Kenmore sewing machine?

Question

Something seems to be bogging down the speed; it sewing very sluggishly; almost stopping at times. Any idea's as to what is causing this?

Answer 1

Could be a mistake in the way you have threaded the machine.

Could be the tension control is too high.

Could be the bobbin thread is stuck.

Could be the machine needs oil.

Could be that   fluff or dust is caught in the machine - clean it.

Check that the feed dogs are totally up.

There are also ideas you could get from the  machine's operation manual

That's the best I can do.

You could call the 1-800 number for trouble shooting of this manufacturer.

Answer 2

Bad pedal, bad controller are two possibilities, but I'd almost bet  that the machine needs a thorough cleaning and lubrication, especially if it's been idle for several years.  Give it as good  

a cleaning and reoiling as you can (use real sewing machine oil, not WD-40 (it's a solvent) nor 3-in-1 type oils (they gum up).

If that doesn't fix it, and especially if you know someone's oiled it with 3-in-1 (or heaven forfend, olive oil!) take it in for a COA (clean-oil-adjust). A sewing machine tech can dig into it much farther than you can.

If it's a long out of warranty machine and you've got a mechanical bent, you might consider joining the yahoo group "wefixit"... lots of good sewing machine expertise there.  But you'll void the warranty on your in-warranty machine if you go beyond the manual's recommendations on cleaning and oiling.

One other thing to try -- unthread the cleaned and oiled machine, take out the needle, and try "sewing" on it for protracted periods of time.  It may do better after a long period of sewing.  But again, this is not something I'd advise for a machine that's valuable or in warranty if you don't know what you're doing.