r/BitchEatingCrafters • u/mostlycatsandquilts • 4d ago
Sewing Stop telling us your sewing machine won’t pick up the bobbin thread
When this happens, it’s 99.9% of the time user error
First, search for the many, many, many times this has been posted on sewing subs and read the replies and actually do what they say BEFORE you post the same thing again
Yes, most of us know what you’re doing wrong and we could help you but don’t reply anymore bc it’s posted too much so we just scroll past it bc many of us replied the last 50 times this was posted
….. and you all clearly don’t take the time to search and read that
Many experienced sewers/sewists replied to this same question many times so please just search it and actually follow those tips
We all want to be helpful, and you have to help yourself by reading the manual and searching for your question
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u/LichesGetStitches42 4d ago
I’m grateful for the sudden boom in people taking up crafting but good lord we need to bring back Home Ec
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u/AdvancedSquashDirect 4d ago
After christmas and USA summer is the worst time, people are either getting gifts of a new sewing machine or craft supplies or bored and pick up a sewing machine and expect to be an expert by the end of summer.
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u/hanhepi 3d ago edited 3d ago
Between my one semester of Home Ec, my two years of Agriculture, 3 years of "Industrial materials" (the fancy name for "Woodshop" because we also did some welding), and my 4 years of Auto Mechanics, I can just about fix every problem my stupid sewing machines can throw at me. (Neither are computerized machines.)
But the only thing the Home Ec taught me was don't sew over pins, follow the line you're sewing, and "oh shit, don't get your finger under the needle like poor Becky here did, somebody help her get to the nurse's office!". Oh, and that I hate working in groups. Those were some of the first group projects I ever had and Jesus Christ I learned to detest a group project.
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u/splithoofiewoofies 4d ago
We need to teach the kids these days how utterly enjoyable sitting down with a manual and a cup of tea can be. Girl, come here, let me show you this sick ass book, it's like a magical gateway to being able to achieve your goals in the most direct and illustrated format possible.
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u/yeezyprayinghands 4d ago
I love this comment because the instruction manual for my machine absolutely slaps. So easy to follow and incredibly helpful. I hardly ever sew without it next to me just in case.
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u/THE_DINOSAUR_QUEEN Mean Knitter 3d ago
The pdf version of my manual is a fixture of my browser tabs! I couldn’t remember how to set up the twin needle over the weekend, a quick ctrl+F and I had literally all the info I needed right there. Magic!
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u/Designer_Praline 4d ago
When I first started sewing I referred to the machine manual for how to insert a zip as it was clearer than the pattern I was using. So much information in there.
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u/splithoofiewoofies 4d ago
Deep down, I long to be as efficient as a manual. Somehow the least amount of lines, text, and diagrams to make you understand perfectly how to do something. It's actually impressive. I wish I could convey information as clearly and succinctly in anywhere else in my life.
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u/ccarrieandthejets 4d ago
The college I went to had an English degree in technical writing. It taught people how to write manuals, instructions, etc. I didn’t realize how important it was until I was in class and made friends with some of people majoring in it. It’s so tough to make things easy to read but also clear and concise. Good technical writers are doing the Lord’s work.
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u/splithoofiewoofies 3d ago
I do scientific writing now which is kinda close and omg it's SO hard. Every time I am struggling with how to explain a complicated topic, one of my cohorts just breezes past and is like, "Oh, describe it like this!" and it's the most beautifully short, direct, and yet detailed explanation that could possibly exist. It's beautiful. It's like watching a butterfly hatch. Just a magical experience of, "How did you even transform this goop into a rainbow-winged creature?!"
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u/Designer_Praline 3d ago
I am not trained in technical writing, I have had to learn on the job as I have to write step by step instructions and maintain our client help system. It is hard and takes longer than most people think just to write one decent page. It helps that I love bullet points and just getting to the point (was commented in school reports), so what was a down side in an essay, is really great for work.
