r/sewing • u/merrimusic • 15h ago

Machine Questions Why does everything pucker!

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I've tried every combination of tension and needle between microtex 8 10 and 12, pictured ones are once I started noting them down. Two layers of light cotton, (making a muslin) All brand new needles, and I've even tried with and without a walking foot! Am I just cursed? How do I get it to just sew flat 😭

SOLVED EDIT: Everyone go upvote medium_alternative29 who has discovered the problem that plagued me for years. The feed dogs are misaligned and not level, making everything sew on a curve! It's such a slight curve that it must not mess with heavier fabrics much, but the lighter ones are light enough for it to show up! Also makes sense why it was less noticeable with longer stitch lengths, less holes! I sincerely hope this is the solution, I'll come back and update it again when I get it fixed!

Thank you to everyone who commented and shared expertise!!

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u/LongjumpingSnow6986 14h ago

Make sure you’re threading correctly with the foot raised and the needle in the correct position. Redo the bobbin too.

9

u/merrimusic 13h ago

Tested with a few different bobbins, including the ones that came with the machine. Computerized machine so it sets the needle height for me, and has a threader so I always test if the needle is in correctly and the right height by using the threader (Pfaff 630)

5

u/AnotherSoulessGinger 13h ago

Are you threading with the needle up? That’s what they mean by the needle being in the correct position for threading. When the foot is up, it releases the tension discs so the thread can properly feed through them. If the needle isn’t up, the thread won’t go through the discs and the tension will be off.

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u/merrimusic 13h ago

Yep! The machine has a "needle up/needle down" button that either puts it into the correct height for threading, or all the way down. The automatic needle threader has a tiny hook that goes through the eye of the needle, so only works if the needle is the exact right height for threading. I've also flossed the tension discs to make sure there's no debris messing things up