Yes, I know, change the needle, clean out the fuzz bunnies, I've done everything I can think of and it's STILL EATING MY FABRIC!! In fact it's getting difficult to climb over a normal seam any more. I'm in a major tizzy, our local repair shop costs a fortune and I can't afford to take it in right now. Do any of you lovely folks have any ideas or suggestions - I'm nearly crazy trying to sew and fighting this machine. It never used to do this, just started in about the last 2 or 3 weeks.

Is it making rats nests on the back?

Have you oiled it? I don't oil my modern machine (ever) but it might not hurt)

I would ask around ... maybe someone has a machine you can borrow. A nice working machine.

Try using a pipe cleaner to clean where you can't see. There is probably some thread caught or a lint build up somewhere.

I had to take off the needle plate on my machine yesterday because when I used the thread cutter, the fabric would go down into the hole of the plate and 'get eaten'. I found a 4" thread stuck to some fuzz bunnies way down below the bobbin case. Cleaned it out and no problems since.

Have you use the dental floss to clean the upper thread guides? I have the 270D and it has done that a time or 2. Be sure to use the "unwaxed" dental floss.

I just had my PE700II start eating fabric today and I about freaked out. I'm in the middle of a project with a deadline of tomorrow. I cleaned everything really good, did a shutdown on it, removed, clean and replaced the embroidery unit and have had no more problems...keeping fingers X'd!!

I know you said you cleaned out the bunnies, just want to make sure you removed the plate. It sounds like the feed dogs may not be engaging. Make sure that you remove the plate and clean around the feed dogs.

Check your bobbin...I put mine in backwards today and it did the same as yours...flipped the bobbin the way it's supposed to go, sew just fine now :)

That machine is self-oiling, don't oil it.

Are you holding your thread tails while you take the first couple of stitches?

Change the needle, rethread the machine, clean it out thoroughly. Good luck. That is so frustrating. I feel for you.

my featherweight was doing that. I oiled, cleaned, took it in for a tune up. One place said I needed to replace the bobbin housing. I took it to another and he just tightened everything up. works like a charm.

Whoa, help me out here, dental floss on the upper thread guides?? Do you mean that part on top that you wind up and down and around and etc before it goes into the needle? I can't even imagine where I would use dental floss in that area.

Yes, I think you're right about not oiling, so I haven't done that, but no, I don't hold onto the tails. When I do they just seem to keep pulling out behind the machine, sort of like I'm just pulling the bobbin or the top thread and there is nothing stopping it.

Yes, I actually cleaned it out by removing the plate a couple weeks ago. I must confess, it was the first time I'd ever done it since I owned the machine! You can't imagine how much stuff came out, and it was running great then!! haha I just kept pulling fuzz and threads and lint out and I did get way down in there and it just kept coming out. Amazing that it ran so well for so long. I've probably owned it for 6-7 years and never done it before!! SEND THE SEWING MACHINE POLICE!!! It did teach me quite a lesson though, but I'm serious, it ran much better before I cleaned it out. It's afterwards that I'm having these problems. I'm trying to figure out if I bumped something or ??

What kind of needle are you using? If you have a ball point needle and you're not sewing knits, it may have a tendency to push the fabric down. Try a new needle, if you haven't already, it may be dull.