Many machines today have a horizontal thread delivery for the needle thread. Be sure and place the thread spool with its tiny notch on one end (the notch is used to secure the loose thread end when not in use) facing toward the far right side of the spool holder and not facing toward the left side where the thread will be guided off the thread spool into the vertical tension discs and toward the needle. Some times this tiny notch will catch the thread causing undue thread tension on the needle thread. Placing the thread spool facing toward the right seems to help the thread guide off the spool without catching in the tiny notch.
Also hold onto the needle thread and the bobbin thread, giving slight hand tension to both, for the first few stitches you make in your fabric. With the first uptake of the needle, the needle’s thread tail and bobbin tail are drawn down somewhat loosely into the bobbin case and can become tangled and jam if not held onto briefly. Be sure the bobbin thread comes out of the needle plate in the area it is intended to. After winding a new bobbin, it may help to put the bobbin in its bobbin case and just raise the machine needle by hand just enough to allow the needle to bring up the bobbin thread to the top. Give the bobbin thread and needle thread held together a slight tug so that they both lay out behind of or to the side of the needle. If you have left off the needle throat plate for last (for those machines that allow the throat plate to be removed) when placing the throat plate back on the machine, be careful to guide the bobbin thread through the hole or space in the needle throat plate so the bobbin thread lies on top the plate.
Using the right machine needle for the fabric helps too. Generally, ball-point needles work great for knits and sharp-pointed needles for woven fabrics. Using the smallest size needle that makes the best stitch for the type of fabric seems to work well for most fabrics to produce clean even stitches.
Using the best quality thread helps. The bargain-priced threads found piled in sale bins at the fabric store work great for hand sewing but not for machine sewing. Lesser quality thread make lots of fuzz as it passes through the needle and can jam the machine. Many sewing machine repair folks hate the thought of us using a can of compressed air to blow out fuzz from the tiny spaces of the machine, particularly the newest digital electronic machines, but a spritz or two of compressed air in the vertical thread slots that hold the tension discs and in the bobbin case itself, usually can dislodge bits of fuzz from these spaces. Although compressed air is not recommended for a new machine the thought is offered for you to consider for older, mechanical machines.
Some fabrics produce some of their own copious amounts of lint. It may help to keep a small, soft brush handy to wipe away some of this type of fabric fuzz from the needle’s throat plate, feed dogs, and bobbin area.
Using even pressure on the foot peddle as you sew helps to keep stitches even. Give the balance wheel a gentle beginning push toward you the same time as you start to press on the foot peddle gives the machine a little boost in starting. Some newer machines do not need this starting boost.
Thread jamming is usually not indicative of a problem with the bobbin itself. Just be sure the machine has wound the bobbin evenly and not all clumped in the center of the bobbin but evenly from side to side. If you are hand winding your bobbin with decorative thread for embellishment work, be sure to wind the bobbin as evenly as possible.
You may have the upper and lower threads properly threaded but check carefully to be sure. Missing just one needle thread guide can cause the thread to jam.
If your machine allows for adjustable presser foot pressure for your presser feet to make working with a variety of fabric types easier, be sure this adjustment is correct for your fabric type. Too little pressure can affect how the fabric is moved toward the back of the machine as you sew and can cause the thread to possibly jam. Too much pressure may cause the fabric to move too little and the stitches will move over themselves and bunch up rather than move in an even path away from the needle.
Surprisingly, just a little household dust that settles on your machine can be a culprit. If your machine is out of its cabinet or carry case most of the time, when not in use try using a dust cover, or just covering your machine with a piece of cloth or colorful bandanna. It goes a long way to preventing ambient dust from setting on and in the machine’s delicate parts.
Household dust, fabric and thread fuzz, dull or wrong type machine needle for fabric, bobbin and needle thread tails trailing loose at stitch beginning, rapidly uneven foot peddle pressure, bobbins wound incorrectly, needle thread not guided correctly through all the guides, and that pesky thread spool notch can all be contributors to machine thread jamming. There is much to consider when searching for the cause, but at times, a simple solution is at hand.
Happy Sewing.
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