The New Year is off to a bad start. My Pfaff needs to be taken in and this is my backup! I had so much trouble with the bobbin on this one last time I used it that its been put away for 3 or 4 years. If the bobbin is wound correctly it sews wonderfully. Unfortunately even with the manual I managed to wind it correctly only half the time. To make it worse I have only one bobbin for this and wasted a lot of thread trying to get it to work.
Does anyone have one of these and how do I wind the bobbin correctly? :-(

You have to push that tab with the "bullseye" to the left and leave that slide plate open while the bobbin winds.

The machine should be threaded as if for sewing and set up for straight stitching - make sure you're not on the Buttonhole setting.

Raise the presser foot, pull a couple of inches of thread through the needle and wrap it around the screw that holds the presser foot on and hold on to the end of that thread, turn the speed to "Slow" and push the foot pedal or knee lever to start the bobbin winder.

Run it steadily, not fast, until the bobbin fills to the fill line. (on the bobbin, it's the second line in from the outside, I think)

Then you close the slide plate, which pushes the bobbin winding tab backing into normal sewing position, pull a couple of inches of slack thread though the needle plate and start sewing.

If that doesn't work, let me know and I will dig out my T&S.

The gears on these later T&S machines are self-destructing nylon and pretty much disintegrate at some point. If you haven't had the gears replaced on it, it might be failing gears that's causing you so much trouble.

I have one too. It was my mother's but I don't use it. Do you need a manual? I could make you a copy. I know what you mean about the bobbin though.

They sell the bobbins at Joann's

Thanks so much!!! I just love this board!!! I may not have been turning it to slow previously when winding it. It is stitching pretty well right now. We will see if I can wind it correctly twice in a row in a little bit. I have the manual somewhere, just not sure where it is right now. Will be making a trip to Joann's soon too!
Thanks again!

I have a 758 that I use all the time. The original bobbins that came with my machine work great. If you purchase new bobbins they will not wind properly, including the ones I bought that were Singer. The plastic is not as heavy on them as the original ones. The bobbins with the white bottom won't wind properly either. However, I can sew with both of them if I wind them by hand. Make sure there is no lint in there and oil the channel. If the bobbin case is not in right it won't work either.

I'm so glad you got it running! I can email you a copy of my 750 manual if you want it - just send me a private message. It's a little bit different from the 758, but it might be handy to have on your computer.

Buying bobbins for the T&S is tricky - there are bobbins that look identical and you think you're getting the right ones. I think they're the ones made for the Athena line of machines. I bought them at Joann and couldn't figure out why they wouldn't work. :mrgreen:

I wonder if a separate bobbin winder would do better than the machine itself? I bought it used and am not sure if the bobbin is the original or not.

I have no idea if they make a bobbin winder for that type of bobbin - but somehow I doubt that they do.

i used to have this machine and she is right on

So sorry to hear about your bobbin issue. I hate when that happens. Sending you ((((((HUGS)))))) to help you thru a bad day.

I have a similar Singer machine with the same way to wind a bobbin.
I find I have the best result if I make sure to wrap the thread around the screw for the pressor foot by going under the screw and wrapping the thread towards me.
If I go over the top of the screw and wrap away from me it doesn't work as well. Don't know if that will make any difference for you.

I am a new member, and saw your post offering a copy of the manual for the Singer touch &sew zig-zag model 758. Could I possibly take you up on that offer. My sister in law gave me her sewing machine but I have no idea how to use it.

Thanks

These bobbins don't work on a bobbin winder.

You can get bobbins at Joann's or from the Singer website.

My experience has been that the new bobbins don't work right. I bought the singer ones and the ones with the white bottom and neither wind properly. I have absolutely no problem with the ones that came with the machine years ago.

The gentleman that services my 758 also indicated that the ones you can buy now won't work right.

