Serger Novice, making a mess of fleece

[TrennaII]

My darling is letting me use his serger, and I keep hitting a big problem with fleeces.

Once was with a hemp/cotton fleece, another with blizzard fleece.

It does OK for an inch or two, then there's a "click" and and it quit stitching. It seems like a thread broke, yet looking at the machine all the threads are OK but the needle came unthreaded (how it does that when the thread doesn't seem broken, I dunno ...).

It works fine if I have a woven fabric on top of the hemp fleece (making inserts).

I know NOTHING about serging, but D-future-H is puzzled too.

[misskira]

Have you tried rethreading from the beginning? Loopers first, then needles. (I assume it's the 1034d you mentioned in the other thread?

Eta: nm on the rethreading, I see where you say it works fine if you use a woven. Have you tried a ballpoint needle? What size needle are you using?

[RachelFlores]

I agree with trying to switch the needles. Is the fleece somehow catching in the machine? Do you have a scrap bin? I would start testing every type of fabric I had available in order to better pinpoint the problem, is it the stretch of the fabric, the nap of the fleece, the thickness of the layers?

[TrennaII]

Thanks for the help!

No it's not the 1034D. That's one I bought with the best intentions when I was pregnant and then sold on Craigslist 2 years later, still sealed in the box The one I'm using is a very old PFAFF Hobbylock.

I'll try a different needle, when my beloved gets home and shows me how ... Up to this point I've never sewn on anything but my grandmother's Singer Featherweight.

I'm having a heck of a time on his regular machine too, it's a Kenmore somethingorother. Mostly it's amazing but when I try to backstitch or otherwise get close to the edge on these fleece fabrics, it gets stuck and pulls a chunk of fabric down into the hole, and birdnests, and other fun stuff. It's like it won't feed properly unless the entire foot has fabric under it. Maybe I need a walking foot, there ... that's what works on my Singer (until my 2-year-old disappeared a piece of the walking foot).

[Mom2jandb]

Originally Posted by TrennaII I'm having a heck of a time on his regular machine too, it's a Kenmore somethingorother. Mostly it's amazing but when I try to backstitch or otherwise get close to the edge on these fleece fabrics, it gets stuck and pulls a chunk of fabric down into the hole, and birdnests, and other fun stuff. It's like it won't feed properly unless the entire foot has fabric under it. Maybe I need a walking foot, there ... that's what works on my Singer (until my 2-year-old disappeared a piece of the walking foot).

I've been having this exact problem with my Kenmore too! If the whole foot doesn't have fabric under it, down the hole it goes! Very frustrating.

[BBBmOm]

Check your upper looper and make sure it hasn't bent. If your breaking thread. And hear a click, check it and stop sewing if it is! If its bent the machine isn't made to handle the thickness of fabric you're using. It's pulling the upper looper thread too tight and bending the actual looper. It will break Many time those older machines (I used to have that exact one) aren't meant for the loads we throw at them....I replaced the upper looper in that machine 3 times : /

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[opheliaspins]

I have similar things happen if I'm trying to serge something too think...but its weird it doesn't happen with woven on top and same amount of layers ...