keep loosing the thread out of the last hole of the lower looper while serging

[melani...@gmail.com]

so i've been trying to figure out what's going on for 2 days...i have a simplicity SL350 serger...very simple machine...and i've been using it without any problems...i sewed some gathered edging to make ruffles which went fine and then when i went to put the rolled edge for the bottom of the ruffle it started acting up...basically it serges ok and then i get a tug and notice that there are only 2 threads sewing and that the third thread that should be in the lower looper is out yet still connected to my sewing project...any tips on what to check? i've rethreaded the whole machine at least 4 times and checked the setting and made sure i have the correct throat plate on...still same problem??!?! AND...it does serge a regular stitch fine...

[Bobbie Sews More]

When my serger does this I get out the instruction book and rethread while
looking at the pictures. The problem is usually with the looper threads
being crossed over wrong down where they are threaded in the loopers. The
back looper needs to be threaded first and pulled through to the back.
Then thread the front looper. This usually works for me and I hope it helps
you.
Barbara in SC



<melani...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:4006acad-5f96-4b5d...@googlegroups.com...

[Kay Lancaster]

On Fri, 17 Aug 2012 13:07:21 -0700 (PDT), melani...@gmail.com <melani...@gmail.com> wrote:
> so i've been trying to figure out what's going on for 2 days...i have a simplicity SL350 serger...very simple machine...and i've been using it without any problems...i sewed some gathered edging to make ruffles which went fine and then when i went to put the rolled edge for the bottom of the ruffle it started acting up...basically it serges ok and then i get a tug and notice that there are only 2 threads sewing and that the third thread that should be in the lower looper is out yet still connected to my sewing project...any tips on what to check? i've rethreaded the whole machine at least 4 times and checked the setting and made sure i have the correct throat plate on...still same problem??!?! AND...it does serge a regular stitch fine...

Have you tried unthreading the eyes of the needles and then rethreading the looper and rethreading the needle eyes? That's the fastest way of getting the
correct crossings. If you leave the needles threaded and rethread
the lower looper, the thread just breaks again at its earliest convenience.

Sergers, even more than sewing machines, like to teach you to do it
their way, not the way you think it should be. <g>

Kay

[Polly Esther]

Kay is right. You might as well do it "the serger's way". It 'seemed' to me
that I could do serger 3-thread stitches by simply unthreading one needle.
Logical? Reasonable? sure ... but that is not how it is. My serger would not
do a 3-thread nicely if there was an extra needle there, threaded or not and
it Will break the thread if I don't unthread the needle(s) when threading
the loopers. Such is life. Polly

"Kay Lancaster" <...
> On Fri, 17 Aug 2012 13:07:21 -0700 (PDT), >> so i've been trying to figure

[Farm1]

<melani...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:4006acad-5f96-4b5d...@googlegroups.com...

______________________________
I've always thought the following advice was really, really silly but I'll
offer it for what it is worth:
When I bought my overlocker, the Lady who gave me lessons told me that if I
ever needed to do any rethreading from scratch, I MUST (that word was
verbally underlined by the Lady) follow the sequence as given in the
instruction manual.

I asked why because I like to know the why's for doing anything. There
really was no sensible reason other than, according to her, it worked if you
followed the manufacturer's sequence and you would have problems if you
didn't follow their sequence. I hate to admit that I always follow the
sequence.

Fran

[Kay Lancaster]

On Wed, 22 Aug 2012 17:51:42 +1000, Farm1 <He...@there.sometimes> wrote:
> that should be in the lower looper is out yet still connected to my sewing
> project...any tips on what to check? i've rethreaded the whole machine at
> least 4 times and checked the setting and made sure i have the correct
> throat plate on...still same problem??!?! AND...it does serge a regular
> stitch fine...

Did you put in new needles? The last time this happened, it was a needle
with a burr that was catching the looper thread.

> ______________________________
> I've always thought the following advice was really, really silly but I'll
> offer it for what it is worth:
> When I bought my overlocker, the Lady who gave me lessons told me that if I
> ever needed to do any rethreading from scratch, I MUST (that word was
> verbally underlined by the Lady) follow the sequence as given in the
> instruction manual.
>
> I asked why because I like to know the why's for doing anything. There
> really was no sensible reason other than, according to her, it worked if you
> followed the manufacturer's sequence and you would have problems if you
> didn't follow their sequence. I hate to admit that I always follow the
> sequence.

There are some internal thread crossings that are difficult to get correct
(especially for beginners) if you don't thread in the specified order.
For instance, if the lower looper thread breaks and you rethread it without
unthreading the eye of the needle(s) first, you're going to get another broken
lower looper thread in a few inches. So you rethread the lower looper,
serge a few inches and it breaks again. And again. And again. Then you
remember to unthread the needle(s) first. And all is peaceful again.

