure to hold both threads ends when starting, start sewing slowly, be sure you have lengthened your stitch for quilting (the thickness of the quilt requires a longer-than-normal stitch length), be sure you have lowered the presser foot (easy to forget with the thickness of the quilt).

If you do all of that and still have a problem, take a look at the bobbin. Unevenly wound bobbins can cause jamming.

By any chance, did you change the bobbin before starting to quilt? I had this problem with a machine that had worked perfectly before; turned out a very similar-looking bobbin to the one the machine needed had been mistakenly inserted. Many plastic bobbins look alike but have small differences that can mess up the thread.

As others have mentioned, an incorrectly inserted needle, lint in the machine, and incorrect threading can also cause this.

Scissor Queen

Are you bringing the bobbin thread to the top? Sometimes that'll cause a jam.

Maride

If the first couple of stitches jam or form a knot at the bottom, I suggest you make sure that you are holding the end of your thread in the back of the machine before you start sewing and during the first few stitches. I have to do that even with my high end Bernina. After the first few stitches are secure you can them let go. Make sure you take a couple of stitches to the front, the same to the back, and then sew normally.

Maria