A friend of mine has a Singer 1411 purchased in 1982. She got it from her MIL. It hasn't been used in at least 20 years, and before then just for mending. She got it out this morning and it only sews in reverse. Pressing the reverse button keeps in it reverse. It doesn't change anything. What might cause this?

Thanks in advance!!

maybe sit on the other side of the machine? (sorry, couldn't resist)

Good luck- maybe google the machine to see if you can find an online manual to help.

I had that problem with my sewing machine...Come to find out by pushing reverse button twice in a row canceled it out...try that.

Check for line or a piece of thread. Thread can get caught under throat plate, it can be hard to see.

My sister was doing that last summer when I went to visit. We took it to the shop and the guy told me to sew with it going in reverse and just keep my finger pushing the reverse until the machine started sewing forward. He said it could take from 1 to ten minutes or longer. Hers took about 3 minutes. Hope this helps.

My White machine from the 80's did that once. It turned out that the lever that releases the cams was in the wrong position. If this machine has cams, try that.

A machine for a left handed person?

I had to say that, couldn't help it.

Carol J.

How does she know if it has cams?

Cams are the round plastic things that create zig zag and other special patterns on some machines. On mine, there is a lid at the top of the machine that opens, and you can see the cam that's in there. I also have a box of a dozen other cams.