I can't believe it! Four hours, changed needles, rethreaded, cursed Viking, cried. It was the NEEDLE! Not seated high enough. Thank you for posting this and leaving it posted/ Merry Christmas 2017!!!
Thank you so much whoever on here mentioned the needle! Mine had just come loose a little, I've been trying re-threading it for the past hour then read these posts & realised that my right needle was loose. I was about to take it into the shop to get it looked at. So thanks a million!
Thank you sherringer It definitely was the needle, my serger was working until I changed the needle for a different fabric it wasn't up in the shaft properly , thank you so much !!!!
Aftern six hours of trying to get my newly acquired, used serger to make a stitch, I found this video! Hallelujah! It was the needle! It wasn't seated correctly! THANK YOU!!
Necchi Nut is spot on with that advice regarding the Pfaff Hobbylock. I could see that the needles weren't raising high enough to let the bottom shuttle thing take the thread past before coming back down again so after trying to find shorter needles and searching for where the height adjustment is etc, Necchi Nut's explanation to look behind the globe cover was the answer (after I had taken all the other covers off beforehand during a fruitless search for an adjustment) On my model I didn't have to align any holes up, just needed to loosen the screw a tiny bit which allowed me to push the needle carrier up just a fraction, then tighten it again.
I had the same problem and discovered that I had the wrong kind of needle. I'd bought overlock needles, but it turned out that I needed a regular sewing machine needle, inserted properly. I'm just learning to serge - and had pulled up this video last week because I had this issue, but the correct needle type, insterted correctly, fixed it. Good Luck!
Thank you! I didn’t use the same solution of raising the needle (it was inserted all the way) but this video & everyone’s comments gave me the idea to watch my serger in action to see what was preventing the looping from happening. I ended up lowering the knife (which was blocking a thread) and then moving all the threads to the left (I think) and it solved the problem! Phew! This was driving me nuts!
Same thing. I changed the needle but didn't push it all the way up. Now working fine thanks to your comments. Seems like just a little mistake to make but caused disaster and a lot of wasted time. I don't know how many times I rethreaded the machine until I decided to google the problem. Thanks again!
try moving the loopers - mine had a slot where the height of the looper could be adjusted - it didn't sew at all - now it sews perfectly! i'm so proud of myself - the machine had other faults too - i got it cheap because of the faults and managed fix them all by myself - i'm a middle aged housewife - if i can do it - you can too!
Hey, thanks for the people suggesting the needle adjustement! I encountered this problem today and it drived me crazy. Turns out that I didn't pushed the needle completely up, a novices mistake. If it was my first time I would understand but since it is not I feel a bit dumb. Thanks!
I just resolved this issue on my juki mo645de. It was also a needle issue, but not the position. I figured out that I had replace a broken needle with a heavy needle and that was causing the chain not to form. Once I re-replaced the needle with one that was the correct size, the issue resolved.
i need help i just bought seger n sundenly while sewing it make noise n not sewing well n then cant sew anymore the left of the turning without steping on foot im turning n is stuck. just like that need help
Even after changing my needle to the right needles I still have this problem. I had some fabric get stuck to my upper looper and had to unscrew it to remove it. Upon putting it back in place the timing got messed up. I'm spending hours of my time trying to fix this horrible issue. Once I corrected their positions through watching all the videos on youtube the chain won't work! Anyone else run into this problem? I can't seem to fix it at all!
this happened to mine last few weeks too. i figured it out that maybe my needle was inserted too low. so i set it a little higher and the problem solved immediately.
Dear Lichenlife. Hope you can read this message. After looking closely at the sewing cycle of your serger, I can undoubtedly confirm that you have a "timing" problem with your lower looper. That is: as soon as the needle start to go up, the lower looper is "late" in grabbing the thread from the needle. Did you ever change the lower looper and put a new one? If you are not able to adjust the lower looper timing yourself, can you find someone to do that for you? You can also search for "Fix lower looper timing on a serger" if that can somehow help you.
Mine was doing the same. I feel your pain, try inserting the needle as far up as possible. you may need to almost remove the tightening screw which hold the needle in place.
Thank you for posting. it helped me fix my €20 indian industrial overlocker (that is still made and very heavy). Now you know what you are looking for, you can see that the needle tip is below the upper looper at the critical moment so cannot pick up the thread that the upper looper is carrying.
