Thank you! One of the best help vids I’ve seen. No waffling, no selling stuff, just decent info from someone who has been there. And it did help that you had a Viking machine 😉 I love mine, but it does give me grief if I get impatient. The best advice you gave… slow down! Works across ALL my embroidery machines. Came looking for info on a specific issue (bobbin tension)…stayed, learned, and subscribed. Thanks again!
Thank you for this. I happened to watch this earlier today and this afternoon my machine started acting up. After rethreading everything didn’t fix the problem, I put oil on a q-tip and cleaned in and around the bobbin case. Problem solved! I was back in business. 😄
Love your video! I've been teaching embroidery for many years and agree with almost 100% of what you say and I say the same things! However, no Sharpie marker, please only recommend markers designed for fabric including Micron pens. Sharpie will run when it gets washed and ruin the item! Ask me how I learned that one!!! Also, in lieu of Terial which is wonderful, Heavy Spray Starch is my go-to more economical recommendation. Thanks for sharing your experience with the world on RU-vid!
Thank you for adding that info about Sharpies! Since I'm usually making dolls and puppets that don't go through the wash, I didn't think about that. I've hearted your comment so hopefully it will rise to the top and be seen by others.
I watched many videos on how to troubleshoot machine embroidery issues… and your video is by far the best and most detailed and inclusive that I have seen. Thank you! 💕
This really is the most helpful video I've found on You Tube. I have watched many, many videos!!! I have gone to the dealer w issues. There is a lot to know before you start embroidering. Your info helps to eliminate all basic issues. I'm pretty sure I can now enjoy my emb machine . I will def watch all your videos and look at your website. Thank you so much your time and advice. You get a 10! 🌟
I am a newbie and what a blessing for me to find your video. By far the best one I have seen. My biggest fear is what to do when something goes wrong. You are a wealth of knowledge and you have given me the push I need to overcome the fear or at least have hope that I can manage any trouble that might happen. Thank you so much. I will watch every single video you have published on embroidering. So excited.
When something goes wrong , take a deep breath. Keep in mind that others have been through mistakes and machines “acting up” etc. thread breaks, shifting , wrong stabilizer. Don’t give up. It’s so cool when things work well and the design stitches out beautifully. Just stitch on old or cheap items to start out. You embroider over a stain that would not come off a shirt you liked that you though was not wearable anymore:). I have saved a favorite linen table cloth that i ruined attempting to remove a set in stain. I had rubbed a hole in it. I was upset. To fix it. I used a small piece of iron on interfacing; then I embroidered a similar matching color flower over the area that had been damaged. I turned out great. No one knew it was a “repair” job:) good luck!
This was SO helpful! I've been sewing for many years, but I'm new to machine embroidery. I'm trying to complete a project for someone, and it's been a steep learning curve. This video has really helped me understand some of the processes involved and how to diagnose the issues I'm having. Another point I would like to make is that your videos are very high quality from a technical view and an instructional view. I'm a speech teacher, and your delivery is outstanding. And you are a good teacher! You make it easy to understand the topic. Thank you so much for your help!!!
Thank you so much. I love hearing from other teachers! I hope you are making progress at taming your machine. Making mistakes is all a part of the journey. Since you've been sewing a long time, just remember not to use your good fabrics while you're on that road. LOL (ʘ ͜ʖ ʘ)
So now I learn, after 35+ years what caused some problems I had that I couldn't figure out or understand - and I haven't sewn anything in about 15 years. Thread my machine with the presser foot up, and no heavy duty thread on the bobbin! Thank you!
That presser foot secret messed me up for years too! I don't know why it's not written right there on the machines but it's the same on every sewing machine, serger, or embroidery machine. Crazy, right? Thanks for watching!
You are incredible. Thank you so much for sharing all of your experiences. I learned more from you than I did in the classes I took that cost me money.
I have to say of all the videos and series that I have watched yours, gave me more information than all the rest put together and for that I thank you. I am looking forward to learning from you in the future.
Fantastic video!!!! I can’t state enough how great this video is! Going through every issue showing samples and the resolution! Your balanced voice tone and speech is very delightful. Thank you ❤
Great information. I have had the bobbin backlash problem and wondered what was going on. Even thought I was hearing things! Thank you so much I learned a lot.
