# I hate my sewing machine



## kandmcockrell (Oct 10, 2008)

I inherrited my mothers machine. It is a sears Kenmore that she bought shortly after my parents were married, all most 40 years ago.

I don't remember her ever having issues with it. For me, it skips stitches. I have 1/2 to 1 inch sections of skipped stitches. It has been serviced, cleaned, rethreaded, tensions adjusted (by my mom, and it stitched fine). But it must hate me as well. :fussin: I did a baby rag quilt, thought i had caught all the missed stitches, but apparently not. I just washed the quilt and at least 1/3rd will need to be restitched.

I am thinking of getting a new/ different machine. Nothing supper fancy, but some different stitches would be nice. 

I don't have a huge budget, and will probubly get it after Christmas so i can add that in.

So, any suggestions?


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

how much is not too much?

What stitches do you want?

And I swear by Janome machines. I have about 5 or 8 various types...

REally sorry to hear about your troubles with the Kenmore. Does the model start with 385?

And how much sewing have you done, and what type of thread and needles are you using. The thread can have as much to do with bad stitching as a bad machine.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

You've probably already checked this, but are you sure the needle is facing the right direction? Guaranteed when I have trouble it's usually because I forgot which machine I was on and put the needle in backward...


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## Molly Mckee (Jul 8, 2006)

If the needle is in the right way, make sure that the bobbin is wound the right direction.


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## Texasdirtdigger (Jan 17, 2010)

Yep, as stated above......Needle in backwards, or bobbin. BTW, If it ever just keeps breaking the thread.....It's usually a burr on the needle...... A new needle, put in correctly, is your friend.
I have been sewing a long time, and I still on occasion, out a needle in backwards!!


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## kandmcockrell (Oct 10, 2008)

I don't do a ton of sewing now but part of that is the machine gets me frustrated and it takes me twice as long to do anything, then i still have th hand stitch part of it.

I think under $500.00. I would like a straight stitch, zig zag and a couple "fancy" stitches.

I will check the needle. I checked the bobins and they are right. I was wondering about the thread, but i figured it would break or snag if it was the issue. Some of it is old, but when i first had issues, I got new thread, and still had the issues.

I may take it in one more time to get serviced. Maybe I have missed something. We moved last year but I have done log cabin quilt blocks and made a slip cover for my sofa since then and had no problems at all.

I have never really liked the machine. Not very easy to change the stitches, at least for me. I have never been able to get it to do a regular zig zag stitch. It always has straight stitches thrown in there.

I do like the fact that i can have the feed for the fabric on or off. So if I get a new machine i would like to have that option.

Thanks for the tips.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

> I do like the fact that i can have the feed for the fabric on or off. So if I get a new machine i would like to have that option.


If that's your primary requirement you'll have no problem finding something. 
As far as I can tell, that's been a standard feature for about 70 years. 

And under $500 with a handful of stitches? I'll second Angie's suggestion of a Janome. She's right. They're good machines.


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## kandmcockrell (Oct 10, 2008)

What is the best type of thread? Is there a particular brand to stay away from?

Does anyone have a Janome 7330? In looking on line, it seems people really like it.


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## Ann-NWIowa (Sep 28, 2002)

I had a Kenmore that I got for Christmas in 1965. I sewed a million or two miles with it but never was really satisified with how it worked. The thread often locked in the top tension which would break the needle. After the Kenmore I had a Brother circa 1980 which was much better than the Kenmore but still had issues with the top tension locking the thread. I now have a Janome and have not had any problems with it other than not using it enough to remember how it works from time to time.


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## CJ (May 10, 2002)

Besides everything else mentioned, if your needle isn't large enough for your thread or the wrong type for whatever you are sewing on, it will definitely skip stitches. That's actually the very first thing I check when I get skipped stitches.


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## Katskitten (Aug 5, 2010)

CJ said:


> Besides everything else mentioned, if your needle isn't large enough for your thread or the wrong type for whatever you are sewing on, it will definitely skip stitches. That's actually the very first thing I check when I get skipped stitches.


Also here lately with all the generic needles I find that I must be careful to get a "proper" needle to the sewing machine itself.
I have a Bernina that I inherited from a cousin. It is older one but I do like it better than my last machine that was a Singer. The gears in the Singer were plastic and with all the sewing that I do I was breaking one particular gear all the time. Then I would have to take it in for service which translated to $$$ spent.:flame:


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## Garnet (Sep 19, 2003)

I'll pass along some thoughts - for what they are worth. 

There are a lot of machines available that sew well. If your machine doesn't, you will hate any time spent on sewing. It does take some research and searching to find a good machine. You can find them for $150 - $200. But not all machines in this price range are a good value.

It helps if you have friends who do a lot of sewing and are knowledgeable about machines and their features. 

I have owned Bernina, Pfaff, and Janome - and others. I do a lot of sewing. I think my Janome 6500 is a good workhorse machine with a lot of good features. A few years ago I paid around 900 for it on sale. I have had my grief with it fraying and breaking the needle thread. The man I bought it from has since opened his own shop and handles Brother machines. His tech found that it was a burr on the race (bobbin area) causing the problem and smoothed it off. I had feared it was something in the thread path that would require a major repair.

