Sewing machines are a great tool for creating beautiful garments and accessories. However, sewing machines can be tricky to use, particularly for beginners, and they can have problems such as sewing machine needles that keep breaking.
Fortunately, there are a lot of places online that can help you with these issues.
You are working on a beautiful handmade garment, and you find that your sewing machine is knotting up.
You are either frustrated or confused, maybe both. If this is a common occurrence for you, you can try doing some troubleshooting to figure out what’s causing the problem.
Sewing Machine Keeps Knotting: Top 8 Common Issues
1. Dull Needle:
Are you having problems with your sewing machine constantly getting knots in the thread? Are you trying to use a dull needle to sew fabric, but it keeps catching and knotting the thread?
This is a common problem for sewists who are new to sewing or who have machines without automatic thread cutters.
It’s easy to get knots in the thread, which can be frustrating (and dangerous, if you need to rip out your stitches).
2. Incorrect Threading:
When you sew with your sewing machine, you are basically putting together two pieces of fabric. These pieces of fabric (both of which should be cut to the same size) are sewn together on each edge, leaving an open space in the middle.
The two pieces of fabric are sewn together in order to create a single larger piece of fabric.
There are many reasons why you need to thread your sewing machine correctly, and if you don’t, you may end up with a mess that you’ll never be able to fix.
If you’re having trouble with your sewing machine, you might want to check your threading to make sure you’re sewing correctly.
3. Thread Tails too Short:
Have you ever been frustrated with your sewing machine? It sews fine for a while, then it starts to sink stitches, or it starts to knot the thread tails up in a pile on top of your fabric.
Maybe when you adjust the tension on the machine, the stitches get looser and looser until it’s a complete mess. Or, maybe, you just got a new sewing machine and it keeps knotting up the thread tails.
4. Bobbin Placement Issue:
The bobbin has a specific way to be placed on the spool pin, or the machine can “knot” the thread. When a bobbin is placed incorrectly on a sewing machine, the machine can knot the thread.
The bobbin placement mechanism of a standard sewing machine consists of a plate, also called a bobbin plate or top plate, a bobbin, and a hook.
The plate and bobbin are both attached to the machine’s needle bar. The bobbin is a spool-shaped, usually plastic or metal, a container that is loaded with thread. The hook is a device that grabs the thread from the bobbin and forms a loop which then guides the thread to the needle.
5. Bobbin Size Issue:
Sewing machine bobbins should be wound with the thread color coming up through the center of the bobbin.
If you see the thread coming up the side of the bobbin, you have the wrong size. If you have a different bobbin, it is likely that the thread is too small.
The bobbin size should match the size of the needle. Also, if the bobbin is wound too tightly, or if you don’t have enough tension on the bobbin, it can cause the thread to bind around the bobbin.
6. The Tension isn’t Equal:
One of the most common problems that people report experiencing is with their sewing machines is the tension. The tension on the sewing machine is how tight the stitching will be. That is the primary function of the tension on a sewing machine.
Although it may seem like a simple problem, it’s not a common one, and it’s likely to perplex even experienced sewers.
The problem is the tension isn’t equal; the upper thread is much tighter than the bobbin thread. If you leave the tension as it is, the upper thread will wear out quickly and the bobbin thread will snag and break.
Reweaving is an easy solution, but it’s a bit of a hassle. Fortunately, there is a quicker and easier way to solve the problem.
7. The Tension isn’t right for your thread or fabric:
Your sewing machine is a helpful tool that can be used for so many different things. It can be used to make clothes, quilts, or just to fix a hole in your jeans.
It’s a machine that is always on hand, and is always ready for a new task. But just like any other machine, there are some things that can go wrong.
It can get one of the most common problems for sewing machines, and that is a tension problem. The tension isn’t right for your thread or fabric sewing machine to keep knotting up, and you need to get it fixed.
The teeth of the upper and lower needles of your stitches can be in different directions, causing the tension to be either too loose or too tight.
If your upper and lower threads are in opposite directions they will form a knot; the needle thread will catch the bobbin thread and knot it under the presser foot.
When you change the settings, be sure that the upper thread is feeding in the same direction as the lower one.
8. Dirty Machine:
Sewing machine keep knotting up because of dirty machine is the most common form of sewing machine error.
It is the lack of proper maintenance and care that causes this, along with the accumulation of dirt, dust, and lint, or even fabric fibers, in the bobbin case.
Often, the cause of the problem is easily fixable with a quick cleaning of the machine and its parts.
In Conclusion
Knotted thread is the bane of all sewing projects, and for good reason: Getting a knot out of a home sewing machine can be very difficult, and if you’ve ever tried, you know that it’s not something you want to experience. But what causes sewing machine thread to knot? It’s not just the occasional bobbin strand that gets tangled—it is a knotting of the thread itself. This build-up of loops can happen for a number of reasons, from the thread itself getting rough to the sewing machine needle catching and breaking the thread.
Sewers should take care to prevent and remove these pesky knots, or else the damage and heartache can easily outweigh the joy of the project itself.
