The Upholstery Forum

Hi everyone! I am so very much hoping that you can help me with this as I’m finding it super stressful! It’s an issue that I had with my older singer that I couldn’t fix, so ultimately bought a brand-new machine and now it’s doing the same thing just a couple months later!

When stitching in a straight line it will every so many stitches pull through the top thread through to the bottom as a loop. I make and sell dog collars and it will do it anywhere from 1 -2 to 10 times when sewing my fabric onto my webbing. If I cut the loop the top stitches will come out in that area. In both my new and old machine everything was working fine and then just all of a sudden this started happening and won’t stop. It won’t do it if I stitch very slowly, but if I pick up any type of normal pace it will. And it’s also like it’s not pulling the webbing through as smoothly as normal, almost like I have to give it a little push?

I’ve replaced the needle, bobbin, tried other threads, taken the machine apart and cleaned it, changed the tension.. etc and nothing has helped. I am hoping one of you know what the issue is! It looks terrible when it happens and it adds so much extra work and stress for me when trying to fill my orders. I have a Singer Quantum Stylist Touch.

Thank you so much!!!!

What size thread and needle are you using? Did it jam at any point? Have you played with bobbin tension? Checked hook timing? It seems like a lot to ask of that type of machine, how many layers and how are they stacked? Sorry for all the questions, just want to get the whole picture.

At the risk of sounding like a skipping record.... learn how to check your hook timing. A good cleaning and oiling always helps and if you have been sewing through glue or tape a lot check for sticky residue on the needle/ hook assembly.

It doesn’t take much to get the timing off if your pounding through heavy materials or have the needle strike, check the needle and hook for burs while your there.

Lastly, 90% of the time I go back to the last thing I changed and find out I created my own problem

Defiantly check everything Adam and Revv Up recommended. I will add make sure your needle installed the correct direction according to your manual.

Top thread looping on the bottom means the take up arm can't pull up the slack that is there once the hook loops the top thread over the bobbin case. There can be a bunch of reasons this happens, top thread tension too low, workpiece too thick or hard, bad needle, any burrs or problems where the loop passes around the bobbin case, bad thread, and the list goes on. I think that's why it can be so frustrating, it can be just one little thing that's not right and it won't work.

Pictures would help trouble shoot. And specifics on thread size and needle size. I have top thread looping problems sometime when I sew extra thick or dense areas like when putting belt loops on jeans. Increasing tension can help as well as going up a needle size. But I agree previous posts that suggest checking the basics first.