I just found a singer touch and sew zigzag model 758 at a garage sale for $2. The feed dogs are really flat (not sure what someone did to them), the bobbin case is apart, and the bobbin itself is in two parts (not sure if this is normal). My local shop wants $50 to tune it up plus whatever else it needs (mystery). From this board I've read that this machine has nylon gears. I was hoping it was metal. Is it worth keeping/fixing or should I buy an inexpensive machine at walmart?

You need to look at the bottom of the bobbin to make sure you buy the correct replacement. I believe the 758 has a small slot like a minus sign. I also have a 1050 which uses a similar bobbin but it has a slot resembling a plus sign on the bottom. Make sure that this slot lines up with the little gear that slides up in this slot when you engage the bobbin for winding (push over the little bullseye). My 1050 has gotten touchy and I have to be very precise in the bobbin placement before engagement for winding.

Cindy M --- the feed dogs are smooth. They are made of a teflon type material. Bobbin should be in one part and I think it screws together. I had that machine until I bought my Pfaff.

Cindy M --- the feed dogs are smooth. They are made of a teflon type material. Bobbin should be in one part and I think it screws together. I had that machine until I bought my Pfaff.

The feed dogs for the later T&S machines were flat with a rubbery coating - to handle slick fabrics better than toothy dogs. The rubber will disintegrate over time and rub off on your fabrics and it's the devil to get the stains out.

Terry at TNT Repair has replacement feed dogs in either the original rubbery stuff or the toothy type. He is THE source for all things slant - he will probably have anything you need to refurbish your 758 including a couple of books that he wrote himself. There are lots of pictures in them and they're easier for hobbyists to understand than most adjusters' manuals, which you will also need.
http://www.tandtrepair.com/index.html

I might take this on as a project machine just because it's fun to mess around with. But, I wouldn't pay much to have someone fix it. Maybe just have him put the bobbin case back in and time it and clean/oil it. If it sews well after that, you have a nice machine for $50.

It's going to be very expensive to get the gears replaced and who knows what else might be wrong with it. For the same amount of money, you can get a nice little Brother CS 6000t at Walmart.

If the bobbin case is already out, it could be that the gears were already crumbling and someone was trying to troubleshoot the problem.

It's normal for the bobbin to come apart - you unscrew them to remove what's left of the old thread on the bobbin before filling it with new thread. :)

The bobbin case can be put back in very easily. It needs to come out periodically to clean out the lint and to oil the channel on it. You can download a free manual for a 750 at www.safe manuals.com that will show you how to put it back in. The 750 just has a few more whistles and bells than the 758 but it basically operates the same way.

Thanks so much for your help.

thanks for the tips.

I just happened upon this site..... I got out my sister's old Touch and Sew and thought I had the manual but now cannot find it.... saw that you offered to copy the manual for someone else... wondered if you would do so for me??? thanks.

Lots of great replies! Now does anyone know how to fix a jammed bobbin tab on this singer touch n sew model 758 ? My old machine is in great shape, except that the rewind tab with a red bulls eye , can only be moved with extreme pressure, even after I oiled it. I'm so scared to break it- any ideas?

Found this site "Google ing" how to work this sewing machine! Just got one just like this one not too long ago, works great...except the fact I can't make it do the designs :( can anyone help me with this??? Attempting design with disc 6 Cresent Stitch.

Never mind.... It seems as though the black discs don't work, only the creme ones... At least I was doing it right ;)

The black discs should work if the others do, just possibly a different setting/adjustment. Do you have a manual to tell you what settings to use?

I'm not sure who you're talking to, but I have a digital copy of the 750 manual.

The 750 doesn't have a free-arm, so that you'll have to figure out yourself. But, I think the 750 has all the other features that were ever put into any of the Touch & Sew machines, so this might help you figure out how to operate your machine, no matter which model it is.

If yours is a very early Touch & Sew, you might do better to use the manual for a 600 machine. :)

Hello all, I was recently given this machine as a donation to a quilting bee I run in a neighborhood here in Birmingham, AL. I've only started sewing regularly in the past three years and this is my first machine with the winding mechanism for the bobbin in the bobbin housing.

