My worst fears for a while now have been that I’ll have sewing machine problems and as a result, I’ll not be able to do all 52 episodes of Stitch the Sketch as planned. More and more, this fear has been haunting me. Recently, I’ve often found myself drifting off and wondering what I’d do if I started having some terrible sewing machine problems or worse still if my sewing machine completely broke and I’m unable to use it.

  Well, it happened – my worst fears were realized. I’ve got sewing machine problems going on right now. As a result, this week, I haven’t been able to stitch any of my sketches.

Sewing Machine Problems Arise

I started noticing sewing machine problems last week when my upper threads will shred and break while free motion stitching. Initially, I was very frustrated because I couldn’t figure out what the matter was. Everything seemed quite the same to me, nothing had changed with my setup. So I just couldn’t imagine where the sewing machine problems stemmed from. At one point, I thought it might be that I was using bad thread. Although it seemed far-fetched, I was more willing to grab onto anything as a solution rather than the uncertainty of not knowing exactly what the cause of my sewing machine problems was. But when I’d changed thread many times to no avail, I was finally willing to accept that there was more to my sewing machine problems than bad thread.

A Good Sewing Machine Dealer is Important to Have

The kicker is that; I don’t have a dealer for my sewing machine within a reasonable distance. The nearest sewing machine dealer and repair shop for my JUKI sewing machine is more than an hour drive from where I live. I knew this going in to buy my sewing machine. Because as I said, having sewing machine problems that will put me out, has been one of my fears for the longest time. After chatting with the very helpful Thomas – a technician from Ed Raichert, the online store where I purchased my JUKI sewing machine, I learned yet another new thing. The cause of my sewing machine problems and breaking of my threads is simply this; I’ve got a burr on either my throat plate or in the bobbin assembly. This happens when the needle accidently hits the throat plate or bobbin assembly or some other metal along the path of the thread causing nicks.

DIY Solution for Nicks & Burrs

The solution is to use fine sandpaper or crocus cloth ( which I don’t have) to sand the nicks out. Or send it in to the technician (which I’m still considering) or order another throat plate ( which in my case will take at least 2 weeks to receive). So for now, my sewing machine problems have put me out of commission and I haven’t been able to create anything new this week. At least now I know what to troubleshoot for next time the upper thread on my sewing machine keeps breaking and I hope you do too. Warmest Regards,