This is an excellent video!!! I have purchased several designs from your store. I have the kitty design!! Yay. Thanks again. I need to check out your video on stabilizers. I did run into some pucker issues, and the correct stabilizer addressed the issue.
Thanks! Stabilizer can make ALL the difference. Glad you figured that out! You should still watch that stabilizer video, since you might learn about different ones that open new creative opportunities 😄 There are always new ones, like a water soluble batting I bought just last month.
I feel ready to get started on my embroidery machine now I know what to look out for, thanks (I missed the video on tension,… I don’t think it is in this playlist???)
I see you found that tension video. I don't include it in the beginner playlist because it goes deeper into tension and is really more of an intermediate/advanced level thing.
@@BallyhooCreations thank you for the great video’s. 👍🏻 I’ll have to watch the tension video again, it’s been a battle today 🫣 So much to learn, the more I play with it the worse it gets. Have you done a video on maintenance?
@@2missteri I haven't done a maintenance video but was thinking of adding one this summer. When my machine acts up (and it does) that means it's time to give up for the day and switch to TV, or video games or wine. Whatever works that is NOT machine embroidery. Things always seem to work better the next day. 😉
I really appreciate your time and effort that you obviously put into this very informative video. Thank you so much. I just want to clarify one point. I was told by the repair man at my sewing centre, that when you floss your tension disc’s, to only go in the direction the thread feeds through, never back and forth!
Good pioint, and my dentist says the same thing about flossing my teeth! If you go back and forth it will just rub the gooky stuff around rather than pulling it out.
Excellent video! I am just over a year new to embroidery, and still feel like I just opened the machine some days :-) i am bookmarking this video is just like that! thank you😮😅
I've been embroidery for over a decade, and still have days where I the machine seems like a wild animal that's gonna bite me. We all have days like that. ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)
Thank you for this video, it helps a lot. I'm currently at my wits end. I've used self adhesive stabilizer, a basting stitch and upped the pull compensation and I still cannot get my design to stitch out right. The outline is way off. :(
Keep trying different things until the outline is perfectly placed. Sometimes a poorly digitized design is the culprit and there's nothing you can do about that. Just try to buy designs that show a photo of an actual stitch-out so you can tell that at least it stitched nicely for somebody. ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)
Thank you so much for your videos! Some of the things you showed make a lot of sense. I did watch some other videos, but you go more into detail. I'm still learning on my 4x4 Brother embroidery machine.
I have Janome memory craft 550E about two years old. It has been in dealership (here in Italy) for about two and a half months. Charged me EUR 200 and nothing has been fixed what they mentioned in invoice. I have found local store for sewing machines, embroidery machines and circuit and the lady has helped me great deal with her technician but there is only so much they can do... I am frustrated to no end. But this video has made it so much better! I will try to use this tips and tricks and hope it will help. Thank you!
I'm sorry to hear you're frustrated with your Janome 550E. (ʘ ͜ʖ ʘ) That machine has a LOT of features and large hoops so there are MORE mistakes that can be made. Hopefully the tips in this video will help you. I also have a free series of videos for beginners that is useful even if you've been embroidering for years. You might want to watch those if you haven't seen them already. Most of us have to learn our machines the hard way -after making Many, MANY mistakes.
@@BallyhooCreations I have watched your videos and they are just great! I could tackle few problems with the tension and breakage of the thread. Except one thing. I can not do anything about reducing the speed because it is all greyed out. I will have to ask local store technician if he can do something about that. So simply Big Than you for all your tips and tricks, it made the world of difference! 🙂
Just found your site. This is the best info I have ever found. And you are right about not using our machines. After spending thousands of dollars on my machine I was loathe to use it. Not much info on internet and the several books I got with it were overwhelming. Dealer was not all that helpful. Will be watching your other videos. Thanks for your help. You have a new subscriber. Forgot to ask…Do you recommend prewashing and drying 100% cotton t shirts before embroidering on them?