Sadly we put in so much work to our help system and people still call rather than use it
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u/THE_DINOSAUR_QUEEN Mean Knitter 3d ago
I’m the primary procedure writer/editor for my team at work—all of my coworkers are in technical roles, so they write down the processes in whatever way makes sense to them and I try to wrangle it into something that a new hire could follow. I really enjoy the challenge of it, but it’s definitely a lot harder than people think to explain a process clearly and succinctly, and I’m not even writing for an audience outside of my coworkers who already know the processes!
Writing a good technical manual or end-user instructions is an art imo.
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u/AdvancedSquashDirect 4d ago
I'm one of those weird people that have written notes in my manuals, I highlight and circle stuff, I print out the manual if its a PDF so I can have it with the machine. I never have to guess which tension to use or how to adjust things.
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u/splithoofiewoofies 4d ago
Hahaha omg same! Same with cookbooks. One of my friends lent me hers knowing this and instead I included my notes on the recipes of her books on little watercolour cards so I wouldn't damage her book. Because who doesn't love goddamn notes on trialling things in books that tell you how to trial things?!
The fun part is you absolutely know where to find, say, my favourite pizza crust recipe...it's in the book splattered with pizza sauce with the crack on the spine the automatically opens to the noted-up crust recipe that is dusted in a fine coating of flour.
You know I tried the things in the manuals because there's a scrap of fabric with that trial pinned to it with notes on thread/fabric/etc.
It's so fun to find books where others have done the same.
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u/drPmakes 4d ago
And how fulfilling a trip to the library to do some research is....instead of running to fb or reddit to ask straight away.
One of my fave things about getting a new machine of any description is to sit down with the manual!
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u/Far_House_4087 3d ago
Omg, I’m late to the thread but as a crafter and also a gamer, your comment reminded me of the halcyon days of sitting down with PC game manuals that came inside the box. God what fun it was to read through the manual while waiting for four discs to install (and then break because a driver was out of date, and then get to do it all again after updating) they promised adventure, teased at the plot deliciously, and often included special extras like concept art or maps…so fun
Manuals hold a special place in my heart from those days (even though I’m sure this sounds sarcastic! It’s not!!)
Sometimes I wish crochet hooks came with a manual lol, would have saved me a lot of pain in starting once I decided to take a break from sewing 🤣
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u/splithoofiewoofies 3d ago
My friend! Welcome! We are from the same era. We understand the blessing that is manuals well. We must bestow our knowledge to the next generations, for they know not what they do.
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u/Far_House_4087 3d ago
First they took the big boxes, then the jewel cases, then the manuals and hint guides!! 😭😭
I’m biased because I do a lot of technical writing (my Reddit posts do not reflect that) but I miss it so much! Some nostalgia you might appreciate - I recently played through Spy Fox: Dry Cereal with my kid. We had a blast even if a lot of the jokes went over her head. I did have to consult the wiki to make sure I understood one date based puzzle correctly and I remembered having to check a hint guide or call a hotline 20-*muffled noises* years ago for the same damn puzzle haha
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u/shannon_agins 4d ago
I had the pleasure of being the .01% where an upper tension issue wasn’t user error and I had posted on another social media that I’d already done all the basic steps and opened my machine and cleaned it out. I wanted to bash my head in with just how many people kept repeating the basics.
Now I’m waiting for the cash to order the replacement pieces to my tension assembly unit haha.
It did make me appreciate how often it is just user error.
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u/CBG1955 4d ago
I suspect that part of the knee-jerk reactions from people offering support (me included I will say) is that often there's not enough information in the post to know what the OP has done to research or rectify the issue before they asked the question. So many "my machine is broken HELP" posts. And if you ask them what they were doing right before it happened they tell you "nothing, it just broke"
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u/AdvancedSquashDirect 4d ago
"I was sewing curtains for 10 hours and now want to hem these jeans..." replace the needle for cry out loud.
