Mike, your suggestion of cleaning the tension dials worked perfectly. I was able to remove the entire assembly, clean the disks properly, reassemble (with the aid of lots of pictures), and now (thankfully) thread is no longer getting caught. However...my machine is still not ready to tackle my next project. :(

The thread is no longer getting caught between the tension disks like I said, but it seems to get caught every now and again in the bobbin case. I didn't notice this before...maybe because the tension disks were more problematic. I loosened the tension screw on the case (just a tad...maybe 1/4 turn), and it seemed to help a bit, but I'm still getting caught every now and again. Even when I thread through the case, I sometimes have a hard time pulling the thread out. I'm afraid to mess with the screw too much, so thought I'd ask before I really mess something up. In addition, when I sew, it's obvious the tension is off somewhere, though I can't tell where the problem lies (this was happening before I turned the screw on the bobbin case, which is why I figured I had nothing to lose).

Here are some pictures of how the machine is sewing as of now. If I need to change the thread color for easier viewing, please let me know. Can you, or anyone else see what the issue is and able to lend more assistance? Thanks again! :)


Underside of fabric.
The green thread is the top, the black, bottom. I could tell the tension was too loose with the middle straight line, so I tightened it back to where it was with the zig zag (4). The reason I was thinking the tension was too tight is that with different fabric I was using last night (flannel), it would pucker really bad when sewing a line. Perhaps this is more of a needle issue than a tension one? I don't know...arrg!
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Top of fabric
Again, green is top thread, black is bottom. It seems to me that the tension with the zig zag is too tight, but when I loosened a notch, I got the first straight line (middle on fabric) which was obviously too loose.
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Are you sewing on batting? What kind of material is this? I would use double layers of cotton on my test pieces to establish a departure point for a common tension setting, and then adjust whenever the fabric or stitch needs special consideration.

OK, we're nearly there, you need to mess with the screw. I'm guessing that because your zig-zag stitch is pulling the fabric together with the upper tension loose, the bobbin tension is still too tight.
To test, hold the end of the thread, suspending the bobbin + case. Properly adjusted, it should be at the point of falling and will do so if you gently pull upwards. It should be adjusted until you reach the point of it falling by itself.
When this is set, you shouldn't need to adjust the bobbin tension again.

It is natural cotton batting. I only used this so the stitches could be easily seen. Much of my other scrap fabric is dark. I initially tried taking pictures of the stitches on the flannel fabric I've been using for a quilt, but it was too hard to see the stitches that way. I was hoping this would suffice for now. It probably sounds lazy, but with the addition of two new machines, I had to rearrange my sewing room and it's a darned mess right now. My cotton fabrics are currently packed in a box, awaiting a new home in a newly organized room.

Mike....thanks for the reply! I'll go do that now. Thank you! I had no idea how to tell when the case was properly adjusted so I was afraid to monkey with it too much. :thumbup:

Mike, seriously, you are awesome! Here are the results....

Top
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Bottom
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Before you started helping me, I seriously started feeling like I needed to sell some of my machines and give up. Thankfully I didn't...such easy fixes! In addition, I'm fairly certain this is the issue with my Kenmore machine I have not been able to fix. It's frustrated me for so long I was going to put up an ad on Craigslist. Feel proud that you not only saved one, but TWO of my machines, and really helped out a newbie!

Thanks Rachael, but you did it yourself. I'm sure you'll quickly learn to diagnose these things on your own.
The old sewing machines are simple and usually very easy to fix. Tension problems are something you've already mastered. If you ever find that the tensions are impossible to balance, the hook timing is probably off. Yours, along with your tension, is obviously perfect here: The zig-zag isn't pulling at all and there's no thread showing on the opposite side.
Well done!

Thank you!!
 

To the person who posted this answer, you saved me!! I have been searching all over the net to try to find the answer when finally I come across this post. I was so excited and I opened an account with the site just to get to tell you thank you!!