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Hi all, I have a Juki Manufactured Econosew Walking Foot Industrial Sewing Machine with a Servo-Speed Motor. I've only had it a few months and I'm finding the tension to be very difficult to get correct. I have zero experience with industrial machines, especially for leather, so I've been having to figure it out as I go. I live pretty remotely so there's no one near who can come over and show me the ropes. I've spent hours and hours and hours adjusting the top and bottom tensions and I have yet to get it perfect. I discussed this with my mother in law who is a sewing machine genius (but sadly lives across the country) and she suggested that it could be the wrong needle and thread size for the weight of leather I use. Prior to getting the machine I researched here on the forum for needle and thread size for leather and was told to use needle size 22/140 and lubricated nylon thread size 138. However, I think the error is that those are for thicker and heavier leathers. I primarily need the machine for lightweight soft leathers and suedes. Think upholstery weight and sometimes even garment weight. Should I use a smaller needle? Different thread? The lubricated thread I got from http://www.tolindsewmach.com/ seems too slippery for what I sew and also too thin. I'd like thicker thread for the aesthetic. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated. Tired of spending hours and getting nowhere.

Hello, I am working on the tensioning of my consew 206rb-5 I have two images here, one of the top side and one of the bottom. To me - a novice on a machine like this - the top is looking good, but the bottom thread appearance seems off? My first thought is to tighten tension for the top thread? It is already pretty tight though - enough that it is very difficult to pull the piece out when the stitch is doen, I have to manually pull some thread from the tensioner then my leather can be removed from below the needle. Thanks!

I have a new Cobra class 20 and have been having a problem with the bottom tension looking as nice as the top. Please see attached pictures of my stitch. The needle, thread and machine are less than a month old. Using 207 bonded nylon thread top and bottom with a 135X16 size 23 needle. I have tried multiple adjustments, rethreads and nothing seems to make it better. The leather thickness doesn't seem to be playing a part either. I also tried 207 top and 138 on the bottom and it looked worse. I just assumed for that time it was needle punching a bigger hole than needed for the 138.

Can anyone please help...have a highlead GC22618-8B....it was sewing well with a T40 thread....put a T20 on it with a 2.5mm hide.......it was fine for an interior pocket on a tote.....I had also fiddled with presser foot cos it was marking hide with two layers of this hide...then I went to overstitch one layer of the hide, and hey presto ...jamming.every time...the thread is coming up back through the walking foot as well as bunching underneath!,, any ideas..I have cleaned bobbin casing...rethreaded and oiled it....it seems to be picking up bobbin thread fine...renewed and double checked needle....even gone back to thinner thread..still doing the same! Is it tension or timing...excuse the metric , Im in Australia..best Regards

I think I could use some help here. Recently removed the round point needles that came in the Techsew 4100 machine I purchased, and installed Organ 794 LR Size 230/26 with white 277 thread. First round was a complete disaster, finally managed to get the results shown in the photos. Not certain it is what it should be though, and I can't say that I'm happy with it. Any suggestions on what I should be doing to get this to be a better stitch? Also looks like it is blowing out the back, not a clean exit. One row is just with the needle, the second row has the thread.

HI I recently bought a Techsew 3800 and thus far am rather disappointed. (2 weeks in) While Mike is trying to help me via email, the one question I do not seem to get an answer on is if it is normal to have different tensions for forward and reverse? I am not talking about going back over previous stitching, but when I for reasons of access need to work first in one direction & then in the other, I get significantly different tensions for forward & reverse with the reverse bottom being looser than when I stitch forward. Is this normal? Advice? Thanks :-)

Howdy, I'm wracking my brain trying to figure out why my Pfaff 335 is marking my leather, especially at the start of a stitch line where I backtack. I've attempted to lighten the pressure of the presser-feet by backing off the knurled nob at the top of the machine, to the point it is barely hanging on to the machine, but it doesn't seem to have much of an impact. The inner presser foot seems to be fine, but the out foot is an issue. I've even placed my finger under the presser foot (machine off and needle out of course) to see if I can feel any difference in the pressure bing applied... I'm not sure what it should feel like, but its heavy. Seems like the the top pressure is not being affected by loosening the knob on top. That said, I haven't a clue what I'm doing. I've included a few picture to show how loose the top knob is, the position of the presser feet (they seem a bit canted to the left) and the marks being left on the leather. BTW... I'm stitching 3-4oz harness leather from Wicket & Craig. Any ideas whats going on here?

