When I sew on the sewing machine, why does the thread get tangled up in the bobbin department?

Question

When I sew on the sewing machine, why does the thread get tangled up in the bobbin department?

Answer 1

Have you opened up the bobbin area and cleaned out the lint and any tangled thread?  Lint buildup will cause stuff to get tangled up.  If you take out the bobbin holder, make sure that you put it back exactly right or your threads will catch.

Make sure that the bobbin thread is wound properly.  Too tight or too loose and it will tangle and cause problems.

Also, try holding the threads until you have the first few stitches in place.

Do you have a manual for the machine?

Answer 2

Without seeing it I can only offer suggestions. It could be a tension problem. Make sure your threads both top and bottom are threaded correctly through all the right guides including the one on the bobbin. If that doesn't work, try a different spool of thread. Some machines wont sew all types of thread.

Blow all the dust out of your bobbin case too.

Answer 3

When this happens to me, it's because the thread has slipped out of the little slot in the bobbin case.

Use the same kind of thread, top and bottom. Clean out the whole area with a small paintbrush every time you change a bobbin.

Make sure you load your bobbin into the case with the thread tailing off into your left hand, and get it all the way down into the slot. Then make sure the bobbin case is snapped firmly into place in the machine.

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Answer 4

I had this problem a few times too.  I found taht more often than not, once I had cleaned out the bobbin area, it would work.  If it didn't the problem was in having two different types of thread, specifically one that was too thick as the top thread.

     Most machines allow two different thread types, but you have to make sure you put the thicker one on the bobbin, and in my experience, the top thread has to be normal sewing weight or lighter.  Even hand quilting thread rather than regular machine thread caused me problems.