Troubleshooting
Your machine is doing something wrong and you want it working again. Find your symptom below. Each guide leads with the honest answer, then the cheapest fix first.
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Troubleshooting guides
All our troubleshooting content, sorted newest first.
Troubleshooting
Sewing machine skipping stitches: causes and fixes, ranked most to least likely
Nine times out of ten, skipped stitches come down to the needle. Here is how to confirm it,…
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Troubleshooting
Sewing machine not picking up bobbin thread: fix it in four ranked steps
Needle goes down but won't catch the bobbin thread? Four ranked fixes: rethread with foot up, seat the…
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Troubleshooting
Sewing machine keeps jamming: how to free it and stop it happening again
Thread jammed under the throat plate mid-seam? Here is the safe way to clear it, the four ranked…
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Troubleshooting
Why your sewing machine makes a bird's nest underneath (it's the top thread)
A wad of looped thread under your fabric is almost always the top thread, not the bobbin. Here's…
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Troubleshooting
Sewing machine troubleshooting: find the symptom, fix the problem
Start here when your sewing machine acts up. Symptom-to-fix table, the fix-the-obvious-first order, and clear DIY vs. technician…
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