My Pfaff hobbylock was doing this, it is possible to raise the needle bar very slightly so that the looper passes the thread just under the needle at the needles highest position, there is an adjusting screw on the shaft holding the needle bar but this is difficult to find, it is only visible through a hole in the plastic housing once the light cover is taken off, then you can only adjust the screw when the needle bar aligns with the hole in the houisng, but once done it will sew fine!!
This happened with my machine last night. This morning I checked the needle and saw that it was not in its highest position, so I unscrewed the needle and made sure it was touching the top of the needle holder. I have an Elna 664 pro that has a thread guide attached to the upper looper. I noticed the lower looper thread was catching in the upper looper thread guide, so I had to thread the lower looper thread under the upper looper not on top.
thanks for the help here....i had not used my machine for a long while after a big project so i changed the needles first thing, and wouldn't you know it? it would not make a thread chain! for the life of me! i wondered if it was the needle length but also the fact that it is difficult to insert them. Does anyone have any tricks of the trade to share to help insert the needles to their highest point and get them tightened down properly while they're still all the way up? thanks!
Hi Did you ever find a solution to this problem as I have an Elna 654 with the same problem . rethreaded machine a hundred times, changed needles. checked everything that every one has suggested. I can only think it may be the timing but there are no instructions or video available to show you how to do this. have you any suggests please. many thanks????
My singer ultralock isn't forming a chain. I broke the lower looper end off however I have replaced it. I took it in for repair but it costs more to fix then it's worth but even though I have bought a new one I love that old machine and want to fix it. I have my manual for operations but not the one you use to fix the problems. Could anyone give me some idea what the piece that is attached to the shank (but lower) mine is black and is attached by a screw and in your video it is silver. Lower on this same shank is a Y shaped attachment that has the eyelets to run the thread though before it goes behind the lower looper and through the front eye. I have no before pictures but I am concerned it is bent. Also my needle is in front of the upper looper and yours crosses in front of the needle. Any help would be greatly appreciated. thank for your video.
My machine is also doing this, I used it a few times after I I paid to have it threaded then it messed up! I don't know what's wrong??????? Please help??????
I am having the same exact issue. the thread is doing the absolute identical thing. i am going to research if i come up with a solution i will respond!
It was my needle too! The only stitch it was making was the right needle stitch. I had tightened the left needle screw, which I wasn't using, too tightly and that caused the right needed to sit too low. The smallest detail frustrated me to no end!!! But it works now....back to sewing! Thank you to all those who left comments!
Without seeing more I would suggest that you start from the beginning. Unthread everything and start fresh. If you have the manual take time to do a little maintenance as it suggests. Hey it happens to me sometimes and I've been serging for years. Good luck.
Is the pressed foot down? It doesn't look like it to me. This could be part of the problem. Also if it is the timing google Laura's Blog for Serger conspiracy or serger troubleshooting. There's a blog entry that has excellent suggestions and expert comments that may help.
So it's been years since this video was posted and Aunty Wills obviously helped many; add me to the list! Had a Pfaff Serger given to me and for the life of me- it wouldn't work...fiddled with the needles a bunch and shazam! I'm in business. THANK YOU!!! I have spent hours tinkering with it.
Mine is doing the same thing right now. I can get it to chain while its running, but once the fabric is under the foot... nothing. Any luck on figuring that out?
Check to see if your needles are compatible with your machine. This was happening to mine..and I just fixed it tonight. I had the wrong size needles in it.
Ladies! Ladies! Before you go to have this repaired please try adjusting the needle position IT WORks!! I threaded my machine so many time I can do it with my eyes closed.
Thank you dear Aunty!! I have been struggling with this for hours and now that it's solved(sob), I have nothing to do ... Will you come sit in my lap and cheer me up ??
My wife's machine had a similar issue. Her problem was she had put the wrong needle in. It was too long and the upper looper never passed the thread under the needle.
shortycrochets life mine did this and it was the cutter plate which had come lose, I managed to tighten the screw and it does not snap anymore needles, but now my problem is it's not making chain properly I think the needle may need replacing
i need help i just bought seger n sundenly while sewing it make noise n not sewing well n then cant sew anymore the left of the turning without steping on foot im turning n is stuck. just like that need help
I can't believe it! Four hours, changed needles, rethreaded, cursed Viking, cried. It was the NEEDLE! Not seated high enough. Thank you for posting this and leaving it posted/ Merry Christmas 2017!!!
