Are 319K's picky about thread?
 

I was setting up my wife's 319K to do some patterns on my quilt blocks. I had fits getting the tension right.
The thread kept slipping out from under the little tension spring on the bobbin, then the top wouldn't cooperate either. The thread kept popping out of the top thread guide and breaking.

I kept at it and ended up changing threads, going to heavier thread, and then had to loosen the bobbin tension almost a full turn of the screw.

That seems to have helped a lot. Now I need to go back to the bright yellow and gold thread and hope my adjustments will work with that as well.

Is your 319s thread picky?

Joe

Not at all.

Joe, You're going to have tension (& stitch quality) problems with that heavy duty thread you always use. If your tension & stitch length are set correctly & you're using the proper needle, all purpose or machine quilting thread is plenty strong to make a denim quilt. And it won't cause the problems that you've been having with tension, etc. Personally, I'd be using a normal weight thread & a size 14 needle...always use the smallest needle that'll do the job. It goes thru the fabric easier & doesn't poke a larger hole than necessary...actually making weaker rather than stronger seams! I only use a 16 to hem jeans or do flat felled seams in denim where I'm sewing thru many layers. And in those applications, the heavy or top stitching thread is usually not used in the bobbin. It's pretty much used for topstitching only...that's why the jeans thread has so little yardage on the spool.

Path49,

This time I wasn't piecing, but was getting the machine set up to put decorative stitches on the squares already done. I have been using some of my wife's brightly colored serger thread for this as it takes a lot to do tight patterns.
This machine just had fits with it. None of my others have had any trouble at all.

We had a 16 needle in it as my wife was sewing some heavy denim pockets on her shopping bags the last time she used it. That needle was switched for a 14, the bobbin tension lightened, and the top turned back and forth and ended up near where it was.

I went from the light weight variegated thread she had in the bobbin to a size 50 I'd guess and from the light thread I've been using for my patterns to a heavier thread intended for jeans top stitching. Now it's working.

So now that some of my squares are dry I'll be messing with this machine again.

As far as using the heavy thread for piecing, I got the White DRESSMASTER figured out. The causes were, A: Needle to small. Went from 14 to 16.
B: Bobbin tension too tight. (I had not adjusted it previously. It was as it came to me.)
C: Had the machine threaded partially wrong.

Now it sews with the heavy stuff just fine. I'm gonna use it till it's gone. Too expensive to waste.

Joe

Well, here goes. Wound a bobbin with the orange serger thread I've used on a half dozen other machines to put patterns on my quilt squares and threaded up the machine.
Needle is a 206-13 Size 14 just put in yesterday. Am using flat cam #23 as my pattern.
I'm making 3 1/2" square patterns on my 6 1/2" squares and the machine broke the thread three times within this square.
I've got the owners manual out and will go through all the trouble shooting steps to figure it out, but if anyone has any more ideas, I'm all ears.

319 bobbins: Right after we got this machine we bought some original Singer bobbins from our LSMG.
Then a 10 pack from Sew-Classic. It seems the ones from S-C are just a tiny bit narrower than the originals. Maybe a 1/2 rim thickness.
But it's enough that the lever that trips the bobbin winder to the off position will not fit between them.
Turns out it is twisted a bit and will just barely work with the originals.
What I can't see right of, is which way I need to bend it. It looks as if it sits too far to the left so it was bent to the right to work.

So far it seems that most of the Singer ZZ machines have needed work to function right. However, most of the antiques like Minerva, Mini, Louise, have needed just cleaning and a little bit of work then they just sew happily ever after. Maybe my like for the old black machines is for a good reason.

Joe

Serger thread wasn't designed for use in home machines as a single strand. It's designed for sergers in 3 to 5 layers for strength. I wouldn't use the inability to sew with serger thread as a negative nor as a standard because it's not made for domestic sewing machines in mind. I use it in my serger, period. Not in any of my sewing machines.

Yeah I know all that, but did you see the part where I've used the same thread in a half dozen other machines and it works fine?

I'm still gonna do all the trouble checks and if none of them fix the problem, this one will be left out of my all machines quilt.

Joe

Welp, I went through all the trouble checks in the manual and none of them helped. Changed thread, now it's working good. So to answer my own question with a qualification:
Q: Are 319K's picky about thread?

A: This one is.

Joe