Back in January, my little Bernina 180 (which was previously named "Little Martha" before it got replaced in favor of a bigger, beefier Bernina by the name of "Big Bertha" and passed down to me)had a terrible mishap while I was making what later became known as "The Ugliest Quilt in the World." In the mean time, I bought another machine, which also suffered a terrible mishap while making napkins for Isabelle's wedding - I'm glad the napkins were well liked because a good machine gave its life to their cause, lol.
But just yesterday Little Martha took a trip with Jack Levin, sewing machine repair guy extraordinaire, to see if she was just a little broken, or completely totalled. When I called to him and explained the problems Little Martha was having, he said that he'd have a look but it might be time to put the ol' girl out to pasture...and when he came and saw the main issue with the timing, all he could say was "Oh, ouch, ouch, ouch!" It's never good when those words come out of the mouth of a pro. I let her go with low expectations, because seriously...the timing was royally, royally OFF. I expected to hear back from him today saying that Little Martha officially bit the dust.
This morning I got a message saying that my machine was...FIXED and happy as a clam. But, after many years experience fixing all manner and quality of machines, never in his whole career (emphasis on "never," I am told) had he seen the timing in a Bernina knocked off a complete 180 degrees. Apparently, that just doesn't happen. Welllllllll I guess there's a first for everything; as they always say, go big or go home!
But anyway, my borrowed machine can finally go back to its rightful owner, and I can stitch happily with my own machine...and in the mean time, look for a nice back up machine before something else catastrophic happens. Someone knock on wood!
Showing posts with label Sewing Machine Repair. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sewing Machine Repair. Show all posts
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Here We Go Again: The Tuesday Edition
Technology hates me. Seriously. While my boyfriend, friends and family have a fair time with their technologies, I have a rap sheet a mile long of mishaps and mysterious breakdowns. My phone freezes all the time and has umpteen issues, which my Dad who has the same phone just a year older, has no problems. My tablet doesn't charge unless you tape the charging cord to the table with a piece underneath the plug in to make it higher than the tablet (and maybe do a "please freakin charge" dance), while John's is older than mine and has no issues. Sadly, the list goes on.
Today my techno-curse reared it's ugly head and set it's malicious sights on my sewing machine. While finishing the last of the napkins for Isabelle's wedding, my machine freaked out, made a loud terrible noise, jammed with the needle down and flashed an E6 error...a motor failure of the burn out/thread tangle persuasion. I had to take off the foot, take out the needle and disassemble to figure out the problem...
If you ever wondered what the inside of your machine looks like, it looks like this:
But even after all that, I couldn't access the fried motor because Brother, in their infinite wisdom, put it in place where, in order to access it, one must pull out all of the moving parts in front of it to get to the motor in the back...no access panel, nothing. Zilch.
I haven't even had the machine a year! It is going to cost more to fix it, than the value of the machine. So, once again I find myself eyeball deep in projects that need to be done NOW and in the new machine market. Lord love a duck.
So I went to the shop to finish the napkins - hey, at least one victory - and then, when I came home I found in front of the house, a lady yelling obscenities at NOTHING. I get parked, get out and she starts yelling more. I thought she was on the phone, but nope, that yelling got directed at me as I walked inside. I watched her for a few minutes to see if she'd move on, but she didn't, just kept on coming into the yard, walking across the street into my neighbor's yard and yelling more. As I was on the phone trying to get an officer to come down, two showed up and apprehended her. I wonder what the real situation was...was she distraught? High? Crazy?
Who knows. All I know is it's time for some tacos de lengua and some TV. I'll tackle the machine problem tomorrow.
Today my techno-curse reared it's ugly head and set it's malicious sights on my sewing machine. While finishing the last of the napkins for Isabelle's wedding, my machine freaked out, made a loud terrible noise, jammed with the needle down and flashed an E6 error...a motor failure of the burn out/thread tangle persuasion. I had to take off the foot, take out the needle and disassemble to figure out the problem...
If you ever wondered what the inside of your machine looks like, it looks like this:
But even after all that, I couldn't access the fried motor because Brother, in their infinite wisdom, put it in place where, in order to access it, one must pull out all of the moving parts in front of it to get to the motor in the back...no access panel, nothing. Zilch.
I haven't even had the machine a year! It is going to cost more to fix it, than the value of the machine. So, once again I find myself eyeball deep in projects that need to be done NOW and in the new machine market. Lord love a duck.
