Skip to content

How To Prevent Sewing Machine From Eating Fabric? – Find Out Here!

Crazy as it may sound, your sewing machine can eat your fabric! There are a number of reasons why this is possible, and most of them have to do with the machine’s presser foot.

To understand this, you must first understand the difference between a walking foot and a regular presser foot.

A walking foot has a built-in feed dog that is spring-loaded so it moves in sync with the needle. This gives the fabric a smoother feed when sewing heavy fabrics or multiple layers of fabric.

One of the most common sewing machine problems is the machine that just doesn’t work right. You press the pedal and the needle doesn’t go up or down, or the machine runs slower than it should.

If this is happening, the first thing you should do is check for loose parts in the area near the presser foot, small wheels that hold the needle up and down, and any other moving parts on the machine.

If everything looks fine, check the power cord and make sure there are no kinks or breaks in it. Make sure the cord isn’t rubbing against the sewing machine body or the table.

Check the presser foot for any problems.

Test the stitch length

The stitch length on your sewing machine can greatly affect the appearance and durability of your handmade items. Test the stitch length to find the optimal setting for your projects.

Stabilize your fabric.

Stabilizing your fabric in your sewing projects is extremely helpful for a variety of reasons. One of the most common reasons is to prevent the fabric from shifting and getting bunched up while you are stitching.

Stabilizing the fabric will eliminate the shifting and will maintain the shape of the project.

Use a stitch starter.

It’s incredibly frustrating when your sewing machine eats fabric.. and it can happen to anyone, even those who have been sewing for a long time.  

The good news is that you can avoid this problem by using a stitch starter.  Stitch starters are simply small pieces of fabric inserted at the beginning of a seam.  

As the needle starts stitching, it will pierce through the fabric of the stitch starter instead of the fabric you’re working with.  

This way, it will be easy to identify the point at which your sewing machine has gone awry.  Before you know it, you’ll be sewing with confidence!

Use a scrap piece of fabric to get started.

It is frustrating when your sewing machine chews up fabric. It is so aggravating when you are trying to start a new project, and you can’t get started because your sewing machine won’t stop eating fabric.

There is a simple solution to stop your sewing machine from eating fabric.  Just use a scrap piece of fabric as a guide under your sewing machine foot.  

This allows you to easily move your sewing machine foot from side to side, while preventing your sewing machine foot from eating your fabric.

Use the right needle.

When it comes to sewing, having the right kind of sewing machine needle is pretty important.  

The wrong kind of needle will make the fabric fray and tear in a matter of minutes, and it will make your sewing machine jam up when it tries to go through the fabric.  

It will also strain your arm muscles as you are constantly forcing the fabric through the needle, which can cause a repetitive strain injury.

Buy a straight stitch needle plate.

If you have a sewing machine that eats fabric, the solution may be as simple as changing the needle plate.

The needle plate is the metal or plastic piece on top of your sewing machine that has the needle hole and the holes for the guide pins.

The holes on a needle plate are usually round, but some machines use a straight stitch needle plate. Straight stitch needle plates have a needle hole that is straight, and they also have a U-shaped slot instead of holes for the guide pins.

Rethread your machine.

Rethreading your machine is a simple technique that you can use to fix sewing machine problems like when your machine is eating fabric.  

If you’re lucky, your sewing machine will come with instructions on how to rethread it manually.

Clean the bobbin and needle plate.

If your sewing machine starts making funny noises and gets really hot, it is time to clean the bobbin and needle plate.

The wheels that hold the bobbins can get quite dirty, and this causes the machine to make funny noises and get hot. Even a small amount of lint and dust can cause your machine to lose its tension and sew completely off the track.  

The best way to clean them is to take it to a sewing machine repair shop.

Cover the stitch hole

When you are sewing, you will find that some fabric will go into the machine needle and thread and will go into the machine hole.

If it is not blocked, the machine will continue to move and will have a serious impact on the stitching. If you are not careful it will cause problems, such as: machine jam, machine off, needle off, etc.

This problem is very common and is likely to happen.

In Conclusion

Sometimes when you are sewing, you notice that the sewing machine needle is making a strange noise. It seems to be eating the fabric. This is not normal. This can be caused by many things such as very old thready and needles, sewing at a fast speed, sewing thick or thick material, and sewing material with too much tension.

Your sewing machine is a precision piece of machinery that you need to take care of in order to keep it running smoothly. One way to do this is to prevent your sewing machine from eating fabric. There is a common misconception that sewing machines must be oiled in order to function properly.  Even though sewing machines have oil reservoirs, this does not mean you should add oil. In fact, sewing machines are designed to run without oil, and adding oil can actually cause damage to the machine.

Kirsten Carter

Kirsten Carter

Kirsten Carter is a freelance content writer who specialises in writing about travel, technology and health. When she's not traveling between her home of Tanzania and England, she writes for her blog Rightminded Travelling and features on a variety of different travel and technology sites.View Author posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *