Machine Not Picking Up Bobbin Thread?

Frugal Sunnie
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November 9, 20140 found this helpful

Have you checked for lint and fuzz in the bobbin area? Excess lint (so easy to accumulate when sewing a quilt!) will sometimes cause the problem. Not always and not often, but it's an easy fix so a good first place to check.

When was the last time you had the machine serviced? A good repair tech will perform a servicing that includes cleaning lint and fuzz from places you can't reach at home - btw, NEVER use canned air to clear a machine at home as it only drives the lint deeper into parts!

If your machine is older than 15 years, it's very likely the bobbin gear has worn and requires replacing. This is a job for a qualified repair tech - be sure he/she uses a newly milled part, and not a salvaged one (salvaged parts have a considerably shorter 'shelf-life').

If you are sewing on an older machine and it turns out to be that pesty bobbin gear (these fail with sad regularity after about 15-20 years), consider replacing the machine if you can. I do some repair work on my sewing student's sewing machines here in the UK and have reached the point of trying to talk my students out of repairing machines as it's so hard to justify repairing something that will continue to fail.

A new machine will have a warranty, and some features you may love to have - I love my modern machine (about three years old) because it has stretch and decorative stitches that come in very handy when sewing for my four grands:)

The only 'vintage' machines I can comfortably recommend are treadle and hand crank non-electrics built before the 1960s - all metal and really hard to truly 'kill'! I have one of each type and use them regularly for heavy duty straight-stitch sewing.