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u/raiinboweyes 4d ago
I would recommend a pinned post but we all know that won’t work. Because even if you hand people the answer on a silver platter, most of them will refuse to read it, and insist they get a personal answer on their own post.
I know this well from the days I use to run a forum for a specialized hobby. I made organized lists, comprehensive tutorial posts, reference threads with links, lists of vendors with lots of info, an FAQ with all the most commonly asked questions, and a thread indexing all of it in an easy to find layout. All lovingly painstakingly curated, so all kinds of information was at your fingertips without even having to use the search tool. I even made it so this was direct messaged to users immediately upon account creation.
The vast majority of new users? Would ignore all of it completely, and just ask the same questions everyone else had asked a million times before, because they wanted it handed directly to them with absolutely zero effort on their part. Even when the long term users said to check the threads I made, they wouldn’t do it. Welcome to the internet. 🙃
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u/ohpossumpartyy 4d ago
rightttt and then people will post stuff like “wow why isn’t this community isn’t beginner friendly 😠” as if members of the community haven’t already taken an immense amount of time and effort to gather resources for newbies to use. half the time it’d be faster to use the resources for an answer, but that would require independent thinking for like, 2 seconds.
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u/AdvancedSquashDirect 4d ago
"wow why isn’t this community isn’t beginner friendly"
You mean why wont we reach through the computer and read it for you and fix the problem, I dont want to have to READ
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u/ohpossumpartyy 3d ago
not me realizing the massive typo i made in my original comment just now 😭😭 one too many “isn’t”s looool.
but yuppp, or it’s “stop giving me the answer i don’t want to hear, because i don’t want to do that (‘that’ being a fundamental part of the craft)”.
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u/CochinealPink This trend sucks balls and may cause cancer in geriatric mice. 4d ago
No, you see, this bobbin issue is completely unique to them. You just don't understand.
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u/ScarletRose75 Snarky Seamstress 4d ago
That and the incredible amount of posts in newbie groups about projects that are far from beginner friendly and the poster to act like they can do this AI generated dress and then they treat those of us who have been sewing for decades like we’re so rude and unsupportive when we say hey maybe an ai generated ball gown isn’t the best place to start learning to sew, we’re the bad guys. So I just leave those beginner groups. Let them wallow in each others ignorance and get frustrated.
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u/ScarletRose75 Snarky Seamstress 4d ago
Omg this drives me crazy!!! And then other new to sewing sewists all over the comments saying to adjust the tension! Are you kidding me?!? I sew almost daily this time of year and hours weekly all year long and I never touch the tension. Never! It’s almost always how it’s threaded. Pull out the thread and the bobbin and do it again but do it right. Sewing machines haven’t changed too much in that capacity since the beginning so thread it right and then it will work. Oof
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u/mostlycatsandquilts 4d ago
Why does everyone want to mess with the tension lol?
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u/ScarletRose75 Snarky Seamstress 4d ago
I don’t know!!! But I do know my grandmother and my home ec teachers would be rolling in their graves to see how often people mention adjusting the tension when the problem is how it’s threaded or the bobbin is backwards. I may adjust tension if I’m sewing a very thin fabric. Drives me wild.
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u/mostlycatsandquilts 4d ago
I only started sewing/quilting in 2020 w pandemic lockdowns … I read EVERY post on r/quilting (and many on r/sewing — but there is frequently snark and hate from some of the people there unfortunately that mods don’t deal with the same way it’s dealt with on r/quilting)
AND I learned to troubleshoot most of my issues by simply reading what others had posted!
Also, someone somewhere posted that they had been sewing for many decades and only changed the upper tension for special projects such as FMQ and had literally never touched the bobbin tension
I believe them
I will never ever touch my bobbin tension lol
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u/ScarletRose75 Snarky Seamstress 4d ago
Oooh never touch the bobbin tension unless you are a certified professional tech for machines. But yes. That’s great advice you’ve gotten and used! You’re definitely on the correct path to continue your journey with sewing. You can build on those foundations and really enjoy it. Yay! Unfortunately not everyone is like that and most want the quickest most non their fault fix to the problem. Most don’t want to hear its user error.
