The 5 most common issues we see when people bring in their sewing machine

May 5, 2026

Here in the studio, one of the most common things we see in our private lessons is showing people how to operate their sewing machine, serger, or coverstitch machine properly.

When you call and ask us for help, we give you a few tasks over the phone before we have you lug the machine in, in hopes to save you time and money.

So these are the things we are having you check before you come in

1. It’s the thread

Lot’s of people don’t know that the thread you uses matters

If your thread is older than 5 years or low quality (short staple length) it can be more prone to snapping an lining in your machine

But it can also affect tension, some thread is thinner, thicker, or more bouncy, old thread can be all 3.

2. Is it threaded properly?

This can seem silly but often every direction and hook on your machine matters. Tension is a meticulously crafted thing.

Re-thread the top, if you are new consult your sewing machine manual. If you don’t have a manual look up your machine name online, all manuals are available on the internet (thank god)
Make sure your bobbin is turning the right way, the direction that it unfurls always matters.

3. How old is your needle?

Needles get dull over time, the size matters too.

If your needle is dull, the wrong size, or wrong type – it wont glide through your fabric as well, this can cause skipped stitches, snags in your fabric, and thread snapping.

4. What kind of machine do you have?

Surprisingly, one of the most common issues with the machine isn’t user error. Certain sewing machines are just poorly made which results in more tension, fabric bunching, and overall frustrating experiences.

If you’re buying a new machine be careful who you are getting advice from, lots of people on the internet are getting paid to sell you certain machines. It may feel counter intuitive but reputable sewing machine dealers give great sewing advice because they work so closely with a variety of sewing machines.

I would always check the worst and the best reviews before purchasing a machine.

View our full ‘ how to buy a sewing machine blog post ‘ for more on this!.

5. When was the last time your machine was serviced?

Machines should be serviced once a year. This is something that you can learn to do yourself – see our youtube video on it & our blog post on how to care for your machine.

Too much lint in your machine can affect how your threads glide through your machine.

If you poke at all of these things and still have trouble, we love helping people sort out and understand their sewing machine better. You can always schedule a private lesson with one of our industry trained professional seamstresses to teach you everything you need to know about your sewing machine.

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