r/sewhelp • u/feralgoddess- • 1d ago
Ongoing problem with sewing machine
My sewing machine is a VIKING Husqvarna (picture below). I inherited it from my late grandmother in 2022. She taught me only so little about sewing before she passed. I've been trying again and again to pick it up. I've sewn before with no problem. This machine, though, decided to randomly start doing THIS THING a long time ago. I gave up. It just EATS the fabric and then bunches the thread underneath.
\- I have cleaned out the machine of any debris
\-Gone through the guide dozens of times
\-Gotten quality thread.
\-threaded the bobbin and needle thread correctly.
\-ETC.
No matter what I try I can't seem to stop this problem. The fabric never goes through and goes inside the machine. I'm at my wits' end. If anyone has any tips or if it's a simple solution I'm not seeing then I would appreciate the advice. Thank you.
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u/feralgoddess- 1d ago
This also seems to be a culprit where the thread kinda bunches up behind the bobbing and goes inside the machine. I just pulled out thread from behind here.
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u/ThreadLaced 1d ago
in my experience (I've been teaching sewing since 2011), this specific type of thread bunching happens when the top thread misses the uptake lever OR you sew with the presser foot up.
If you know FOR SURE you are not doing either of these things (to be fair it's hard to see the uptake lever on these types of Viking machines), then you need to take it in for service.
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u/solsticesiren 1d ago edited 1d ago
I have a vintage machine and sometimes encounter this exact problem! I don’t know what technically causes it, but on my machine I’ve avoided it happening by adjusting the tension knob and switching to metal bobbins. No idea if that’d work for your machine, though. But def make sure you have the right bobbin for your machine!
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u/Riverbendofcold 1d ago
Bobbins are not interchangeable. You need to use what is required for your machine of you will pay the price (and it's expensive, I learnt the hard way) A platic 66 is not interchangeable with a metal 66
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u/solsticesiren 1d ago
Oh, I didn’t mean to imply that OP should definitely try using metal bobbins with their specific machine, lol. My bad! I just said that about switching since some beginners figuring out a new machine (especially if they inherited it instead of buying it themselves) might accidentally be trying to use the wrong type in the first place, depending on how much research they’ve done or if they’ve got a manual or not, so it doesn’t hurt to double check that you’ve got the right kind. My very old machine can take plastic or metal 66s, I’ve tried both but have found that metal 66s perform more reliably and help me avoid running into tension issues that can look a lot like OP’s problem — hence my original anecdote. I didn’t know that most modern plastic machines absolutely can’t take different bobbin materials even if they’re the same size etc., so that anecdote was irrelevant — my apologies, shouldn’t have said anything! I just looked up OP’s specific machine and it seems like they’ve got the right type of bobbin for a Topaz 50 in anyway. I’ll leave diagnosis of OP’s problem up to the embroidery machine experts and return to reading the sub instead of commenting :)
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u/CBG1955 1d ago
No. Do not suggest switching bobbins because they are specific types for particular machines.
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u/solsticesiren 1d ago
Indeed! That’s why I also said to make sure they had the right bobbin for their machine :) I inherited my machine too, and the bobbin inside it when I got it was the wrong type.
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u/CBG1955 1d ago
Hold your top and bottom threads for the first couple of stitches. this locks the thread in the fabric. when you finish, and before you raise your presser foot, make sure the needle/takeup lever is at its highest point, THEN raise presser foot.