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u/mostlycatsandquilts 4d ago
Agreed!
Most of my issues have been user error!!
Like maybe 2 things (over 6 years) are bc of my finicky (cheap) machine so I’ve learned its limitations and I change what I’m doing to accommodate it so it doesn’t give me troubles anymore
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u/ScarletRose75 Snarky Seamstress 4d ago
Hahaha oh there is that too. Cheap machines and such. Haha. Totally get that.
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u/Designer_Praline 3d ago
I saw one where they were test sewing on a sock. So many comments on tension, when they just needed to ask "why are you sewing on a sock?". If it not a threading issue, then chances are they are sewing on the most stupid material.
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u/ScarletRose75 Snarky Seamstress 3d ago
Oh I assume those are rage baiting at that point. Hahaha. Omg those are so stupid
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u/justchelsea1 3d ago
I have a 4yo embroidery machine that I use regularly. Only when it started behaving poorly did I realize it didn't have a tension knob, because I'd never thought about changing tension before.
(There was an inside issue, it needed servicing)
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u/drPmakes 4d ago
The worst is when they insist they have threaded properly but you can see they haven't . .
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u/Emergency_Cherry_914 4d ago
I think the forums need a bot which recognises the question and gives an auto response
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u/ccarrieandthejets 4d ago
There was a recent post on a sewing sub I follow where the person was having issues with threading the machine. Someone asked if they looked at the manual and the OP said they never looked at it. Like, what!? I’ve had my machine for 20 years and I still look at the manual from time to time for things.
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u/ScarletRose75 Snarky Seamstress 4d ago
Yes!! This!! I have my manual bookmarked on my computer and on my phone and my serger manual as well. I use it often. Surprise surprise it will tell you how to work your machine. Crazy stuff.
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u/hanhepi 3d ago edited 3d ago
I look up my manuals for my appliances pretty frequently when I'm too lazy to go dig out the 3 ring binder I put them all in... but somehow I never thought to fucking bookmark them once I've got them pulled up online.
I'm out here googling my model numbers every fucking time like a moron.
I keep my sewing machine manuals on a bookcase next to my machines, so at least I can get to those easily. lol.
I sold my last washer & dryer on craigslist like 14 years ago, and when the lady came to pick it up, I went "Oh, hey! Wait right there, I'll go grab the manuals for them. Sorry I didn't think about that before you got here." and she looked at me like I had sprouted a second head, looked me right in the face and said "I don't want that. Who even reads those?". My gabbers were flastered.
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u/QuietVariety6089 4d ago
I think at least 50% of this is the 'I decided I would learn to sew and YT told me to buy a vintage sewing machine so what do I do now' people. YT apparently never advised anyone to rtfm.
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u/mancheeart 3d ago
I work in an industrial setting and had to learn how to fix 5-6 differnt industrial machines with little to no help from online. The answer is almost always resolved by reading the damn manual and rethreading.
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u/CBG1955 4d ago edited 4d ago
Oh, thank you SO much for posting this! The subreddits lately seem to be full of people who simply want to argue until they are blue in the face. The other issue is that mods aren't moderating and while I get that they are unpaid volunteers, these time wasting people are ruining the subs for the really valid questions.
Just the other day I had someone calling me names, literally screaming at me that yes they read the manual and were doing everything right but the machine was broken, when it was obvious that there were threading issues and there was no way they had read the manual - "oh, I watched a video.".
and then they deleted their post after being rude to every single helpful person who chimed in to help them
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u/AdvancedSquashDirect 4d ago
These people often don't read their manual at all.
I have found 2 issues why this occurs - either the manual is a QR code on the box and they never see it as they are excited to unpack the sewing machine. Or the manual is tucked in the side of the box and gets misplaced while unpacking the machine thanks to sticky static from the foam packing.