So I went to the shop to finish the napkins - hey, at least one victory - and then, when I came home I found in front of the house, a lady yelling obscenities at NOTHING. I get parked, get out and she starts yelling more. I thought she was on the phone, but nope, that yelling got directed at me as I walked inside. I watched her for a few minutes to see if she'd move on, but she didn't, just kept on coming into the yard, walking across the street into my neighbor's yard and yelling more. As I was on the phone trying to get an officer to come down, two showed up and apprehended her. I wonder what the real situation was...was she distraught? High? Crazy?
Who knows. All I know is it's time for some tacos de lengua and some TV. I'll tackle the machine problem tomorrow.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Murphy's Law of Quilting
Naturally, once I got my quilting groove back, Murphy's Law figuratively punches me in the face and steals my wallet. Seriously, it's uncanny. IN the last few months, with years having followed patterns and not deviating a whole lot, I've been making a lot of things without patterns...just letting them develop as the ideas come to mind. It's been a lot of fun sewing without the safety net of a pattern, and it's been one of the few times in my creative life that it's come with just about unilateral success. I've felt like lately I've been growing as a quilter, becoming more adventurous, more willing to try new things and new ideas, and developing my skills more. I've always been intimidated somewhat by all the brilliant quilters around me, that I can't hold a match to their skills but it's been a really encouraging experience finding my groove and finding confidence in my work.
But I'm beginning to think somewhere someone installed a camera in my sewing room and waits for every time I am on a real creativity streak and pushes the "ruin her day with something ridiculous because we can't have this kind of fun just happening willy nilly" button.
My machine has bit the dust, and all because of a stupid pin run over while making a shop sample.
Son of a bee sting. Everyone runs over pins, every day, all the time. It's like the one quilting "rule" that everyone knows about and laughs in the face of. Wellllllllll now, isn't this special.
To the right, is the quilt I was working on when my machine up and croaked, only it was at a lesser state of completion. I was in the middle of piecing Row flippin' 2. Finished the rest at the shop.
But back to the machine. Like I said, I ran over a pin. Broke my needle. Check out the half-a-pin still in the fabric. It happens to everyone. But where's the other half?
Well...there's the point of impact but uh...the rest of the pin is MIA and this time, it didn't hit me in the face like it has in the past. Go figure.
Would you believe that just before I started this project, I dusted out my machine? Anyway, I opened my machine up and the other half of the pin is still nowhere to be readily seen. There's my bobbin thread, and some dust, but uh...no pin. What the hell, Bernina?
Oh riiiiiight. It's THERE. Stuck in the bobbin region, see it to the right? I took out the bobbin thing, and got the pin out. Surprisingly, it wasn't in there tight at all, really it pretty much fell out on its own when I went to grab it (gently) with some needlenose pliers...because in that space my fingers might as well be Oscar Meyer weiners. I thought "hey, if it came out this easy, all I have to do is put my bobbin region back together like I have a million times before, clean it out and I'll be back in business!" Foolish, foolish me.
Foolish me indeed. Remember Murphy's Law? Yeah, here's where it punched me in the face. I reassembled everything as I always have, got it all clean and rethreaded everything and got ready to sew. When I used the hand wheel (as always) to pull up the bobbin thread...well, Houston, we have a problem. My needle was getting bent, like so. I thought, hey man, what gives? So I figured I didn't get the bobbin region put back together correctly. I took it apart, made sure it was in right (it was) and tried again...5 times. Same thing every time. So what do I do in these situations? CALL MY MOMMY! No seriously, she's good with machines, and knows Berninas. I told her what happened, and she confirmed what I was reallllly hoping wouldn't be true - the timing on my machine was beyond screwed up and I had to take it in to be looked at.
Well, at $135 for the shop to even look at my machine, plus whatever it cost to fix it plus whatever else they found was wrong (which I know there are other issues with it, mainly electronic) plus whatever parts were needed to fix it...Yeah, Murphy's Law stole my wallet too, because Berninas only take Bernina parts and Bernina's prices are just laughably ridiculous.
Were this machine not a hand me down from Mom, I could never afford to buy a Bernina at all. But I also can't afford to fix it right now either. $135 to look at it plus $X to do whatever it needs? I can buy a good little workhorse machine for that much and I plan to once my paycheck hits, hopefully. It was recommended several times that I look at a Brother machine, because they're relatively inexpensive but are good quality machines. So I'll give one a look and see what I come home with.
