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Overlocker - thread breaks



 
 
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  #1  
Old January 28th 04, 09:33 PM
Vilna
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Default Overlocker - thread breaks

Hi everyone!

I bought an overlocker Elna 744 recently. It does all the stitches
beautifully but not the cover hem. If I'm lucky the left needle skips
stiches but normally the thread breaks. It's only the top left needle
that seems to have problems. I've tried everything the manual suggests
and I can think of - checked if the needle is inserted correctly,
checked and tried different thread tensions and stitch lenghts and of
course checked threading as well.

Has anyone experienced similar problems or give me suggestions what I
should do?

I'd be happy and grateful for your suggestions!

Vilna
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  #3  
Old January 28th 04, 10:10 PM
Sew-Sew Lady
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If you are using a spool of thread instead of a cone, that could be the
problem.

"Vilna" wrote in message
om...
Hi everyone!

I bought an overlocker Elna 744 recently. It does all the stitches
beautifully but not the cover hem. If I'm lucky the left needle skips
stiches but normally the thread breaks. It's only the top left needle
that seems to have problems. I've tried everything the manual suggests
and I can think of - checked if the needle is inserted correctly,
checked and tried different thread tensions and stitch lenghts and of
course checked threading as well.

Has anyone experienced similar problems or give me suggestions what I
should do?

I'd be happy and grateful for your suggestions!

Vilna



  #4  
Old January 28th 04, 11:07 PM
Loreen Robbins
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Default

"Vilna" wrote in message
om...
Hi everyone!

I bought an overlocker Elna 744 recently. It does all the stitches
beautifully but not the cover hem. If I'm lucky the left needle skips
stiches but normally the thread breaks. It's only the top left needle
that seems to have problems. I've tried everything the manual suggests
and I can think of - checked if the needle is inserted correctly,
checked and tried different thread tensions and stitch lenghts and of
course checked threading as well.

Has anyone experienced similar problems or give me suggestions what I
should do?

I'd be happy and grateful for your suggestions!

Vilna


The cover hem is notoriously unreliable on this machine. It will only work
if you use the EL X 705 needles, not regular sewing needles. The needles
should also be fairly new and sometimes it helps to carefully carry the
tails of the thread as you stitch so they don't catch on the foot. There
is a yahoo newsgroup specifically for elna sergers with lots of good hints
as well.

HTH,

Loreen


  #5  
Old January 29th 04, 01:37 AM
Kate Dicey
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Default

Vilna wrote:

Hi everyone!

I bought an overlocker Elna 744 recently. It does all the stitches
beautifully but not the cover hem. If I'm lucky the left needle skips
stiches but normally the thread breaks. It's only the top left needle
that seems to have problems. I've tried everything the manual suggests
and I can think of - checked if the needle is inserted correctly,
checked and tried different thread tensions and stitch lenghts and of
course checked threading as well.

Has anyone experienced similar problems or give me suggestions what I
should do?

I'd be happy and grateful for your suggestions!

Vilna


First off, ALWAYS re-thread from the start when you change the stitch!
Loopers as well as needles! Pulling though works up to a point, but you
really ought to do it from scratch when you do a stitch change as so
many things change.

If you are already doing this, have you changed the needle? If it is
damaged, it may cause these problems. I never just swap a needle from
one place to another - give each one a new needle. And check that the
needle is all the way in and the right way round!

Then change the thread and try again - you may have a faulty thread. I
had thread breaking on me this afternoon: went through the whole
process, but it only went away when I changed the thread!
--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!
  #6  
Old January 29th 04, 06:38 AM
CW
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This sounds like a needle problem. All manufaturers needls are not the same
length. I bet a needle about .010 shorter would fix the problem.
"Vilna" wrote in message
om...
Hi everyone!

I bought an overlocker Elna 744 recently. It does all the stitches
beautifully but not the cover hem. If I'm lucky the left needle skips
stiches but normally the thread breaks. It's only the top left needle
that seems to have problems. I've tried everything the manual suggests
and I can think of - checked if the needle is inserted correctly,
checked and tried different thread tensions and stitch lenghts and of
course checked threading as well.

Has anyone experienced similar problems or give me suggestions what I
should do?

I'd be happy and grateful for your suggestions!

Vilna



  #7  
Old January 29th 04, 11:34 PM
Vilna
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Posts: n/a
Default

Hi!

Thanks a lot for your suggestions! I think it was the thread. It
probably didn't like the cotton thread I had. However, with the
polyester thread I use now the top left needle still occasionally
skips stiches and has broken a couple of times. Perhaps the polyester
thread I have is not of a decent quality (the brand is called Astra)?
Do you know where it's possible to buy good quality threads for
overlockers in the UK/London? What are the good brands to buy for
sewing cotton/lycra blend?

Thanks again!
Vilna


"Loreen Robbins" wrote in message news:iiWRb.742$Yj.68@lakeread02...
"Vilna" wrote in message
om...
Hi everyone!

I bought an overlocker Elna 744 recently. It does all the stitches
beautifully but not the cover hem. If I'm lucky the left needle skips
stiches but normally the thread breaks. It's only the top left needle
that seems to have problems. I've tried everything the manual suggests
and I can think of - checked if the needle is inserted correctly,
checked and tried different thread tensions and stitch lenghts and of
course checked threading as well.

Has anyone experienced similar problems or give me suggestions what I
should do?

I'd be happy and grateful for your suggestions!

Vilna


The cover hem is notoriously unreliable on this machine. It will only work
if you use the EL X 705 needles, not regular sewing needles. The needles
should also be fairly new and sometimes it helps to carefully carry the
tails of the thread as you stitch so they don't catch on the foot. There
is a yahoo newsgroup specifically for elna sergers with lots of good hints
as well.

HTH,

Loreen

  #8  
Old January 30th 04, 06:47 PM
Sally Holmes
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Vilna wrote:
Do you know where it's possible to buy good quality threads for
overlockers in the UK/London? What are the good brands to buy for
sewing cotton/lycra blend?


Empress Mills, http://www.empressmills.co.uk/, sell good thread in lots of
colours and good prices and they ship fast.

As a bonus, they sell the same colours in different threads. So you can get
wooly nylon for soft seams, floss for shiny edges and regular overlocker
thread for regular seams, all in the same colour.

I use polyester T120s for just about everything. At 65p for 250m or £1.10
for 1000m it's very affordable.

If you're tempted by cheap thread, hold a strand up to the light. The fewer
"fuzzies" it has, the better the quality. Cheap poor thread is a false
economy.

--
Sally Holmes
Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England


 




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