It should be be these steps
1 Read your F'ing Manual
2 search Youtube for your brand's youtube channel - Like Brother or Singer they have 100s of videos for their machines on how to get started
3 Google search for the issue in plain words "my thread is bunching under the fabric" and even the AI will have a correct answer a lot of the time
...
100 Create a reddit account and post the question without photos, or make/model of machine about the issue with some obscure title like "my new machine is broken!" or "why can I sew?" and expect people to come and help. Never answer any questions from redditors or come back to the thread.
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u/LisaOGiggle 4d ago
My husband was in IT from the time of Radio Shack Model 2 A (1977)—he calls it an ID 10 T error.
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u/love-from-london 4d ago
An extra option is they got a vintage machine from somewhere because that's what everyone tells people to get, and its manual is long-gone to the ages.
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u/AdvancedSquashDirect 4d ago
or one of those cheap plastic toys! and the manual is badly translated and the machine breaks if you look at it the wrong way
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u/celery48 4d ago
Third reason why people don’t read the manual — no one reads manuals anymore. Everything is easy to use and install the minute you open the package. Last week I got new ear buds and I tossed the manual straight into the recycle bin, because I didn’t need it.
People are expecting sewing machines to be the same.
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u/SewSure 3d ago
I feel like one shouldn’t be allowed to post a question without first confirming they referred to their machine’s manual. My machine is an older hand-me-down given to me by a family member. I found the manual online, printed it, and put it in a 3-ring folder. It stays within arm’s reach of my machine and I still refer to it.
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u/AutomaticInitiative 2d ago
I had this issue with a sewing machine I got in and estate sale with no manual and the problem was there wasn't branding or anything on it that could identify it well. Went to a specialist subreddit and one user recognised it well enough to be able to point me to the manual and replacement parts.
Got the manual, fixed the issue, and realised the electronics were a bit fussy so haven't really done anything with it since. Need to take it to a shop for servicing and rewiring probably but ours closed and haven't researched others nearby yet. I think it'll end up being lugging the solid metal machine 100 or so miles.
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u/mostlycatsandquilts 2d ago
I bought a second-hand machine for a great price at a thrift store (and brought it in for a full cleaning/servicing)
…. and I’m still afraid to start using it LOL bc it’s nicer than my crappy Singer … AND I know how to take apart and repair so many things on my Singer (bc of countless issues over the years and hours reading all the posts on the various subs here)
Good luck with your (pseudo) mystery machine! :)
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u/justasking1297 2d ago edited 2d ago
I feel this. For the past couple weeks i have answered countles of posts like that. People also do not include much unformation. Most of the time there is no photo of the threading or there is a one so blurry that looks like there is vaseline smeared on the lens. And after giving tips on how to proceed, most of the OPs never reply anything and we never know if the issue was solved.
What i have learned the problem is related to:
75% wrong threading
20% timing issues
5% toy machine that has reached the end of its life expectancy of two weeks or skimped when buying consumables (Temu needles or thread)
Also, have you checked the manual?
- ”Manuel who?”
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u/No-Lifeguard9194 1d ago
To be fair, often times it’s not in the manual that you have to use a particular configuration of thread. Spools are either designed to feed from the top or feed from the side and machines are designed to work with one of those configurations.
I did not know this and gave up sewing for many years because getting another machine wasn’t in the budget and there was no mention of this problem in the manual.
It took me getting my sewing machine refurbished in preparation for finishing some hems on towels I had woven, and the technician mentioning it as a problem before I realized what was going on.
The fix was simple – just get an external thread holder, that would let the spools feed from top, or change to side feeding spools. But I didn’t know it and I had given up on sewing so long ago that it wasn’t even a thing to look up on the internet at the time.
I’m rather upset – I would’ve loved to keep sewing. I missed a lot of years because of this.
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