So yeah...My creative burst got stymied by one stupid little pin. Well played, Murphy you asshole, well played.
But I'm beginning to think somewhere someone installed a camera in my sewing room and waits for every time I am on a real creativity streak and pushes the "ruin her day with something ridiculous because we can't have this kind of fun just happening willy nilly" button.
My machine has bit the dust, and all because of a stupid pin run over while making a shop sample.
Son of a bee sting. Everyone runs over pins, every day, all the time. It's like the one quilting "rule" that everyone knows about and laughs in the face of. Wellllllllll now, isn't this special.
To the right, is the quilt I was working on when my machine up and croaked, only it was at a lesser state of completion. I was in the middle of piecing Row flippin' 2. Finished the rest at the shop.
Well...there's the point of impact but uh...the rest of the pin is MIA and this time, it didn't hit me in the face like it has in the past. Go figure.
Well, at $135 for the shop to even look at my machine, plus whatever it cost to fix it plus whatever else they found was wrong (which I know there are other issues with it, mainly electronic) plus whatever parts were needed to fix it...Yeah, Murphy's Law stole my wallet too, because Berninas only take Bernina parts and Bernina's prices are just laughably ridiculous.
Were this machine not a hand me down from Mom, I could never afford to buy a Bernina at all. But I also can't afford to fix it right now either. $135 to look at it plus $X to do whatever it needs? I can buy a good little workhorse machine for that much and I plan to once my paycheck hits, hopefully. It was recommended several times that I look at a Brother machine, because they're relatively inexpensive but are good quality machines. So I'll give one a look and see what I come home with.
So yeah...My creative burst got stymied by one stupid little pin. Well played, Murphy you asshole, well played.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Thursday, it's Technical: Troubleshooting your Misbehaving Sewing Machine
More often than I'm willing to admit, I find myself being too hard on my little machine, cussing at it whenever it doesn't do what I want. Let's face it, to a certain degree, every quilter has had that moment of rage when their machine is messing up and they can't figure out why! Lots of times people are very quick to just take it in to be fixed instead of doing a little troubleshooting on their own, which may fix the problem. It's intimidating, especially if you're unfamiliar with your machine, to open it up and figure out what's up. Even those manuals can be a bit vague when you're frustrated and trying to figure out the random "who-the-heck-knows" fit your machine has decided to throw.
General Trouble Shooting
Here are few general steps to go through before doing anything more intricate or taking your machine to a pro.
Rethread. Yes, sometimes it's as simple as rethreading your machine and that's it. Your thread may have slipped out of the tension disks, broke, got caught somewhere or something like that, that you wouldn't necessarily see right away. Rethread your top thread and your bobbin thread. Speaking of bobbins...
Rewind Your Bobbin. Sometimes, if a bobbin isn't wound properly, it causes weird little issues. Be sure to wind your bobbin as per your machine manual's instructions; some wind clockwise, and some counterclockwise, so be sure to be attentive to that. Also, use one continuous piece of thread to wind your bobbin, not several pieces of varying color and length. It seems like a great way to save and use "waste" thread, but in therms of your machine's function, it causes more problems than it solves. Use one piece wound off of one thread spool. And while you're down in the bobbin area...
Clean Your Bobbin Case Area. Your machine probably came with a little, stiff bristled brush for this, but I have found that canned air (yes, canned air like for keyboards) works the best. If you don't have canned air, try a soft paintbrush or makeup brush - their bristles are soft and flexible and get in the crannies better than the stiff plastic bristles of the standard issue machine brush. Dust and lint can really foul things up if a lot has accumulated, and every now and then a wayward thread gets caught in the bobbin case. Brush or blow out that bobbin case area. Carefully remove the throat plate if needed (you know, the metal piece surrounding the feed dogs) with the screwdriver included with yur machine, and clean down around the feed dogs too.
Change Your Needle. It could be that your needle is bent, dull or barbed and snagging on your fabric or thread. It's amazing how much a little needle can mess so much up! Or, you may not be using the right needle for the job; CLICK HERE to learn about the types of machine needles and which works best for the task at hand.
Problem Specific Troubleshooting
Here are a few common problems and how they can be fixed (in most cases)
Help! My bobbin won't go back in! It sounds silly, but is your needle down, or up? If it is down, no amount of trying to shove that thing in there is going to get it in because the needle is blocking where the bobbin goes. Using the handwheel, gently raise your needle and then try again. If that doesn't work, have a look inside. If you have just cleaned your machine, odds are something didn't get put back in properly. Look for loose pieces and put them in again. Your bobbin case should go in just fine.
