Yesterday when I sat down to sew and relax and try a new quilt block, I started sewing and my needle broke and the thread from the spool was at the end and the tail got caught up somewhat in the machine. I changed the needle and cleaned up the thread, put a new spool on did a few turns on the wheel to make sure all was okay and moving with no clunks, which was all good. I started sewing my block together and noticed when I checked the seams that the tension was all wonky with loops on the bottom and I could pull the bobbin thread right out. I played with the upper tension to no end and was not getting anywhere, so then I moved onto the bobbin tension thinking that might be the culprit. Nothing I did would correct the situation - this went on for about 2 hours or so. I gave up.
Late last night I was on the computer before going to bed and of course was looking for suggestions and tips. I came across a few - There was a suggestion that it had to be the top tension causing the problem and that perhaps the tension discs were not closing because of lint buildup,etc. It suggested putting a few knots in a length of thread and running that through the tension discs back and forth to clean out lint. That's what I did first thing this morning. I ran this thread through both discs and finally about the 5th time - something popped out - turns out it was a clump of thread that must have been caught up in there.
I rethreaded the machine and it was now sewing correctly and the tension discs were now doing their job again!! Winner winner chicken dinner!!! no costly trip to the service shop! I will always remember this tip from now on and will probably make it part of my maintenance routine when I do routine cleaning to the machine.
Just wanted to pass along - never know when it will come in handy for someone else