Thank you so much whoever on here mentioned the needle! Mine had just come loose a little, I've been trying re-threading it for the past hour then read these posts & realised that my right needle was loose. I was about to take it into the shop to get it looked at. So thanks a million!
Seriously! Best advice EVER!! Thanks for posting this video and that you to the ladies who suggested the needle adjustment!
ohhhh 10 years later (july 2020) you saved my life!!!!!....thank you for all the responses that also helped me with the same problem!!! ♥♥♥
3 hours of trying to figure it out, and it was the needle length. Thank you for your knowledge :)
Thank you sherringer It definitely was the needle, my serger was working until I changed the needle for a different fabric it wasn't up in the shaft properly , thank you so much !!!!
Going nuts for 2 days and watching videos. Raising the needle was the issue. Thanks so much!
Aftern six hours of trying to get my newly acquired, used serger to make a stitch, I found this video! Hallelujah! It was the needle! It wasn't seated correctly! THANK YOU!!
Raised the needles and it worked like a charm! Thanks to everyone!!
Necchi Nut is spot on with that advice regarding the Pfaff Hobbylock.
I could see that the needles weren't raising high enough to let the bottom shuttle thing take the thread past before coming back down again so after trying to find shorter needles and searching for where the height adjustment is etc, Necchi Nut's explanation to look behind the globe cover was the answer (after I had taken all the other covers off beforehand during a fruitless search for an adjustment) On my model I didn't have to align any holes up, just needed to loosen the screw a tiny bit which allowed me to push the needle carrier up just a fraction, then tighten it again.
I had the same problem and discovered that I had the wrong kind of needle. I'd bought overlock needles, but it turned out that I needed a regular sewing machine needle, inserted properly. I'm just learning to serge - and had pulled up this video last week because I had this issue, but the correct needle type, insterted correctly, fixed it. Good Luck!
Thank you! I didn’t use the same solution of raising the needle (it was inserted all the way) but this video & everyone’s comments gave me the idea to watch my serger in action to see what was preventing the looping from happening. I ended up lowering the knife (which was blocking a thread) and then moving all the threads to the left (I think) and it solved the problem! Phew! This was driving me nuts!
Still a useful post - mine wasn't forming a stitch, re-set the needle, realized it hadn't been pushed up high enough. Thanks so much!
The help in these comments SAVED ME, when I was near tears! 😆 but really! Thank you! Needle position readjusted and all is working well again! PTL! ❤️
Same thing. I changed the needle but didn't push it all the way up. Now working fine thanks to your comments. Seems like just a little mistake to make but caused disaster and a lot of wasted time. I don't know how many times I rethreaded the machine until I decided to google the problem. Thanks again!
Thank you Aunty Willis!!!!
try moving the loopers - mine had a slot where the height of the looper could be adjusted - it didn't sew at all - now it sews perfectly!
i'm so proud of myself - the machine had other faults too - i got it cheap because of the faults and managed fix them all by myself - i'm a middle aged housewife - if i can do it - you can too!
sorry what do you mean by looper? could you use another word, or describe what you mean to me..?
Hey, thanks for the people suggesting the needle adjustement! I encountered this problem today and it drived me crazy. Turns out that I didn't pushed the needle completely up, a novices mistake. If it was my first time I would understand but since it is not I feel a bit dumb. Thanks!
Thought mine was broken, then read this. It was the needle, just as everyone was saying! Thank you.
I just resolved this issue on my juki mo645de. It was also a needle issue, but not the position. I figured out that I had replace a broken needle with a heavy needle and that was causing the chain not to form. Once I re-replaced the needle with one that was the correct size, the issue resolved.
i need help i just bought seger n sundenly while sewing it make noise n not sewing well n then cant sew anymore the left of the turning without steping on foot im turning n is stuck. just like that need help
Thanks a lot! Also saved us from going to the shop :-)
Even after changing my needle to the right needles I still have this problem. I had some fabric get stuck to my upper looper and had to unscrew it to remove it. Upon putting it back in place the timing got messed up. I'm spending hours of my time trying to fix this horrible issue. Once I corrected their positions through watching all the videos on youtube the chain won't work! Anyone else run into this problem? I can't seem to fix it at all!