Help! My bobbin thread is coming through my top thread! It's a tension issue (ha, I know, you can say that again). Your needle tension is too high, high enough that it is pulloing the bobbin thread too hard and that's why it's peeking up through your top thread. Take that puppy down a noth, I mean, half a number at once. If your tension is at 3 when this occurs, drop it to 2.5 and try again.
Help! My top thread is poking through my bobbin thread! Another tension issue (hiii-yo!). Your needle tension is too loose. Tighten it by half a measure. If your tension is at 3 when this occurs, to up to 3.5 and see what happens.
Help! My fabric is puckering when I straight stitch, and I don't want it to! Yep, another tension issue. Look, tension's a bitch, it just is and it get knocked off pretty easy. In this case, both needle and bobbin tensions are too tight. Loosen your needle tension by .5 a measure. Get to your bobbin and take out the bobbin case. See that screw on the side? It needs to be loosened, but only a little! A little goes a long way with that thing, so try only a quarter turn at a time. Put your bobbin back in and try again. Adjust as needed until it works.
Help! There is smoke coming out of my machine, what did I do?! Well my dear, you might have just burned out your motor. There is nothing you can do to fix this on your own - take it to a pro. They might be able to fix it, but like damage to car consider whether the cost of the repair is greater than the worth of the machine. That might have been that machine's death throes and it might be time for a new one.
Help! My machine is skipping stitches! Unless you haven't had your machine cleaned in ages, this is a needle problem. Use the right needle for the job and change to a new one. It might be bent or barbed.
Help! My bobbin thread is a tangled, loopy nightmare when I sew! First, rethread your bobbin and top thread with the presser foot UP. If it's down, you're in tension mode and that can make the thread sit funny. try sewing again. If that doesn't work, change your needle. If that doesn't work, test with a different bobbin. It could be that your bobbin isn't wound well. If it's not, rewind another bobbin and get to work!
Help! My top thread keeps breaking! Make sure you are using a quality thread. Lower quality threads break much easier. If you're using a metallic, change to a metallic needle and take it slower - metallic threads break much easier than cottons or polyesters. To learn more about thread types and when to use them, CLICK HERE. More than likely it's a needle issue or a threading issue. rethread your machine first and try again. Usually that fixes the problem. If not, change your needle.
Machine Problem Prevention
- Keep your machine clean; get the dust and lint out of there after every project, or midway during a project if you are using fabrics prone to linting.
- Don't stitch using the handwheel. That knocks your machine out of tension and can mess up the timing.
- Unplug your machine and keep it away from little fingers. Children may play with it when you're not around, and when you go to use it everything is off. Most kids know that your sewing machine isn't a toy for them, but all those buttons and knobs and that pedal are awful enticing for little ones.
- Take your machine in for regular cleanings and maitenence by a professional. It's work the money to keep your machine in top shape!
- Be careful not to drop your machine, and if it is on the ground, take care not to knock it or kick it.
As always, DON'T FORCEyour machine if it's stuck and always be gentle when troubleshooting. These tips are handy for sure, but if you're ever in doubt, TAKE YOUR MACHINE TO A PRO. It's always worth it.
Sources and Additional Information
What the Craft
Sewing at About.com
General Trouble Shooting
Here are few general steps to go through before doing anything more intricate or taking your machine to a pro.
Rethread. Yes, sometimes it's as simple as rethreading your machine and that's it. Your thread may have slipped out of the tension disks, broke, got caught somewhere or something like that, that you wouldn't necessarily see right away. Rethread your top thread and your bobbin thread. Speaking of bobbins...
Rewind Your Bobbin. Sometimes, if a bobbin isn't wound properly, it causes weird little issues. Be sure to wind your bobbin as per your machine manual's instructions; some wind clockwise, and some counterclockwise, so be sure to be attentive to that. Also, use one continuous piece of thread to wind your bobbin, not several pieces of varying color and length. It seems like a great way to save and use "waste" thread, but in therms of your machine's function, it causes more problems than it solves. Use one piece wound off of one thread spool. And while you're down in the bobbin area...
