Tuesday, 26 March 2013

Tuesday's Top Tip - Preventing Snags on the Singer 15K

This is what I kept getting at the beginning of a line of stitching on the Singer 15K - this is the underneath of the work.  The black is the bobbin thread and the white the top thread.  I was getting these annoying snags when using the treadle and thought it was me doing sloppy footwork.  Then I found I got the same problem with the 15K hand machine that I have just cleaned up.  It must be to do with how the stitch is formed with the central bobbin mechanism.

The top thread forms a loop on the back of the work.  Sometimes it doesn't get caught in the stitches, so you can just pull it tight afterwards, but usually it ends up in a bit of a tangle as in the top picture.

The way to prevent this happening is to hold the end of the top thread when beginning a line of stitching.  This holds the thread firm so it doesn't get pulled underneath to form a loop.  Once two or three stitches have been done you can let go of the thread.

Welcome to two new followers today, Lourdes Johnson and Tammy Liddell - thank you for joining!


  1. Hello Muv

    I do like a top tip on a Tuesday.

    Interstingly some Singer instruction booklets advise positioning the threads diagonally over the feed dogs and holding the threads while the first few stitches are formed. Others I've read (for electric models if I remember rightly) say to position the needle in the work before lowering the presser foot.

    Do you think Singer wanted us holding threads with one hand, guiding the goods with the other and turning the handcrank with the other? ;0)


    1. Not for the faint hearted or the ham fisted, is it Gavin?

  2. So true!
    Both my 127K and my 15K are a bit fussy about the position of the threads when I start sewing.

    As long as I make sure the upper and lower thread are pointing backwards, all is fine.

    1. Hello Marianne,

      It is interesting to hear that your 15K machine is better behaved than mine are.

      Even with both threads to the back and the top thread held firmly under the foot, I still get the big loop, which is why I had to work out which thread was looping and come up with the solution.


  3. Hello Muv,

    Is that so?
    Well, I consider myself very lucky then!

    The top and bottom thread are always quite long when I start sewing, but I'm not sure whether that's relevant. It's an old habit of mine, really.





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