Exactly my problem. Spent hours fixing the timing. Finally fixed now the threads won’t form a chain ugh.
Thanks for the video and suggestion to check the needle. Sure enough, that was causing all the chaos. I was ready to give up.
this happened to mine last few weeks too. i figured it out that maybe my needle was inserted too low. so i set it a little higher and the problem solved immediately.
Saved my costume today! Thanks a lot!
Dear Lichenlife. Hope you can read this message. After looking closely at the sewing cycle of your serger, I can undoubtedly confirm that you have a "timing" problem with your lower looper. That is: as soon as the needle start to go up, the lower looper is "late" in grabbing the thread from the needle. Did you ever change the lower looper and put a new one? If you are not able to adjust the lower looper timing yourself, can you find someone to do that for you? You can also search for "Fix lower looper timing on a serger" if that can somehow help you.
Thank you!!!!
Thanks for leaving a helpful comment. People who actually know how to fix overlockers often seem very cagey about offering up information!
Mine was doing the same. I feel your pain, try inserting the needle as far up as possible. you may need to almost remove the tightening screw which hold the needle in place.
My lower looper keeps unthreading. Don’t know why? Any suggestions?
Thank you for posting. it helped me fix my €20 indian industrial overlocker (that is still made and very heavy). Now you know what you are looking for, you can see that the needle tip is below the upper looper at the critical moment so cannot pick up the thread that the upper looper is carrying.
problem! I have just changed my o/locker needle but cant get it to sew..cuts the material and seems to have a chain but wont attach to material
I have the same problem and I’ve tried everything
My Pfaff hobbylock was doing this, it is possible to raise the needle bar very slightly so that the looper passes the thread just under the needle at the needles highest position, there is an adjusting screw on the shaft holding the needle bar but this is difficult to find, it is only visible through a hole in the plastic housing once the light cover is taken off, then you can only adjust the screw when the needle bar aligns with the hole in the houisng, but once done it will sew fine!!
This happened with my machine last night. This morning I checked the needle and saw that it was not in its highest position, so I unscrewed the needle and made sure it was touching the top of the needle holder. I have an Elna 664 pro that has a thread guide attached to the upper looper. I noticed the lower looper thread was catching in the upper looper thread guide, so I had to thread the lower looper thread under the upper looper not on top.
Thank you for the advise. I had the same problem and i did what yiu suggested and it worked!
thanks for the help here....i had not used my machine for a long while after a big project so i changed the needles first thing, and wouldn't you know it? it would not make a thread chain! for the life of me! i wondered if it was the needle length but also the fact that it is difficult to insert them. Does anyone have any tricks of the trade to share to help insert the needles to their highest point and get them tightened down properly while they're still all the way up? thanks!
my 8 thread baby lock won't thread the Upper looper I have tried so many times, I have even changed the needle for my 4 threads
I have the same issue. I need to try this before I spend tons of money on a new one.
Hi I am having the same problem - so frustrating - have you manage to get chain stitch working yet and if so how?
Hi
Did you ever find a solution to this problem as I have an Elna 654 with the same problem . rethreaded machine a hundred times, changed needles. checked everything that every one has suggested. I can only think it may be the timing but there are no instructions or video available to show you how to do this. have you any suggests please. many thanks????
Hint: Just carefully unscrew the Lower Looper screw and push the Looper just 1 mm up and carefully tighten the looper's screw. See if this helps.
wat is a m m?
@@geraldinelytle9847 Millimetre
My singer ultralock isn't forming a chain. I broke the lower looper end off however I have replaced it. I took it in for repair but it costs more to fix then it's worth but even though I have bought a new one I love that old machine and want to fix it. I have my manual for operations but not the one you use to fix the problems. Could anyone give me some idea what the piece that is attached to the shank (but lower) mine is black and is attached by a screw and in your video it is silver. Lower on this same shank is a Y shaped attachment that has the eyelets to run the thread though before it goes behind the lower looper and through the front eye. I have no before pictures but I am concerned it is bent. Also my needle is in front of the upper looper and yours crosses in front of the needle. Any help would be greatly appreciated. thank for your video.