I challenged myself to learn to thread any thread position without unthreading
the rest of the machine. Yes, I can now do it. But it takes longer than
threading the whole thing from scratch.

Kay

[Farm1]

"Kay Lancaster" <k...@hub.fern.com> wrote in message
news:slrnk39r6...@hub.fern.com...

> On Wed, 22 Aug 2012 17:51:42 +1000, Farm1 <He...@there.sometimes> wrote

(snip of previous posters comments) ______________________________

>> I've always thought the following advice was really, really silly but
>> I'll
>> offer it for what it is worth:
>> When I bought my overlocker, the Lady who gave me lessons told me that
>> if I
>> ever needed to do any rethreading from scratch, I MUST (that word was
>> verbally underlined by the Lady) follow the sequence as given in the
>> instruction manual.
>>
>> I asked why because I like to know the why's for doing anything. There
>> really was no sensible reason other than, according to her, it worked if
>> you
>> followed the manufacturer's sequence and you would have problems if you
>> didn't follow their sequence. I hate to admit that I always follow the
>> sequence.
>
> There are some internal thread crossings that are difficult to get correct
> (especially for beginners) if you don't thread in the specified order.

The other thing she told me to do was that, when I was rethreading the lower
looper, the 'L" shaped thingy, MUST (again that verbal underlining) be in a
very specific spot - no further to one or other side. This is not mentioned
in the instruction book but I made copious notes on it during the lessons
and she was right. If it's not in preciselythe position she specified, the
thread keeps breaking.

> For instance, if the lower looper thread breaks and you rethread it
> without
> unthreading the eye of the needle(s) first, you're going to get another
> broken
> lower looper thread in a few inches. So you rethread the lower looper,
> serge a few inches and it breaks again. And again. And again. Then you
> remember to unthread the needle(s) first. And all is peaceful again.
>
> I challenged myself to learn to thread any thread position without
> unthreading
> the rest of the machine. Yes, I can now do it. But it takes longer than
> threading the whole thing from scratch.

:-)) You have much more patience than I do by learning to do that. I have
manage to rethread the two lower loopers by pulling the thread through and
have no trouble with that, but if I need to do a rethread from scratch, for
some reason, it's drag out the book and follow it as described.

[Kay Lancaster]

On Thu, 23 Aug 2012 16:14:07 +1000, Farm1 <He...@there.sometimes> wrote:
>
> The other thing she told me to do was that, when I was rethreading the lower
> looper, the 'L" shaped thingy, MUST (again that verbal underlining) be in a
> very specific spot - no further to one or other side. This is not mentioned
> in the instruction book but I made copious notes on it during the lessons
> and she was right. If it's not in preciselythe position she specified, the
> thread keeps breaking.

Interesting... I've never come across that. Which serger do you have?
I've sewn on most that were available ca. 1995 (and threaded them), then
again 2007, and that's the first time I've run into this. I wonder if
there's something about that position that keeps one thread from getting
snagged accidentally.

>> I challenged myself to learn to thread any thread position without
>> unthreading
>> the rest of the machine. Yes, I can now do it. But it takes longer than
>> threading the whole thing from scratch.
>
>:-)) You have much more patience than I do by learning to do that. I have
> manage to rethread the two lower loopers by pulling the thread through and
> have no trouble with that, but if I need to do a rethread from scratch, for
> some reason, it's drag out the book and follow it as described.

Nah, I was bored one cold rainy day, couldn't sew (power was out), did
want to play with machines. Remembered something one of the sewing
book authors said on a discussion group one day about having to learn
to thread sergers backwards to get the photos for a book... they'd
sew samples, leave extra, extra long thread tails, and rethread backwards
to get the photos. So I tried it. Yah, I'm stubborn. But it actually
wasn't difficult.

I only get about a 90% success rate on the pull through method (I don't
tie good knots, it seems), so I'd just as soon cut to the chase and
thread from scratch. After I do it a few tens of times, it's engraved
in the fingers.

Kay

[Polly Esther]

Finally, Kay, maybe I can teach you something. I thought my sneaky method
of sending a new thread through the loopers was called an overhand knot. I
looked around a little on the net and am not sure if it is or not/knot. =)
http://www.motherearthnews.com/multimedia/image-gallery.aspx?id=113446 Take
a red spool of thread and a blue spool of thread. Hold the ends of both
threads together. Form a loop - like a cursive small e - and poke Both
thread ends through the loop. Always keeps both threads together as if they
were one. Leave about 3 or 4" hanging. Pull tight. Mr. Esther learned all
manner of fancy knots and is quite impressive with it. I only know that one
(except for tying my own shoes) but it works very well for a quick serger
looper sneak. Polly

[David Scheidt]

Polly Esther <Poll...@cableone.net> wrote:
:Finally, Kay, maybe I can teach you something. I thought my sneaky method

That is indeed an overhand knot, and it's how I change thread in my
machines. Much faster than doing it from scratch, and no risk of
doing it wrong. I'd have to look at the manual to make sure I'm doing
it right, and even then, it's not clear, because the 20U had a change
in the thread path, but the manual I have predates that. (I should
probably take some pictures, eh?) I'm sure it's pretty common -- I
was shown how to do that by a mechanic, and my current mechanic did
the last time I brought a machine to him. (And he fixed it in five
minutes, while he showed me what he was doing.)

