These overlocker troubleshooting tips are an excerpt from the book ‘Learn to Love Your Overlocker’ by Freya Gilbert and Sarah Laws. The book is available to purchase from craftysewandso.com, and as a paperback copy from Amazon.
You will also find the accompanying online course, which includes video tutorials and additional projects at craftysewandso.com
My overlocker will not sew a chain
The thread might not have gone through one of the hooks, holes or disks when threading up. Don’t fear, this one’s fairly simple…
Solution Take a deep breath, study the diagram on your machine or in your manual and then re-thread. Practice, practice, practice! You can do this!
My overlocker is eating my fabric!
When this happens you know your knife is blunt. Fabric gets stuck between the foot and the blade and gets jammed.
Solution You can get your knives sharpened, but if it’s gone a bit too far, if you’ve accidentally sewn over a pin, you may need to change your blades.
Uneven and skipped stitches
The machine skips stitches on the needle threads creating a rather wonky stitch.
Solution Time to change the needles. You can use jersey or overlocker needles – we’ve found the latter lasts longer. Remember to push them all the way up to avoid setting the timing off!
The stitches show when the fabric is pulled apart
This is called ‘grinning’ and it can look like your garment is pulling apart at the seams! You’ will see the stitches on the right side of the garment.
Solution Increase the tension on your needle disks to reduce this.
My fabric is all stretched out!
If the edge you are overlocking goes all wobbly, it’s because the differential feed is set too low.
Solution Increase the differential feed until the fabric lays flat.
My fabric is gathering up!
If the fabric is gathering and creating puckers, it is because the differential feet is set too high.
Solution Decrease the differential feed until the fabric lays flat.
Learn to love your overlocker with with 3 in 1 overlocker online course bundle from Crafty Sew & So.
