My machine had a little accident…

I broke my sewing machine.  I had a feeling that it happen one day.  It has survived 2.5 years of abuse but I finally broke it.  It’s not an extreme tragedy because I did get it to work again. It was yet another reminder that I need to buy a machine with more metal parts and a front loading bobbin.

How did I break it? I have a top drop-in bobbin. I was sewing denim with some very chunky topstitching thread.  It kept getting stuck in the bobbin area as it looped around the bobbin thread.  Eventually there was a big thread jam that dislodged the bobbin case (plastic) and caused it to get pretty chewed up.  The metal ring that goes around the bobbin case was scratched the the process.

I used some fine sandpaper to smooth out the rough edges and had to fiddle around with the machine to get the bobbin case anchored in the right spot.  Things appear to be working ok.  The tension on the machine is a little out of wack though.  I may have to buy a new bobbin case.
I’ve been stalking Craigslist and EBAY ever since the accident. It’s time to buy an older sewing machine that I am less likely to destroy.  If you have any recommendations for a reliable machine that can handle sewing heavy fabrics (denim), let me know.

-j