Last week we used the machine for the first time. It came to me directly from the Singer store here in town and I know the technician there and he's great. We started sewing with it and it ran like a dream. As soon as the bobbin emptied though, we were in trouble. I don't have the manual so I tried doing things intuitively (which might be my whole problem...could I have messes something up?) to no avail.

I found this post last week and was thrilled to have such detailed instructions to follow. I followed them to a T and wasn't able to get the machine threaded properly. Also, I hand wound the bobbin and placed it in the machine with all of the threads going in the proper direction and when I tried sewing, the thread on the bottom of the fabric (the one fed by the bobbin) was extremely loose, leaving huge loops of thread in between each stitch. I adjusted tension and anything else I could adjust but we never got it sewing properly again.

If anyone has any further instructions - I know the ones above are incredibly clear and detailed - or knows what I'm doing wrong - I'd greatly appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks so much,
Lillis

Is there any way that you can post closeup pictures of the stitching on the top and bottom of your fabric?

Usually large loops of thread on the back are the needle thread - not enough tension on the needle thread to balance the tension on the bobbin thread.

But, you say this is the thread from the bobbin with big loops, and if that's actually the case, it probably means that there is too much tension on the bobbin thread. This can be caused by overwinding the bobbin past that ring marked on the bobbin or by the bobbin thread being caught in something, or by "crud" packed into the spring on the bobbin case.

Since the machine has worked well before, you just have to keep trying different things. The first thing to check is that the loopy thread is actually the bobbin thread and not the needle thread. (I use two different colors of thread when I'm troubleshooting a machine to make it easier to tell the difference.) If it's the needle thread, the thread is probably not seating properly between the tension disks, or somehow the tension has been dialed down to too low a number. Turn it up a few numbers and see if that helps.

I agree with everything thepolyparrot said, but I would add one thing. Take out the bobbin and put it back in again.

Thanks so much thepolyparrot! It was indeed the needle thread and although we thought the machine was properly threaded - there was an issue with the tension discs. All is well and it felt GREAT to figure it out...thanks again! Also, I couldn't have done it without this whole thread - so thanks to all!

Yay! The instant exchange of information strikes again! :D Glad you're up and running! :)

That is a touch n sew model. I have a different model but sometimes the bobbins wear & they wind but when attempting to sew it makes bird nest. Might try new bobbins. The info about the new ones (bobbins0 was interes

Wow, these are all great tips! An old friend gave this machine to me when she was moving - since then, I've spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to use it... I'm usually pretty good with figuring stuff like this out but this one is stumping me! was told that the machine is in great condition and has everything it needs (except the manual, which has been long gone!) Does anyone here know of any tutorials that can help me learn how to use this machine? Thanks in advance!

EJKM, which machine was given to you? The T&S 758 or one of the other models mentioned?

There is a pdf version of the manual posted above in this thread for the T&S 750, which is very similar to the 758.

Im new at sewing and just got this model singer 758 i was so excited until the bobbin will not spin. I also tried to load it with a already wound bobbin and it wont catch the bobbin thread. im worried i bought a lemon ( my recent craigslist find). I saw all these posts with people using same model and was hoping i was doing something wrong. I followed all the instructions to a T both in the manual.and on here.....PLEASE HELP!!!!!

Unthread the machine and turn it back so you can take off the bottom cover.

On the left side, under the needle area, you will see two gears at right angles to each other. The gear that's oriented vertically (when the machine is standing up) might have come loose and is not engaging the horizontal gear. There should be a small amount of play between the two gears - they should not fit tightly together. When you turn the handwheel, the vertical gear drives the horizontal gear.

If the gears are too far apart, turn the handwheel and look for an allen nut on the bar that turns the vertical gear. Loosen it with an allen wrench, slide the bar to the left to engage the horizontal gear (but not tight) then tighten the allen nut. When you turn the handwheel, the gears should now be engaged and the bobbin case should spin.

If the teeth on those gears are broken off, they're unfortunately going to continue to crumble and replacing them is expensive - you can do it yourself if you get the parts and save a lot of money.