Welcome to the channel Merrilyn! I'm happy to help nudge you towards USING that expensive machine. Your plight is more common than people realize! And I prefer to prewash anything that shrinks before embroidering on it. I realize lots of production level companies don't do that - but when your cotton shirt shrinks but the poly thread and stabilizer doesn't - it looks ugly.
I am thinking of adding this to my office to broaden my products. I have to admit…I’m scared to death now after watching this! lol, HOWEVER I assure you I will go for it eventually, and this video will be my savior manual for sure! This is amazing and I mean, you are prob saving many many machines from neglect!
LOL, I'm sorry if you saw this troubleshooting video first! It's at the end of my beginner series where we did all the RIGHT things, before looking at what can go wrong at the end. You can totally do this! (●'◡'●)
This video was so helpful! All of my tensions except one is sorted out! I do have one question if you have time. If all of my threads are the exact same brand and weight the only difference being color. Why is one of my colors impossible to find the correct tension? Both the looses top tension and the tightest look the exact same. Does that mean my machine or the thread spool may be to blame?
If all the other threads are working, then it's not your machine. It could be that one spool of thread is actually different than the others. Not sure what color it is, but I've always heard (and cannot verify) that black or other very dark colors have so much dye in them that they behave differently.
Thank you for a great video a wealth of information. Years ago i had so many problems with bobbin thread showing that i started using the top thread in the bobbin. That became costly. Someone told me they tried using similar colored serger thread in the bobbin. So I decided to try it and actually worked pretty good. But then I thought to myself … why is there show through when i checked every possible cause. Back the. You weren’t supposed to mess with the bobbin case. Well i cleaned out anyway and tightened the bobbin case screw. Sill had show through using the correct bobbin thread . So I decided to change the bobbin case. Bingo! A brand new bobbin case solved the problem. So apparently the bobbin case was defective from the beginning. It was so upsetting I nearly gave up on embroidery machines. I still have that old embroidery machine but i just recently got the Brother PE800:)
@@BallyhooCreations No service call needed. I ordered a new bobbin case and put it in. The newer machines show you how to take it out regularly and clean it. The PE800 has an easily removed cover plate. I had to tighten ithe screw on the bobbin case for the new machine.
I’m so happy I found you. You answered so many of my questions. I also have a problem with the complex design I embroider on cotton t-shirts. They are heavy and the fabric is puckering, also, being so hard, it’s uncomfortable for the skin. I use cut away stabilizer, should I use two layers? I would appreciate any advice. Thank you!
Look for a backing that you iron-on to the back of the garment after stitching so it's not rough against the skin. I talk about them in my stabilizer video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lIBWUV3ENJU.html Sometimes the fabric of t-shirts is not "heavy" enough to handle dense designs. You're trying to load too much thread onto thin fabric. You can bulk up with a stabilizer but that will change the drape of the fabric and can look weird. I also talk about this in the stabilizer video linked above and how to judge fabric/stabilizer and design density.
Great video! I've heard some people use a basting stitch to help prevent puckering also. Do you recommend this? Also, I heard some use anti-glue needles to help prevent the gunk build-up on the needles too. Has anyone else heard of this?
I have not used the Smetz non-stick or the Organ anti-glue needles since I don't like adhesive sprays anyway. But you can try them and see if they live up to their promise. They're just coated like a teflon pan. Using the basting stitch is a useful way to tack down the fabric when you're floating it and not hooping the fabric. It can lessen the puckering in some situations but the design on my main photo would still pucker even with a basting outline stitch because the fabric will still slip around on the stabilizer during stitchout. Hope that helps!
Thank u for the info on the missed outline. I have a cute monkey design the outline didn't match up on. I was going to leave that part of the design off being it was the very last part of it. Now I know what I did wrong!
This video is awesome!!! I thought it was a very helpful video. I'm new to machine embroidery and have come across a few problems. I've done a lot of research but other videos I've watched or things I have read haven't been as clearly defined or informative as your video. I have subscribed to your channel and will be checking out your other videos! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much Lucy for this great series of videos - wish I'd spotted it before I started machine embroidering, especially the one on stablizers! Having fun now and have just completed a piece that I've put together from two bought designs from different sources.