Clean Your Bobbin Case Area. Your machine probably came with a little, stiff bristled brush for this, but I have found that canned air (yes, canned air like for keyboards) works the best. If you don't have canned air, try a soft paintbrush or makeup brush - their bristles are soft and flexible and get in the crannies better than the stiff plastic bristles of the standard issue machine brush. Dust and lint can really foul things up if a lot has accumulated, and every now and then a wayward thread gets caught in the bobbin case. Brush or blow out that bobbin case area. Carefully remove the throat plate if needed (you know, the metal piece surrounding the feed dogs) with the screwdriver included with yur machine, and clean down around the feed dogs too.
Change Your Needle. It could be that your needle is bent, dull or barbed and snagging on your fabric or thread. It's amazing how much a little needle can mess so much up! Or, you may not be using the right needle for the job; CLICK HERE to learn about the types of machine needles and which works best for the task at hand.
Problem Specific Troubleshooting
Here are a few common problems and how they can be fixed (in most cases)
Help! My bobbin won't go back in! It sounds silly, but is your needle down, or up? If it is down, no amount of trying to shove that thing in there is going to get it in because the needle is blocking where the bobbin goes. Using the handwheel, gently raise your needle and then try again. If that doesn't work, have a look inside. If you have just cleaned your machine, odds are something didn't get put back in properly. Look for loose pieces and put them in again. Your bobbin case should go in just fine.
Help! My bobbin thread is coming through my top thread! It's a tension issue (ha, I know, you can say that again). Your needle tension is too high, high enough that it is pulloing the bobbin thread too hard and that's why it's peeking up through your top thread. Take that puppy down a noth, I mean, half a number at once. If your tension is at 3 when this occurs, drop it to 2.5 and try again.
Help! My top thread is poking through my bobbin thread! Another tension issue (hiii-yo!). Your needle tension is too loose. Tighten it by half a measure. If your tension is at 3 when this occurs, to up to 3.5 and see what happens.
Help! My fabric is puckering when I straight stitch, and I don't want it to! Yep, another tension issue. Look, tension's a bitch, it just is and it get knocked off pretty easy. In this case, both needle and bobbin tensions are too tight. Loosen your needle tension by .5 a measure. Get to your bobbin and take out the bobbin case. See that screw on the side? It needs to be loosened, but only a little! A little goes a long way with that thing, so try only a quarter turn at a time. Put your bobbin back in and try again. Adjust as needed until it works.
Help! There is smoke coming out of my machine, what did I do?! Well my dear, you might have just burned out your motor. There is nothing you can do to fix this on your own - take it to a pro. They might be able to fix it, but like damage to car consider whether the cost of the repair is greater than the worth of the machine. That might have been that machine's death throes and it might be time for a new one.
Help! My machine is skipping stitches! Unless you haven't had your machine cleaned in ages, this is a needle problem. Use the right needle for the job and change to a new one. It might be bent or barbed.
Help! My bobbin thread is a tangled, loopy nightmare when I sew! First, rethread your bobbin and top thread with the presser foot UP. If it's down, you're in tension mode and that can make the thread sit funny. try sewing again. If that doesn't work, change your needle. If that doesn't work, test with a different bobbin. It could be that your bobbin isn't wound well. If it's not, rewind another bobbin and get to work!
Help! My top thread keeps breaking! Make sure you are using a quality thread. Lower quality threads break much easier. If you're using a metallic, change to a metallic needle and take it slower - metallic threads break much easier than cottons or polyesters. To learn more about thread types and when to use them, CLICK HERE. More than likely it's a needle issue or a threading issue. rethread your machine first and try again. Usually that fixes the problem. If not, change your needle.
Machine Problem Prevention
- Keep your machine clean; get the dust and lint out of there after every project, or midway during a project if you are using fabrics prone to linting.
- Don't stitch using the handwheel. That knocks your machine out of tension and can mess up the timing.
- Unplug your machine and keep it away from little fingers. Children may play with it when you're not around, and when you go to use it everything is off. Most kids know that your sewing machine isn't a toy for them, but all those buttons and knobs and that pedal are awful enticing for little ones.
- Take your machine in for regular cleanings and maitenence by a professional. It's work the money to keep your machine in top shape!
- Be careful not to drop your machine, and if it is on the ground, take care not to knock it or kick it.
As always, DON'T FORCEyour machine if it's stuck and always be gentle when troubleshooting. These tips are handy for sure, but if you're ever in doubt, TAKE YOUR MACHINE TO A PRO. It's always worth it.
Sources and Additional Information
What the Craft
Sewing at About.com
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