I'm upcycling an UnderArmour shirt and I can't get my sewing machine to sew it. I've changed my needle, the tension, semi-cleaned the machine, rethreaded it a few times, but I can't get the thread to catch more than maybe one stitch. It works fine on other fabric, but not on this material. It is going to be so cute! I just really don't want to have to hand stitch it. I've changed the height of the needle too. I'm considering using another fabric as a "catcher" fabric, I guess you can call it. I've also had problems with dropping stitches a lot. My old machine never did that, but I'm not very experienced with sewing either. Help?
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You may need to change the needle. My machine did the same thing and when I went back and read the book it said the needles need to be changed according to different fabrics. So you may have to try different needles until you can get one that will catch the threads. I'm sure they won't have a special needle for the fabric you are working with, so you may have to go by trial and error! Also, you might have to tighten or loosen the thread. There are other threads you can try also! There may be a stronger one for thicker fabrics. I take my husbands things apart and re-vamp them all the time, and it's definitely not for the name! Good luck, I hope this helps!
It was a gift. Thanks for the input.
I am having the same dilemma with repairing my Grandson hem on his shirt. Did you figure out what to do? I am at a loss could have bought a new shirt with what I have invested in repairing this one.
This fabric does have a specialty finish that makes it difficult to sew - but it shouldn't be impossible. The finish is permanently embedded in the fabric so you wouldn't be able to wash it out as you could regular fabric finishes (sizing, and some companies use so many layers of sizing that when it finally does wash out the fabric has absolutely no shaping at all!). Still, there are things you can try.
First of all you need a jeans or leather needle, and you also need a new thread in upper and bobbin thread paths - you can find these at any hobby or fabric store (in the US: JoAnn, Hancock Fabrics, Michaels, HobbyLobby, Amazon; in the UK HobbyCraft, Minerva, Amazon, or any shop with a good selection of habby either brick&mortar or online).
Look for needles marked for jeans and leather (two different types, and it wouldn't hurt to buy a packet of both), and your thread should be as close a match in size to the existing thread - look closely at the seaming already in the garment, and take the garment with you to the shop to help make the match - you aren't trying to match the colour so much as the thickness and fibre content of polyester, cotton, or a blend.
As for your current machine dropping stitches on other projects which wasn't a problem so much on your old machine, the cause could be anything ranging from improperly set upper tension (bottom tension is usually set at the factory and rarely needs to be adjusted, your owner guide manual will show you how to make the adjustment if really needed) to the wrong thread and needle.
Between tension settings and needles, there are what seems to be a gajillion other reasons a machine will skip/drop stitches - you could be pulling the fabric through too fast, your feed dogs could be set wrong or faulty so the teeth are/aren't grabbing the fabric, your machine timing could be off, your bobbin gear could be getting ready to fail...the best thing to do is sit down and with a highlighter pen, read your owner guide manual line for line. It's the only way to really understand your particular sewing machine, and to figure out why you're having the issues you are.
Next thing to do is find a copy of a photographic step-by-step sewing book. There are several in print (I use the Singer books for my Sewing 101 students, also the Butterick-Vogue books), and if you like classics you can trawl the secondhand shops for amazing finds - all my Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing (not photographic but truly outstanding otherwise) came from charity shops! The wealth of sewing knowledge in sewing books from long-established companies like Singer, Butterick-Vogue, Reader's Digest, and Simplicity is all there in print and makes sewing much more productive.
Sewing is a journey - you don't simply learn to thread the machine and off you go to sewing great stuff. I'm almost 59, have been sewing by machine and hand since aged five, and I'm still learning! Often from my students, who usually come to me with absolutely zero sewing knowledge and have to be shown how to thread a hand needle but they go on to really love sewing, and relish the journey. You're already ahead of the game because you're not afraid to try up-cycling to get what you want, and you've no hesitation asking for help - well done, you!
Buy a " teflon" needle.
Anytime, any item can be utilized by another to extend its purpose, is perfection. Why add to the trash heaps?
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