Glad you enjoyed the videos Sue. You're definitely a confident stitcher if you're combining designs on your own! Let me know if there's any particular topics you'd like to see.
@@BallyhooCreations Perhaps foolhardy might be a better description than confident! I have been sewing since I was 7, some 65 years ago, and have always been a crafts person. I recently decided to upgrade my 10 year old sewing machine and bought a combination machine (Janome Atelier/Skyline 9) and thus be able to embroider which I now find difficult to do by hand. What I need to know is how to line up border designs so if you have a video on that I'd love to know. Thanks again, Sue
@@suepowditch108 Lining up designs for a border can be tricky and is not my strong suit either! But I might attempt it while I'm making some clothes this summer/fall. What type of border are you doing? Skirt? Tablecloth? Quilt?
@@BallyhooCreations I'm thinking things like table runners or table mats with fairly small border designs that would go round all four sides. I tend to make any quilts as quilt as you go because I can't physically handle big quilts any more but I might want to do embroidered borders for them. As you said, so well, in your videos, we just have to practise and be prepared to throw away what doesn't work - hard to do when you learned in the days of scrimping and scaping and not wasting anything!
@donnascott8885 those are self adhesive cable clips guiding the thread on my machine. The same kind that holds strings of Christma lights. I think I got mine from dollar tree but I don't see them online right now - maybe the stores still have them? Any type of cord or cable management clip should work to guide your thread away from the machine's hand wheel.
For a hanky - first watch the video on positioning so you can get the design placed in the corner ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-JnI-tW_dYa0.html and I would also suggest a sticky tear-away stabilizer so you can "float" the hanky on the stabilizer rather than hoop it. that's the best way to get perfect access to the corner. Use a design template to determine where the design will stitch in the hoop, then draw on your stabilizer where you want the corner of the hanky to be. Hope that helps!!!
Thanks for your very helpful video. I would like to find out more about embroidery machine settings for complete free motion embroidery in fine silky materials. If you have any suggestions, I would be very appreciative. Thanks again, will share your video with my embroidery friends.
The only setting changes that might help is to slow the machine to its lowest speed and maybe loosen the tension a bit. It's more important to use the proper stabilizer, such as a fusible cut-away, and use a fine, sharp needle such as microtex needle. A dull needle is very obvious with fine fabrics. All my other tips on puckering apply here too 😄
Such a good video. I tried different things and my bro embroidery machine sews about 5 stitches and stops. I have cleaned, adjusted,rewound the bobbin changed needle several times. It still stops. My other embroidery machine a singer has the same issue. I would appreciate Any ideas what it might be? Local shops have doubled their price since covid.
Machines without trimmers will make a few stitches then stop and beep so you can trim the thread tails. Do the machines stitch normally after you press the start button again? If they do, then it's normal and will do it on every thread color.
@@BallyhooCreations my brother has that feature and would always stop and trim but it is stopping when there is not a color change yet. I have even used a file as there was a nick on the plate on this one. My singer stops after each color but does not trim and I have to trim it. Both machines doing the same thing. The stopping way too soon.
@@BallyhooCreations thank you for your help! I having had the bro for years and the singer. Used them many many times. Don’t know what’s causing this issue.
Thank you so much for these videos! You are a great teacher!!!! I stitched out a design yesterday on a prewashed/shrunk tshirt. I used 1 layer of water soluable topper on top and 2 layers of sulky cutaway mesh on back and the stitching was beautiful and not puckered when it finished. I pressed (with steam) the design when done using my embroidery press cloth from oesd and now my design is wrinkled like mad. Should I have pre-shrunk the sulky stabilizer? It seems like it shrunk.
I've had the no-show mesh shrink on me too after ironing. Prewashing it seems like too much hassle and I suspect the steam is the culprit but I haven't tested it to be sure. Sounds like a good future video though 😉
@@BallyhooCreations Thanks for your reply. I did a test yesterday using the same sulky no show mesh, but this time I steamed the heck out of it and ironed it first. After stitching a test design, and ironing it, it's perfectly flat. I even washed and dryed the tshirt after stitching and it was still beautiful. Note to self, steam and iron the no show mesh to death prior to using!!!!!! lol. And yes, would make a great future video!
