That week last October when my sewing machine jammed 15 times in one day

I was working on a pleated skirt using this lightweight rayon fabric I got on sale at Joann for $7 a yard. The material kept slipping and bunching up under the presser foot no matter what I did. Around the third jam I started tweaking the tension settings and switched to a brand new needle but it still kept acting up. Finally I realized my Bobbin was wound unevenly and I had been using the wrong thread weight for that delicate fabric. By the time I got it fixed I had already cut a wonky seam and had to scrap that whole panel. Has anyone else had a project just fight you like that for no good reason?

3 comments

3 Comments

eric_knight71mo ago

Ugh, @taylorellis is totally right - sometimes you just gotta walk away before you make it worse. That rayon sounds like a total nightmare, hope the next panel turns out way smoother.

dianahayes1mo ago

Oh geez, lightweight rayon is the absolute worst for pleats. I had a similar meltdown a few years ago with a chiffon blouse where I must have rethreaded the machine like 12 times before I realized the tension disc had a tiny thread wrapped around it from a previous project. That little sucker was causing all my problems and I felt like such an idiot when I finally found it. But honestly your bobbin issue sounds like it could have been the real culprit. Uneven winding will mess with everything and make you think your machine is dying when it's really just a spool problem. Sometimes these projects just have a way of making you feel like you forgot how to sew overnight.

taylorellis1mo ago

I dunno, I actually think sometimes the fabric is just fighting you and it's not always fixable with troubleshooting. Lightweight rayon is a beast and even perfectly wound bobbins won't stop it from sliding around if your presser foot pressure is off. Sometimes you just gotta accept that a project is cursed and walk away for a day before you ruin more fabric.