--
Truth is in your water heater.

[Farm1]

"Kay Lancaster" <k...@hub.fern.com> wrote in message

news:slrnk3cfs...@hub.fern.com...

> On Thu, 23 Aug 2012 16:14:07 +1000, Farm1 <He...@there.sometimes> wrote:
>>
>> The other thing she told me to do was that, when I was rethreading the
>> lower
>> looper, the 'L" shaped thingy, MUST (again that verbal underlining) be in
>> a
>> very specific spot - no further to one or other side. This is not
>> mentioned >> in the instruction book but I made copious notes on it
>> during the lessons
>> and she was right. If it's not in preciselythe position she specified,
>> the
>> thread keeps breaking.
>
> Interesting... I've never come across that. Which serger do you have?

A Bernina 800 DL.

> I've sewn on most that were available ca. 1995 (and threaded them), then
> again 2007, and that's the first time I've run into this. I wonder if
> there's something about that position that keeps one thread from getting
> snagged accidentally.

My notes that I wrote in my instruction book say the following:
"When threading on red marker make sure that lower looper eye (step 10) is
only just (and I've underlined the word 'just' multiple times) showing from
the left beyond the stitch plate. If the looper eye is too far to the right
the thread continues to break. In the right position the blue looper eye
will be hidden."

>
>>> I challenged myself to learn to thread any thread position without
>>> unthreading
>>> the rest of the machine. Yes, I can now do it. But it takes longer
>>> than
>>> threading the whole thing from scratch.
>>
>>:-)) You have much more patience than I do by learning to do that. I
>>have
>> manage to rethread the two lower loopers by pulling the thread through
>> and
>> have no trouble with that, but if I need to do a rethread from scratch,
>> for
>> some reason, it's drag out the book and follow it as described.
>
> Nah, I was bored one cold rainy day, couldn't sew (power was out), did
> want to play with machines.

:-))) I can recognise that sort of desire but I usually go play with old
black Singers when that don't need electricity when that happpens.

Remembered something one of the sewing
> book authors said on a discussion group one day about having to learn
> to thread sergers backwards to get the photos for a book... they'd
> sew samples, leave extra, extra long thread tails, and rethread backwards
> > to get the photos. So I tried it. Yah, I'm stubborn. But it actually
> wasn't difficult.
>
> I only get about a 90% success rate on the pull through method (I don't
> tie good knots, it seems), so I'd just as soon cut to the chase and
> thread from scratch. After I do it a few tens of times, it's engraved
> in the fingers.

LOL. Being a bobbin lace maker, I know how to tie knots; 'right over left,
left over right'.

[Farm1]

"Polly Esther" <Poll...@cableone.net> wrote in message
news:a9njs1...@mid.individual.net...

> Finally, Kay, maybe I can teach you something. I thought my sneaky method
> of sending a new thread through the loopers was called an overhand knot.

Interesting how we have favourite knots. I always use a reef knot.

[Kay Lancaster]

[Kay Lancaster]

On Thu, 23 Aug 2012 23:08:17 +0000 (UTC), David Scheidt <dsch...@panix.com> wrote:

> machines. Much faster than doing it from scratch, and no risk of
> doing it wrong. I'd have to look at the manual to make sure I'm doing
> it right, and even then, it's not clear, because the 20U had a change
> in the thread path, but the manual I have predates that. (I should
> probably take some pictures, eh?) I'm sure it's pretty common -- I
> was shown how to do that by a mechanic, and my current mechanic did
> the last time I brought a machine to him. (And he fixed it in five
> minutes, while he showed me what he was doing.)

Why not pick up a new manual, maybe even free?
http://www.singerco.com/accessories/instruction-manuals

(and yes, I agree, the homebrew manuals are the best).

Kay

[David Scheidt]

Kay Lancaster <k...@hub.fern.com> wrote:

Well, the manual wasn't updated, and the current iteration of the
machine is different yet again. It's pretty clear if I think about
what the various bits of the thread path are supposed to do. It's
just that I don't thread the machine enough from scratch, so I don't
have it all in muscle memory.

:(and yes, I agree, the homebrew manuals are the best).

:Kay


--
sig 23