I would like to test the shrinkage rate on stabilizer. Do you know what brand of mesh you used? (The shrinkage may be brand specific although I doubt it.). And do you mind if i mention you in a video as my inspiration?? 😃
@@BallyhooCreations ok, back to the drawing board. I should have tested it using the same design! Still puckered, although not as bad. I'm thinking the design is maybe not the best one for a knit. I'm so frustrated because I love the design and it's not even a dense one, has only a few areas of dense stitches. Gah! You most certainly can use my name in your video! If you give me an email address for you, I can send you some pictures of the tees. I really want to figure this out! I must have that design on a tshirt!!!! Lol.
You might need more stabilizer if you're getting puckering that causes your lines to wobble. Small text is dense, so your project needs to be sturdy enough to handle that. Of course, 60wt thread and properly digitized small fonts are also suggested 😁
Good info but when it comes to outlines i will tend to disagree not to the point of miss registration being the digitizers fault but for the fact of people using the wrong embroidery on the wrong material. Most digitization you find online is done for non stretch wovens, thicker materials DO need pull compensations its to compensate for the thickness of the material hence the name, so if your using a design that was digitized for a flat non stretch woven on a hoodie, then your going to have mis registration, ''adding more stabilizer'' isnt a fix because your going to end up with more dense designs because of all the stabilizer when embroidery should flow freely with fabric materials, having it properly digitized for that material is the answer and yes pull compensation does come into play. So on that particular note i will kindly disagree with you.
I agree with everything you said, since 90% of my digitizing is intended for stretch fabrics. As stated in the beginning of the video - this is part of the beginner's video series. And from my experience, the VAST majority of registration errors by beginners are caused by not hooping correctly or the hoop bumping something because they haven't yet learned about hoop clearance. ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°) The discussion of pull compensation or mastering stretch fabrics is more of an intermediate to advanced topic - outside the scope of this series for beginners. But thanks for pointing that out!
I purchased a used brother PR650 about a year ago and I absolutely hate it. I have ruined so many shirts because the machine jams or I constantly get upper thread errors. I’ve watched so many RU-vid videos to help me repair the issues, but I keep getting error messages. I am so close to just selling it because I am so over it. I cannot get through 1 design without multiple issues.😫
I'm sorry the PR650 is giving you grief. I had a Viking that was the same way. It could be a lemon or maybe the machine needs service? But usually those problems can happen if the machine is not threaded properly, or a separate thread stand will help. The birdnesting chapter of the video shows what to look for in case your problems are due to thread loops or getting stuck. (It happens to ALL of us)
Problems with the needle threader typically require a repair. You can search for your model and "needle threader" to see if there are common fixes for your machine. Sometimes you can re-align or clean something out yourself. Otherwise you'll need to take it to the shop and have it looked at.
I'm not sure what part of the video you're referring to about foam? Could you add more detail to your question? What type of project are you adding foam to?
@@Shuggarae got it! You can use a styrofoam packing peanut or any small bit of styrofoam. Just place it in front of the first thread guide so the thread comes off the spool, then into the foam, then into the first thread guide. You may need to tape the foam in place. You can either cut a slit in the foam to pass the thread through (that's what I do) of some people thread a separate needle and pass it through the foam so it can't come out. This ensures the thread will be kink-free and is very useful for tricky threads like metallic or wool/acrylic.
I don't know if the PE800 has the option, but if it does, look in the setting menu for "max embroidery speed" and there will be a + and - button for adjusting the speed.
Never be afraid to make mistakes! It is the best way to learn. Your machine is robust enough to handle some mishaps. Practice on scrap fabrics and you'll be stitching with confidence very quickly. When you run into a problem, come back to this video and try to fix it before running off to the repair shop.
Thanks for pointing that out! 😁 I've had terial magic discolor cloth sometimes, I think it's when the fabric is not prewashed so maybe it's interacting with the chemicals in new fabric? But the discoloration always washes out in the laundry for me. It's probably good advice not to use it on things that you can't launder.
