I was working on a Moda Bake Shop project this weekend and as I was sewing I encountered a really great tip. Sometimes until you actually run into an issue, it's hard to think of those tips! :)
Do you ever find yourself sewing along and when you look at your seams, you see skipped stitches? like this...
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| click on image to see larger version of my mess..lol :) |
You re-thread your machine, check your bobbin and even re-thread that, but nothing works. You think to yourself, "oh great! All this work and my quilt is going to fall apart!".
I'm here to tell you the solution is "usually" really as simple as changing your needle! Yep! Sometimes, unbeknownst to you, your needle gets bent and doesn't like to play nice, so this is its way of telling you he needs to be replaced!
So switch out that pesky needle and put in a fresh one and start again. Hopefully you will now have pretty stitches like this...
Don't you just love when bad things happen to me so I can teach you how to prevent them? LOL!
Much Love!!!
What a great reminder. I always forget to change out my needle. I normally do when it breaks (mostly because I got lazy and didn't pull out a pin, bad me :) I love that we love the same lines of fabric. Sew fun!!!
ReplyDeleteSuch a good tip! My ladies look at me like I'm nuts when I tell them to change their needle if they're having trouble - but it works!!
ReplyDeleteI have been there and one that. I used to sew forever on a needle & complain about how cruddy my stitches would look. Now I change my needle when I change my project. Another thing that I have run into is a bad batch of needles. I was skipping stitches & changed the needle twice. Some said try a new pack of needles. I did & the problem was gone.
ReplyDeleteVery true! I could hear mine "punching" through the fabric today. Changed it and now it's making nice gliding noises.
ReplyDeleteOh Wow I just saw this the other day and didn't realise it had been too long since I changed my needle.
ReplyDeletethank you
Good Tip!
ReplyDeleteAwesome... yes, i usually start to panic and think 'I do not have time to take it in'.
ReplyDeleteHow smart are you? Wow! Duh! You'd think that even I'd know that after 100 years of sewing, huh? Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that beats a new needle is a new blade in the rotary cutter! haha! I love changing my needle often. I buy my needles from allstitch.net. You can get a LOT (like 100) for something like $20. Makes it really painless to change your needles often when they don't cost so much. :-)
ReplyDeleteOMG - I can hardly wait to go change my needle. Can you tell I have had the same problem! I will let you know if it works on my machine.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that is important - thread the needle. I couldn't figure out why it wasn't picking up my bobbin thread last time. Duh. I realized it after about half a dozen unsuccessful attempts.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip! I always end up cleaning the whole machine to fix that skipped stitch !!!
ReplyDeleteI <3 the fabric and the tidbit! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteGood to know. I know we've all been told to insert a new needle with every new project...but I always forget.
ReplyDeleteThis happens to me all the time. From now on instead of throwing my machine across the room, I'll just change my needle :)
ReplyDeleteI've learnt this year the value of changing your needle regularly - I tended toward the "if it isn't broken don't replace it", but learnt how much difference a nice sharp needle makes.
ReplyDeleteAnd I can offer you a little tidbit regarding needles ;) - don't let your dog sleep or cat walk under your sewing table when your foot pedal is connected. I ended up with a very bent needle the other week when I was pushing a quilt through under the presser foot ready to quilt and pooch put his head on the pedal, down went the needle, as I was pushing, machine stopped, needle very very bent. Similar has happened with our cats stepping on the pedal too.
thats great info now could you invent an alarm
ReplyDeleteto go off to tell me when i am about to run out of bobbin just kept on sewing thought i was done not !bad word insert here
Yeah I learnt that the hard way. Except it was actually the brand of needle. Apparently the Klasse brand and my machine are not compatable.
ReplyDeleteI also discovered that my machine skips stitches. I first thought that something is wrong with my machine (I've changed the needle before) and I've contacted my sewing machine doctor :-) And it was still the needle... sometimes also a new needle is dickey... but I still forget to change my needle that often how I should it should be changed.. Thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteI just had this happen and I remembered your post. I just changed out my needle and it helped! Thank you!!
ReplyDelete