Featherweight Help
 

I was cruzin along sewing sewing and noticed I was starting to get some skipped stitches and couldn't remember the last time I changed my needle so I replaced it, oiled and cleaned out lots of dust and lint. Now the needle I can't sew more than 2-3 stitches without the upper thread nesting below. I have double checked to make sure the flat side of the needle (Singer 80/11) is to my left. I did notice that the bobbin case is missing one of the screws and have no idea if this just happened or if it has been like this for a while, would this matter?

sounds like you need to rethread-from the beginning & make sure your thread is between the tension disks correctly---nesting on the bottom is a top thread issue- sometimes it is easy to miss one simple step when threading- so rethreading should be the first (try)--you may have knocked something loose- done something when you cleaned it???look it over --- on my vintage singer the needle goes in with the flat side to the right???could the needle be in backwards? i don't know if that is even possible---but it sounds as if the threading may be the problem- also check to see if maybe a piece of lint is caught in the tension disks- that can cause the problem too-- when all else fails start over from the beginning. good luck!

and don't forget to be sure the foot is down

reread your manual.

I always thread my machine and wind bobbins with the manual open in front of me. Its a whole lot easier to not miss a step.

If it is the screw near the end, that is the thread tension screw.That is most likely the problem.Iwould get a magnet and scan the area and machine to try to recover it It is very hard to find a replacement

I've had that issue with thread spools. I use a nail file to smooth out the slit. Also, slide a doubled piece of the flat type of dental floss between the tension disks; even if you don't see anything there you may be surprised at what comes out. Good luck.

Thanks for the tips, but now its working just fine. I loosened the screws that hold the needle plate in place, I think I might have over tightened them. Also I'm pretty sure the motor was getting over heated too. Today the machine is working jsut fine.

Did you take off the needle plate when you were cleaning?

Yes I did, I was sewing a bunch of flannel last weekend and there was lint and fuzz in that area

did you put the bobbin case base "finger" back in between the slot in the underside of the throat plate? It won't sew if you don't.

I was told to put a 15-1 needle in my featherweight. Could that be part of the problem?

I am new and not sure where to post this. I am hoping someone can answer 2 questions for me. I just purchased a Featherweight 221 and there are 2 problems. The first is that it has a musty smell. I tried putting come cinnamon in the case, but it hasn't put much of a dent in the odor. Do you have any suggestions?
The second is that the precious owner put tape on it. Some is on the gold What can I use to get the sticky residue off that will not damage the surface?

Thanks for any help you can give me!

The musty smell is very common for a machine of this age. You have to change the drippad andleave it out of the case. There is a place on this board especially for questions on old machines such as yours. There are several answers to this topic there.

Remove and replace the felt drip pad under the sewing machine. New ones can be found online. Or make one yourself by using the original drip pad as a template.

As for the tape, I would try liberal amounts of sewing machine oil left to soak on the tape. It will take longer than the chemical sticky removers to work but the oil will not damage the decals.