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Skipped stitches on a jersey hem even after switching to a ballpoint needle Machine Trouble
Sewing a plain t-shirt in a mid weight cotton jersey. Every third or fourth stitch on the hem is missing, always on the same side of the twin needle. I have already fitted a new 75/11 ballpoint, rethreaded with the presser foot up, and dropped the tension to 3. Machine is a basic mechanical model from about 2008. What is left to try?
@muslin_mira · 4mo ago · 3 replies
Change the needle again, this time to a stretch needle rather than a ballpoint. They are not the same thing - a stretch needle has a deeper scarf and a slightly different eye position, and it exists specifically for the problem you are describing.
What is happening is that the jersey flags downwards as the needle enters, so the loop never forms for the hook to catch. Two things stop it: a strip of fusible knit stay tape in the hem allowance, or gentle tension held front and back rather than pushing the fabric. If it still skips after a stretch needle plus stay tape, the timing is out and that is a shop visit.
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@muslin_mira · 4mo ago
Most packets do not help. Ballpoint for sweater knits, stretch for anything with elastane or anything that flags.
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@patch_pocket_pia · 4mo ago
I did not know stretch and ballpoint were different. I have used them as synonyms for years.
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