Like two ballroom dancers, unless both partners work together with flawless grace, the whole dance falls apart.
Following the analogy one step further, sewing machine timing may actually be more like a square dance. There are hundreds of individual parts all moving, turning, and operating all at the same time. Unless they synchronize their performances, the sewing machine fails to work. Two basic areas are concerned.
On one hand, you have the coordination of the hook and needle which perform as a couple dancing around interconnecting their threads. This is called hook-needle timing.
Second, there is the upward, backward, downward, forward motion of the feed dogs coordinating with the rise and fall of the needle. We call this feed dog timing.
Thus you can see how three key sewing machine elements must operate in complete harmony. Hook, Needle, and Feed Dogs each have numerous other parts that control and contribute to their performance. Hence, timing is everything. Without it, sewing will not result.
Check the action of the feed dogs in relation to the needle. When they are in proper time, the feed dogs are at the back and drop under the needle plate at the same time as the needle slides under the needle plate. It also rises in time with the needle. Then the feed dogs move back as the needle continues rising.
To understand the relationship between the hook and the needle, you will need to remove the needle plate and front cover. As the needle reaches the bottom of its swing and begins its rise back up; a loop of thread forms along the back of the needle. A special cut out on the back of the needle to accommodate this loop is called the scarf. The sewing machine hook slides behind the needle. The point of the hook slides into the thread loop and pulls the thread around the bobbin.
If you watch very carefully, you can see how the upper thread is drawn around the bobbin thread and then pulled tighter and tighter as the needle continues rising. When tensions are properly set, the two thread form a locked stitch inside the fabric. This same process continues stitch after stitch. Both the feed dogs and the hook must be precisely timed to coordinate their function with the movement of the needle. No variation is acceptable.
Harmonious synchronized movement of all the parts is essential. The sewing machine will fail to produce desired result every time disharmony occurs. When a needle breaks or when your machine is forced beyond its design, quite often the timing is knocked out of harmony and the machine immediately begins messing up.
When the hook is just slightly out of time with the needle, you will notice skipped stitches or no stitches. This may begin on only one side of the zig zag stitch or intermittently. If the timing is just a bit more out of sync, stitch formation will become impossible.
Move that fabric and keep it moving. If you ever felt that you had to pull you fabric through the sewing machine to make it sew, it was probably your feed dogs. They must be properly timed or they can not move the fabric appropriately. If the feed dog height is not also properly set, you will not get your desired result.
Like those elegant dancers, harmonious synchronized sewing machine timing is essential. - 15478
Following the analogy one step further, sewing machine timing may actually be more like a square dance. There are hundreds of individual parts all moving, turning, and operating all at the same time. Unless they synchronize their performances, the sewing machine fails to work. Two basic areas are concerned.
On one hand, you have the coordination of the hook and needle which perform as a couple dancing around interconnecting their threads. This is called hook-needle timing.
Second, there is the upward, backward, downward, forward motion of the feed dogs coordinating with the rise and fall of the needle. We call this feed dog timing.
Thus you can see how three key sewing machine elements must operate in complete harmony. Hook, Needle, and Feed Dogs each have numerous other parts that control and contribute to their performance. Hence, timing is everything. Without it, sewing will not result.
Check the action of the feed dogs in relation to the needle. When they are in proper time, the feed dogs are at the back and drop under the needle plate at the same time as the needle slides under the needle plate. It also rises in time with the needle. Then the feed dogs move back as the needle continues rising.
To understand the relationship between the hook and the needle, you will need to remove the needle plate and front cover. As the needle reaches the bottom of its swing and begins its rise back up; a loop of thread forms along the back of the needle. A special cut out on the back of the needle to accommodate this loop is called the scarf. The sewing machine hook slides behind the needle. The point of the hook slides into the thread loop and pulls the thread around the bobbin.
If you watch very carefully, you can see how the upper thread is drawn around the bobbin thread and then pulled tighter and tighter as the needle continues rising. When tensions are properly set, the two thread form a locked stitch inside the fabric. This same process continues stitch after stitch. Both the feed dogs and the hook must be precisely timed to coordinate their function with the movement of the needle. No variation is acceptable.
Harmonious synchronized movement of all the parts is essential. The sewing machine will fail to produce desired result every time disharmony occurs. When a needle breaks or when your machine is forced beyond its design, quite often the timing is knocked out of harmony and the machine immediately begins messing up.
When the hook is just slightly out of time with the needle, you will notice skipped stitches or no stitches. This may begin on only one side of the zig zag stitch or intermittently. If the timing is just a bit more out of sync, stitch formation will become impossible.
Move that fabric and keep it moving. If you ever felt that you had to pull you fabric through the sewing machine to make it sew, it was probably your feed dogs. They must be properly timed or they can not move the fabric appropriately. If the feed dog height is not also properly set, you will not get your desired result.
Like those elegant dancers, harmonious synchronized sewing machine timing is essential. - 15478
About the Author:
Sewing Machine Technician David Trumble unveils the essentials of repairing sewing machines. He has authored several helpful sewing machine repair courses including a free beginners course entitled: 7 Steps To Peak Performance For Your Sewing Machine.
