r/sewinghelp

I have recently gotten a janome/new home 691 (front of machine and case say new home, back sticker says janome, looked up manuals for both and they're the same?) cleaned and oiled it and had no issues, put it on the overlock setting earlier to finish some edges, put it back to straight stitching and the feed dogs are still moving in the forward-forward-back movement they do on overlock? go continuously back if reverse button pressed, but even after having cleaned everywhere that had any lint/oil/moving bits as I did when first getting the machine, making sure everything is properly oiled, trying every stitch setting, length and width, I cannot get the dogs out of the forward-forward-back motion?

OMG i cannot take this anymore. I will never buy a singer again. Long story short, my first sewing machine back around 2009 was a brother xl2600i and weirdly it still works. I use it as backup whenever my signer starts acting up or when im waiting for my new singer to ship to me.

My first singer 4411 was bought from joanns in jan 2023 and it lasted until aug 2025. Then i bought a 2nd 4411 and that conked out of me right away so I returned it. Then i bought the singer 44s in aug 2025 cuz it was a few bucks cheaper at walmart. And within only a few months the 44s started acting hella crazy. It was behaving like the singer 4411 at the 2 year mark. So i bought another 44s and just switched the machines and return the orginal on as it was within 90 days.

Its been whatever every since then. but now in aug 2026 it will not act right at all. And I wanna scream because this is driving me crazy trying to figure out whats wrong with it everyday. I wasted like 5 hours a few days ago trying to sew one project that takes way less than 5 hours to finish because majority of that time i was spent trying to fix the dang machine. Couldn't even finish the project. Had to go to bed to cool off.

So sorry for the rant but before i buy one of those $1000 industrial machines that claim according to google is great for heavy duty daily use i wanna get a recommendation from actual people who use these machines. Not a google ai generated response from the people who pay google to say their machine is best.

I sew basically everyday. And i sew a lot of layers together. Heavy duty stuff like pvc, outdoor canvas, pu, and thick marine vinyl. So i need something that can handle all of that. Great for constant commercial/business use because these $200-$300 machines aren't cutting it anyone. If i did the math, if i buy one more $300 machine that is basically the same $1000 price tag i could have spent from the beginning. 🤦🏾‍♀️

So please suggest away and why. Thanks my fellow sewers.

It’s so annoying. I’m trying to sew this long piece of fabric, so i’m doing like metres of sewing at a time. Everything is threaded right but the thread keeps falling out of the top because of how much room there is to move on the machine.

Its one of those machines where the thread slides in, but that part is also moving so it constantly jams and falls out

Is there anyway to close the section? I wish it just looped a hole like an old sewing machine I had because it just makes it harder to use.

I have a used sewing machine, was told it was barely used. when I first got it, it was set up w some thread. I tried it, it worked and I put it away. Months later I took it out tried to thread myself so I could have more thread to try a project. I feel I did everything correct but I can not get the bottom thread to loop with the top. I’ve watch videos on my exact machine and I don’t know ifs the machine or me.
It’s the new home janome derby sewing machine.

From what I understand,
The top thread is supposed to loop around the bottom bobbin and then i should be able to slide scissors and pull the threads and they will be connected my top thread and bottom.
I see action when I turn the knob but I don’t see it looping around the bobbin. I hope that makes sense and someone can help me. Thank you

My Brother CS7205 sewing machine usually works pretty. The current quilt I’m making is thicker than usual. I am doing top stitching (stitch 65 looks like a maze) and the fabric won’t advance. Someone told me I needed a dynamic walking foot, I had been using a regular walking foot. So I spent $100 to get one and the same thing keeps happening. It’s because the 3 layers of fabric is too thick. My feed dogs will not drop part way, it’s either up or down. My presser foot, same thing. How can I get a little more space so my fabric isn’t pressed together so tight?