You’re sewing along and suddenly your sewing machine begins to have a stroke. You stop and you see your needle thread has started to shred, valiantly clinging to it’s original form with one sad little fiber fed obediently through the needle hole whilst its fibrous friends bunch up like a corn husk peeling away from the core.
Why???!!! I haven’t done anything differently!
My machine is clean.
It sews fine in between these random disasters.
Why?!?!
There could be a few causes:
- Your needle is old. Try a new needle.
- Your top thread tension may need to be adjusted.
- Your needle is the wrong size. Try a bigger needle.
- Your needle plate has gotten beat up. If it is, replace your needle plate.
- You’re using the wrong thread for the application.
- Your thread is old or lousy quality. Try different thread.
- Try a different presser foot.
My Culprit: The Presser Foot
See that itty bitty little chink in the center of my needle opening on my foot? I’m certain that happened one of the handful of times I broke a needle. Turns out, that itty bitty little chink has quite a rough little edge, and it was randomly catching on my thread and shredding it.
How did I identify the problem?
- I took to Google to look up common reasons sewing machine thread might shred, and started working through them, starting with the easiest solutions.
- I changed out my needle. The problem persisted.
- I used a different spool of thread. The problem persisted.
- I used my applique (F) foot. The problem went away.
- I inspected my standard zig-zag foot (A)—pictured above—and discovered the itty bitty chink. So I ordered a replacement.
- I sewed with the replacement zig-zag foot. The problem stayed away.
So, the devil is in the details! Keep an eye on your parts and accessories to make sure they’re in good shape.
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