4 Reasons You're Getting Skipped Stitches (and how to fix it)

[@mostdefinitelyhenry]

I’ve been altering my clothes/doing small projects since around 2010. I even took a sewing class in high school, and no one ever taught me how to troubleshoot skipped stitches. I thought it was just my sewing machine’s quirk that I had to live with. I swapped the needle to a denim needle, rethreaded my machine and it worked perfectly over thick jean fabric!!! Thank you so much!!!

[@tomobedlam297]

Great advice thanks! Yes, I'm big on using new needles now! My last skipped stitch issue, however, was caused by years of gunk built up in the hook race on my vintage Elna Supermatic. The bobbin case needs room to jiggle a little to work properly and the gunk was preventing this. After giving it a thorough clean it now works like new again, making perfect fashion cam stitches even at full speed!

[@lindapasquali2670]

I had a heck of a time with some four way stretch material I was gifted. I had to go from a ball point needle to a 70/11 stretch need,e, I had to change from a regular zigzag stitch to the lightening bolt stretch stitch, and I had to adjust my length, width and tension and finally got it to stop skipping stitches on this particular material. It was a process, but I am keeping a notebook with my troubleshooting results, and this video helped me tremendously! Thank You!

[@AdoptYourClothes]

Good job troubleshooting! Some fabrics can be a real pain to figure out how to sew without issues!

[@clarissaotto4508]

Thanks for your video! I have been struggling with skipped stitches when sewing knits and athletic materials. FYI for others… if the 4 tips Carmen provided don’t solve the problem, it is likely because the 2 pieces of fabric you are sewing together do not evenly feed through the machine. Ie. they don’t slide through together because they are slippery. A good walking foot will definitely help in this case. Also, I have found that sewing over another seam can cause skipped stitches. This is because the sewing foot has to tilt up and then down to get over the hump. Lift your presser foot, place an object under the back of the needle to lift it up and make it level, then lower the presser foot and proceed slowly. This should solve the issue. There are gizmos out there for this purpose but I just sewed together a small square pad made of a few layers of denim which works well. I hope this advise helps others.

[@AdoptYourClothes]

Absolutely! These are great tips!

[@ladanwright]

Absolutely amazing. I’ve changed the needle and it cured the problem! I was really worried how I could solve this. Thanks to you I can resume my project. Many thanks for your wisdom. 👍🏽❤️🙏🏼

[@lorraineneville2907]

Thank you So much! I was So frustrated but I changed needle and thread , rethreaded it all and it’s perfect again! Blessings on you for sharing your knowledge. 💕

[@cathleenvance4441]

Thank you so much for these tips. I was having an issue with skipped stitches on a stretch fabric and I had forgotten to put in a ball point needle...It worked. Stitches are straight and even. Well done you.

[@oluosewa3940]

I just watch your video a year after u post it. I just love everything about u, your looks d way u speak. I guess u are a genuine lady inside outside. Thank u for your time & God bless u for d post

[@melissahiltz7491]

Thank you for your wonderful advice! I’m making a jelly roll rug and am having the worst time with skipped stitches! I switched up my universal needle to a denim needle thinking that would help but it doesn’t. I’m not really sure where to go from here, but I’ll try all of the steps you suggested in hopes that it fixes the issue, but I am gonna go back to the universal needle.

[@marciapierce8025]

Perfect advise! I tend to recycle needles and thought my needle was perfectly fine but apparently it wasn’t. Put in a new needle and voila! it worked perfectly! Thank you!

[@casabutterfly]

Thank you Carmen! I was cheap thread all along. I spent hours troubleshooting before I found your video.

[@LJG7654]

Thank you! I never even thought that it was the needle being the wrong type and it solved my problem immediately.

[@aaqelahhaq5032]

Thank you soo much. I serviced my machine and still battled the entire morning in trying to trouble shoot why stitches where skipping. When I changed my needle; my problem was solved

[@charmellew]

I also have gotten skipped stitches from improper presser foot tension, sewing damp fabric...(steam), and gunk under the needle plate or in Bobbin case.

[@AdoptYourClothes]

Great tips!

[@anitaferguson814]

Changing the needle did the trick Thank you

[@kimcrummey9139]

Thank you Carmen. I searched KZbin for a while. I’m looking for the cause of my skipped stitches. I have a new type of a shirt for work and it’s really stretchy. It’s a polyester and spandex blend. I tried rethreading my machine , I tried, adjusting the tension, the width of the stitch the length of the stitch. Finally, I changed the needle for a sharper one. Still nothing worked. Thinking it might be a problem with the material. I tried to make some stitches with my cotton material and my machine works phone. There’s nothing wrong with my machine. It’s obviously the needle and the material. Tomorrow I go to buy a stretch needle and I hope and pray I can fix my shirt and not have to take it to a tailor.

[@juliepiper7058]

Hi Carmen, you are very sweet to offer extra help for those who are lost! I switched out my needle and I am switching out the thread, And whatever it is is fixed, thank you so much! My question is I don’t even know what needle goes to work because they are not labeled so once the package is gone how do we know what the gold tip is in the red tip and the silver tip and so on?

[@AdoptYourClothes]

Schmetz needles (the most common brand) have a color code on the top part of the needle corresponding to the type of needle. Here's the link to their guide to which colors go with each needle type: www.schmetzneedles.com/pages/sewing-machine-needle-color-code-chart

[@clarissaotto4508]

FYI… I have found that some of the Schmetz needles, perhaps older ones, are not colour coded. In that case, you need to get a magnifying glass and look at the arm of the needle. The needle size (eg 70/10) is etched there.