My machine is also doing this, I used it a few times after I I paid to have it threaded then it messed up! I don't know what's wrong??????? Please help??????
Did you ever find what was wrong with the setup? I am having the same problem with my Babylock BL4-736.
I am having the same exact issue. the thread is doing the absolute identical thing. i am going to research if i come up with a solution i will respond!
It was my needle too! The only stitch it was making was the right needle stitch. I had tightened the left needle screw, which I wasn't using, too tightly and that caused the right needed to sit too low. The smallest detail frustrated me to no end!!! But it works now....back to sewing! Thank you to all those who left comments!
Thank you for taking the time to point this out. It saved me a trip into town to have the dealer look at my serger -- AND you saved the day :-) !
+MsCraftyWPB
thanks so much for your fix you saved my day
Thank you, was so frustrating trying to work out what was wrong.
My Babylock Diana will make a chain but as soon an I add fabric it won’t sew... HELP!
Without seeing more I would suggest that you start from the beginning. Unthread everything and start fresh. If you have the manual take time to do a little maintenance as it suggests. Hey it happens to me sometimes and I've been serging for years. Good luck.
Have the same problem, mine was threading and just stopped 😢went hundreds times over manual and wasted kilometer of threads and still….
the lower loop is not taking the thread from the needle.adjust the lower loop or needle
How does this video help in asking why the machine does not make a chain stitch?
What brand serger do you have? I'm still studying the video. Doubt that brand makes a difference though.
Is the pressed foot down? It doesn't look like it to me. This could be part of the problem. Also if it is the timing google Laura's Blog for Serger conspiracy or serger troubleshooting. There's a blog entry that has excellent suggestions and expert comments that may help.
When this happens to me, I take out all thread and re-thread. Upper looper, lower looper, needle. Sequence is everything
I can't even see,what is being adjusted 😢
What is this video demonstrating?
So it's been years since this video was posted and Aunty Wills obviously helped many; add me to the list! Had a Pfaff Serger given to me and for the life of me- it wouldn't work...fiddled with the needles a bunch and shazam! I'm in business. THANK YOU!!! I have spent hours tinkering with it.
my over locker will stitch fine without fabric, as soon as I put fabric in it won't stitch at all. help
This is what my over locker is doing. HELP!!!!!!
Mine is doing the same thing right now. I can get it to chain while its running, but once the fabric is under the foot... nothing. Any luck on figuring that out?
my serger made a chain when i put in a 80 needle. He only wants 80 or 90 needles...
Check to see if your needles are compatible with your machine. This was happening to mine..and I just fixed it tonight. I had the wrong size needles in it.
I am looking for a owners manuel for the Baby Lock Serger BL4-736. Does anyone have one?
I have one, if you haven't found one yet I can copy for you and send it.
I did get one. Thanks.
Great
Ladies! Ladies! Before you go to have this repaired please try adjusting the needle position
IT WORks!! I threaded my machine so many time I can do it with my eyes closed.
OMG thank you! that's exactly what it was for my Brother 1034D!! Almost had a panic attack after re-threading it a dozen times!
Thank you dear Aunty!! I have been struggling with this for hours and now that it's solved(sob), I have nothing to do ... Will you come sit in my lap and cheer me up ??
Aunty Wills! You are my HERO!!!! Problem solved. Thank you!
Your welcome!!!
You are my hero, thank you SO MUCH.
My wife's machine had a similar issue. Her problem was she had put the wrong needle in. It was too long and the upper looper never passed the thread under the needle.
does anyone know why mine is breaking the needles? I cant find any information , It will not work at all breaks needle everytime
shortycrochets life mine did this and it was the cutter plate which had come lose, I managed to tighten the screw and it does not snap anymore needles, but now my problem is it's not making chain properly I think the needle may need replacing
i was told that the problem is the timing on the serger.
It was my needle. I didn’t have it all the way pushed in.
I’ve tried everything, I’m selling my Omega
Am I missing something? This video didn’t help me.
I am disgusted with this serger. It is now thrown from my second floor window to the ground below.
throw the machine away
i need help i just bought seger n sundenly while sewing it make noise n not sewing well n then cant sew anymore the left of the turning without steping on foot im turning n is stuck. just like that need help