Originally Posted by
ruby2shoes
It's a nice lazy sunny afternoon here....got all my chores done so I could sit down and run up a few seams using my grandmothers old 127k treadle: a maiden voyage after replacing her tension mechanism and belt and giving her a good clean over. Blast and bother but every couple of inches I'm getting a small run of dirty black stitches. I'm assuming it's the bobbin thread cause it's showing on the top side of my work as I sew. I have cleaned my shuttle, cleaned out the shuttle cradle and where the thread comes up through the needle plate, I have changed my shuttle, changed my bobbin and thread and am still getting these wretched black/dirty stitches. Can anyone advise where I should be looking further? Note, I haven't used any water to clean these areas, just a cotton tip and a little shell lite.
If it's only on the top it's your top thread, Ruby. Check where it starts getting dirty. Most likely the tensioner. This can be cleaned easily without disassembly (see Muv's videos).
Yes it's a perfect day!