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Sewing machine needles keep breaking?
Older Sears sewing machine. Everytime I go to sew the needles break as soon as I get about an inch or two into the fabric. I'm not using heavy fabric, the needle fits the fabric so that is not the issue. My mom thinks it may be the tension but is not how to fix it.
The needle is in correctly, they are the right needles,and the fabric is not getting caught, that I can see anyway
It's probably not the tension. Most broken needles are due to pushing or pulling the fabric under the presser foot; the other leading cause of broken needles is bad timing or a piece that's out of position.
Or it could be a bad jam from an improperly started seam (are you holding the thread tails for the first
few stitches? Did you remember to thread the upper part of the machine with the presser foot up so the thread could get between the tension disks? See:
http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/22521551
Before we start, take a look at the needle package. It should say on it "home sewing machine needles" or similar, not "overlock needle" or "serger needle". On the package, it should say 130/705H, 15x1H, SY2022, or HAx1 -- those are actually all the same needle system, as designated by different manufacturers. If it says something like DBx1 or 16x32 or SY5054, those are incorrect needles for a sewing machine. When you replace a needle, make sure it's pushed fully up in the needle clamp and the screw is fully tightened with it in that fully up position.
First thing to do is to take the presser foot off, take the needleplate out, pull out the bobbin and bobbin case and, with vacuum and brush, give it a good cleaning. Don't use compressed air. Using the manual, reassemble the machine carefully. Make sure everything is put properly back in place, and be sure to tighten the presser foot properly. There may be a shard of needle in the machine pushing something out of place.
While you're putting things back together, lubricate (sewing machine oil only, not 3-in1 or WD-40) the machine as directed in the manual.
Try this: Put in a new needle; don't bother to thread it. Place a sheet of paper under the presser foot and, without touching the paper, sew. If it doesn't break, you're probably pushing or pulling. Sew again on the same piece of paper, this time while maneuvering the paper as if it were fabric. If you're a fabric pusher or puller, the paper will buckle or tear or the holes will be irregularly spaced. Quit that behavior... it's tough on the machine, and leads to inaccurate, uneven stitches. Feed dogs move fabric, not people. Were you my student, you'd be sewing on paper with an unthreaded machine until you convinced yourself that feed dogs can do the work.
If the needle breaks when you're sewing handsfree, then put in a new needle and use the handwheel to lower the needle down towards the bobbin case. Take a look at what the needle is starting to hit. With luck, it's the sewing hook, which means the machine is out of time. It should look like one of these illustrations:
http://sewusa.com/Sewing_Machine_Repair/Sewing%20Machine%20Hook%20Timing.htm
Timing is not one of those things you should try at home -- at least not for most people. Timing is normally done as a part of a "sewing machine tuneup".
If it's not the timing, then you may have bigger troubles... the needle bar is bent or loose, or something else is wrong. Again, this is repair shop time, or sometimes new sewing machine time.
As for tension, set the upper tension on 4 -- that's normal tension for most fabrics, most stitches. If you're not getting good stitching, adjust the top tension -- somewhere in the range of 3-5 is ok, but if it's much outside that to get decent stitching, then it's probably due for a tuneup, unless someone has been playing with the bobbin tension. If it has a bobbin case, put a threaded bobbin in the bobbin case, and then hold it by the end of the bobbin thread. If the bobbin rapidly descends to the floor, the bobbin tension is too loose -- tighten it not more than 1/8 turn at a time till it's correct. If you can hold the bobbin case up in the air by about 4" of thread, and then tick-tock the bobbin case back and forth, about 1/4" of thread should pay out of the bobbin case with each tick-tock. If it doesn't, the bobbin tension is too tight, and the bobbin tension screw needs to be loosened no more than 1/8 turn at a time. Put the bobbin case and the screwdriver in a closed plastic bag and do the adjustment... bobbin case screws are very short and have the habit of jumping out of the case, running away, never to be seen again.
More help on tension: http://sewusa.com/Sewing_Machine_Repair/Thread_Tension_Settings.htm
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