A friend who bought a new primary machine at the same time got a Bernina. We are both fine with our choices.

Meanwhile, we both wanted a light weight machine to take to classes and quilt groups. We both got a Brother machine. She ordered hers from Cosco (mailer sale coupon) and I ordered mine from Walmart. They are almost identical and have a lot of features that we want and cost around $150. I saw her machine and watched it in operation at our quilt shop. I began pulling up Costco and WM - and other vendors - and evaluating the features of Brother machines. Then I began the tedious process of reading through 150 or more customer reviews for the one I chose, a good way to spot red flag deal breakers as well as customers satisfied with performance. 

I've been happy with my machine and use it a lot. So do try to treat yourself to a good machine so you can enjoy sewing.

BTW I had a 20 yr old White Jeans Machine that was my travel machine. After all those years of heavy use, I would have faced a $75 service fee plus any replacement parts (if available) to restore the performance. So for $150, I opted to replace the machine.


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## kandmcockrell (Oct 10, 2008)

Ok, I finally had time to check the needle on the machine. It was the wrong type. So, I found the correct needle and installed that. I got the rag quilt i was doing sewed all up no problem. So at least I can sew now without the frustration until I decide which machine I want to get to replace it.

Thanks for all your help!


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## Mutti (Sep 7, 2002)

Glad you have figured out your problem....I have a Kenmore of the same vintage and I love it. Has been a real workhorse and never needed repairs. Just regular cleaning. Plus they actually have metal in them! Love my new Phaff basically for the needle down option,needle threader and the way it doesn't suck the fabric in or unthread even if your thread tails are short. But still go to my old workhorse...the Phaff is still so new to me that I have to read the instructions everytime I need to wind bobbins. Not a good idea to buy a high-tech machine with no local dealer for classes....my dealer is pretty good about directions on the phone though--probably thinks I'm a dunce. DEE


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## kandmcockrell (Oct 10, 2008)

Here is the rag quilt that my machine did not want to sew.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

That's really nice. I'm glad you won.


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## CJ (May 10, 2002)

Woohoo! It looks great and I'm happy you were able to figure out the problem!


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## offGridNorthern (Jan 1, 2006)

I have a newer Kenmore and it sews beautifully as long as there isn't any bulk (e.g. going over seams). And quilting .... forget it. It can't do even stitches with 3 layers of a quilt. I wish I hadn't given my old Singer away when I got this one. Sigh.


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## HorseGirl31 (Apr 7, 2010)

If you are still looking for a machine we have this model http://www.brother-usa.com/HomeSewing/modeldetail.aspx?PRODUCTID=NS40 We got it for like $300 and we LOVE IT! It is so incredibly NICE!!!!!! The perfect sewing machine if you ask me! simple enough for a beginner, advanced enough for an experienced person!!! 
Just in case you are interested.


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## Little Quacker in NC (May 9, 2002)

IMHO one of the nicest things you can do for yourself is to buy a sewing machine (when y our are ready) that comes with some free classes. What a life saver!!!! Then take those classes on basic quilting and using your machine and for now BUY a good book on the right needles and correct threads. This drove me crazy when I was using an old machine given to me for my first quilting tries, and before I got my Bernina and took the free classes that come with the machine. Then I learned about needles and thread! Happy, happy day! :bouncy:

In that class I learned that one of the best all round quilting needles for quilting are the Jeans/Denim needles in the size fitted to the thread and fabrics you are sewing. I use the 80/12 as my usual workhorse but go to Metallic or Top Stitch needles in 90 and up for specialty or easily frayed decorative threads. Works great and by the by the Jeans/Denim needles are cheaper than the ones sold as the so called "quilting needles" and do a better job.

Do invest in a book for this. There are a number of soft cover titles on this topic and they are quite cheap and it will help so much! I swear sometimes I would just lose it and be ready to toss that danged old machine in the river not to mention adding to my already healthy four letter vocabulary! And it was just that I did not know about the proper needles and thread.

Have fun. LQ



kandmcockrell said:


> Ok, I finally had time to check the needle on the machine. It was the wrong type. So, I found the correct needle and installed that. I got the rag quilt i was doing sewed all up no problem. So at least I can sew now without the frustration until I decide which machine I want to get to replace it.
> 
> Thanks for all your help!


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## Maryalice (Aug 23, 2010)

My mother has an old singer and still loves the thing. I, on the other hand, hated it. I have a brother that i bought frm walmart 15 yrs ago. Still works great, but I don't do a huge amount of sewing. If you decide to get a new one, look into selling your old one. there are a lot of people out there who look for & love vintage machines. My mother was offered a lot of money by joannes some years ago for hers when she brought it in to be serviced, but turned them down. (hers is a metal singer & i guess there's a high demand for them). It just might help with the cost of the new machine.


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