[@manertk1636]

Hi, thank you for the vid, which is really informative and nicely explained. I shall come back to you if your suggestions didnt help me to solve the skipping stitches problem. Many thanks n best wishes.

[@mariewoehr1669]

Thank you, I will tries these to see if any of these helps.

[@NaomiTrego]

Thanks! I switched needles and it fixed it instantly!!!🎉

[@peterbell1429]

Thanks for explaining that's fantastic

[@Berta-nf8eo]

Grazie a te ho risolto il problema😊

[@dadygee]

I just realized, this is why threading that last point before the needle so you keep the thread as vertical as possible, so when thread comes through fabric it doesnt point or pull anything but straight down and conforms into the needle groove. So when needle is on the way up a the hook can catch the thread and close the loop.

[@AdoptYourClothes]

That is a great point!

[@diysimpleartsncrafts5617]

Thank you very much for this video. It was very helpful.

[@amandatutina2842]

I've been having a problem with a new sewing machine i bought and I'm hoping that maybe someone might help me understand what might be the problem. I basically haven't used it and the first time I tried some stitch settings it seemed to sew fine but the next time I sewed it skipped stitches. At first I thought it might be because of the fabrics thickness but it skipped stitches even on a thin lining material. I tried rethreading the machine, the bobbin, changed different needles, tried different tensions and threads but nothing seems to help. The machine even broke a needle while I was trying to see what it would do on the overlock setting. And it did make kind of a grinding sound before it broke the needle. Is there something I can do to fix this or should I take it to service?

[@nohealaniaileenthomas1178]

Your tutorial has really helped me so so much!!! Best video ever!

[@TheWizzylizzie]

Wonderfully helpful, thank you very much 🙂

[@Danny-jl2sd]

Thank you! I was using the wrong type of needle

[@astheruy8090]

Do you have a video on how to fix stitches when using a machine with built in stitches? Ill have to check on the availability of those needle types here. Thanks

[@MorningJavaCup]

Thank you!🙂

[@csall1599]

Thank you. I was getting so frustrated!

[@tashadennis2922]

Great advise

[@germshark5745]

You remind me of Pam from the office- in a good way! i mean this as a compliment :)

[@Ocyla]

Thanks, I'm going to try all these things!

[@favourkitiibwa4179]

Thanks for u have helped me.

[@edwko]

It was the needle. Thank you so much!

[@onionsforhire]

Thank you sooooo much!!

[@Dragon-Slayer624]

What a pretty sewist 🌺

[@rachellynncreates2703]

I love your shirt. Which pattern?

[@AdoptYourClothes]

Thank you! 💕 It's the Kalle Shirt pattern from Closet Core Patterns and the fabric is linen I found at JoAnns!

[@barbiecampbell3244]

can you show us how to do bias binding with the material we use es especially stretch material

[@carlacarter9329]

Very helpful TY

[@sandraglover2681]

Great tutorial! Thank you so much! 😁

[@MayaMaia311]

Omg it was the thread! Thank you soooo much!

[@NJS7770]

Thank you! This helped!

[@carogost3546]

This video really helped me, thanks 🙏

[@Heyits_sony]

Thank you, this video was so helpful!

[@nimbuscus]

When you have the right needle, thread, and threading of the machine and it still doesn’t work 😭 and I even checked the timing of the machine and it still doesn’t work. It works on other fabrics but not my knit fabric and no matter the setting I try it doesn’t work. RIP

[@AdoptYourClothes]

Dang, that sounds frustrating! Have you tried a walking foot? It helps so much with knit fabrics!

[@weenibean00]

Same here! I have a Singer One model and it just wants to skip on my knits, so frustrating

[@weenibean00]

@@AdoptYourClothes i will have to try this tip. I'm having the same problems with mine as above.

[@thepowerofsteele]

Walking foot is the one!!

[@satsumamoon]

Or a knit foot. Its easier to use than the walking foot.

[@joseisawsome9416]

I think it my needle, thanks.

[@michaelnavock3628]

I am not getting any stitches from my seeing machine

[@AdoptYourClothes]

Oh no! That's probably something that you'll need to get the machine serviced to fix unfortunately.

[@brahmoone]

@@AdoptYourClothes he might've just forgotten to put the needle or thread..

[@renderuthis]

Humm? Id rather blame the machine. Edit I was correct, these new machines are too fussy. It a Brother 3700 and it drops stitches with the preinstalled needle. So I got the same type needle I use in my old LaSalle that does not care what material Im using, and gave it a try and now it is dropping 90% of the stitches!! Also It does not like to start in reverse, it get a small clump every time. I resolve to tie the threads instead of locking them as I do not want to go forward back forward. Till I learn better. On the old Lasalle I just start in reverse. I really do not like the Brother. It has 37 stitches but not The common edge stitch I like/ my go to stitch. Edit 2 It was the tension. I had it on 7 and it works 99% better on 1!!?? The factory need worked better then bigger and smaller ones. Edit 3 No now I need the tension, this machine just sucks. I just got my rubbished Singer today and its 10 times better. Its not fussy and does not skip. i got the brother for my child because it is pretty but it just feels sloppy and fragile compared to my other machines.

[@chaotic_crafter]

Thanks for this... Just got my machine out after around a year, and it was driving me nuts. Wrong needle! 🤦‍♀️🤣

[@AdoptYourClothes]

I'm so glad it was a simple fix!

[@mpamugocalister2943]

My needle is skipping seriously

[@tusamsrinivas6578]

Nothing nothing useful

[@bullylover18]

Any suggestions? I am trying to do zigzag, and it looks like a ladder stich on the front, and zigzag on the back. I have re-threaded the machine and bobbin, changed tension, and I am not sure how to fix it.

[@ntuthukokunene928]

Thank you🌻