My sewing machine is driving me crazy. I haven't got a clue what's wrong with it; I think I have tried everything, unless somebody has an idea that I haven't yet had. The problem is, that the seam isn't consistently even. Every once in a while, it doesn't pull the thread coming from the top back up through the fabric. Sometimes it's hardly noticeable. Sometimes the top thread creates a small loop (on the bottom side). Here is one of the most extreme examples:
Of course I have tried adjusting thread tension: top thread tension as well as bobbin tension. I have used differently colored threads to better see where the threads meet. I do a lot of test seams, and I also sew two identical seams and pull the top thread out first, and then the bottom thread to feel how tight it is held. I tried to get the tension adjusted so that both threads need about equal force to pull out. And the seams look perfect for the most part. But every 40" or 50" or so, the top thread isn't pulled up properly. Most of the times it just creates a saw-tooth pattern for 2 or 3 stitches before it goes back to perfect:
I have been having this problem for about 7 months now. I brought my machine to a repair shop and had it serviced. During the last summer, the mechanism that lifts / lowers the foot got sluggish. This was fixed during the service. But afterwards the seam problems started.
I did contact the shop to find out what could cause the problem. They advised me to clean the slot where the top tension is set. There was no dirt in there. The problem persisted.
They advised me to exchange the needle and to try a larger needle. I did both. The problem persisted.
They advised me to change the top tension. I did that, and I also changed the bobbin tension. The seams got a bit better, but the problem persisted.
I brought the machine to the shop and tried to recreate the problem. Of course it didn't show as clearly as at home. But then I remarked that I had bought a new sewing foot, and it turned out that the foot didn't have a slot in the bottom and probably jammed the thread. I took the machine home without having it checked by a mechanic because everybody was very sure that this was what had been causing the problem. I went back to my old sewing foot, and things improved. But the problem never went away completely. With thin 1.0oz and 1.1oz fabrics in double layer hammocks, it still crops up now and then. Always in the channel. Although I have been OCD about top thread and bobbin tension since then. I never bothered about it before, and when I look at seams I did before that service, I don't see any loops or any saw-tooth patterns.
I'm completely lost now. I don't want to go back to the repair shop if I don't have to, because it's a one-hour drive (which is a lot for Europeans...), because it will cost more money, and I didn't get the impression that they had a clue either.
Has anybody had a similar problem and found a solution? Any ideas what could be causing it? Could it have something to do with the repair on the sluggish sewing foot? I tried opening the machine, but apparently you need to have special tools or know where to push. For what it's worth, it's a Pfaff creative 1475 CD. The problem now mostly occurs with Gütermann Tera 60, and when I do the channel seams of a double layer hammock made from thin 1.0oz or 1.1oz fabrics.
Thanks!
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