Hello,
Just found your post and I bought a Elgin S - 1145 @ yard sale several years ago and have played with it and maybe this is your problem...Does it have a slide lever in center @ top of machine?? I was just playing with mine to see if I could discover problem and if lever is slide on the SS side you get VERY small stitches? Have you found a manual yet as I have done many web searches with no luck.If anyone out there has one PLEASE share as this is a real work horse machine but do not know how to use cams,streach stitch or button hole feature on it.