This is my first post. Thanks for a having this great forum. I just installed a Cobra Class 4 (factory setup with #277 nylon). Great machine Steve! It sews thick leather like nobodies business. Problem is, I need to sew mostly BioThane with #138 braided nylon thread since I'm making endurance horse tack. I filled a bobbin and tried a test piece with the factory tension. The tension was so high the top thread puckered a lot and sometimes cut right through the urethane coating. So I started backing off the tension. This turned into quite the exercise. The bobbin tension was a big part of the problem. The factory setting seemed to be about 8 ounces on the bobbin and I have backed it down to 6.5 ounces. I may go down even further since this is starting to give me good results. I also removed ALL the the top tension and gradually dialed it in until I had a lock stitch centered in the work piece. I'm doing my test trials with a black bobbin thread and white top thread so I can see what's going on. It is feeding well and I am getting a very tight stitch but it isn't puckering or cutting through anymore. It improved again when I switched out the #24 sharp needle for a #25 diamond point. I thought the #24 would be plenty big enough...live and learn. Does anyone else have expereince or tips for working biothane on this machine? Threads? Needles?

All- Good afternoon! Love this site and have been searching thru archives to see if this matter has already been addressed, but I didn't find it...(my eyes are fried!) Here's the deal...I am using Consew 228R-11 high lift post machine with roller foot, bought new about a year ago from East Coast dealer (far away) Yes, huge learning curve - more time spent taking apart, adjusting timing, etc than sewing! I too am fortunate but have sooo wanted to toss the machine (it's too big and heavy) and can relate to other members' posts regarding machine frustrations. I make mixed media bags with garment grade leather bonded to bag stiffener and vinyl in layers. Before sewing my actual bag, I check my stitch settings and sew samples constructed of the same materials, but this time it is just not cooperating. I have a flat strap of vinyl bonded (with tanners bond) to bag stiffener and another layer of vinyl that I want to top stitch to vinyl with a layer of foam headliner and a piece of garment grade (scrap) leather on the foam liner to help support the stitches. I use a small piece of double sided tape to hold the strap in place. My samples stitch perfect, but when I try the actual purse, (I am holding the ends of my threads the first few stitches) I get about 6 stitches into the seam and then the bobbin gets all tangled with needle thread. I know it is the top thread as I can pull the bobbin thread right out of the seam and the top thread's knots are all willy nilly on the bottom and even overlap. I have: removed the bobbin and cleared out debris changed my bobbin and thread used another new needle rethreaded my machine left it for days to see if it just needed a time out (oh, that was me!) oiled my machine Why would the stitching work on the samples but not the actual bag? I am trying to find a reputable area machine guru who makes house calls (got some names from custom shoe guy, upholstery shop and the studios, gotta make some calls) and found one shop about 40 miles away, but I can't get the beast off the table to take in for a look-see, and in the mean time thought I'd try the Forum... Anyone have similar experience and what did you do? Thank you in advance for your time and assistance. Leese

Please let me start with "Hello", and I'm sorry for the bother.... I started this journey a year ago and found leatherworker.net when first searching online for " sewing machines that sew leather" Since then I have purchased a SINGER 212g140 ( but only set up as a single needle ) and a SINGER 29-4( an old patcher in good working condition!) ( that I cannot get to sew a straight line so I just keep because I think its awesome:) I sold my truck to purchase supplies and leather to start a business to help support my special needs daughter ( I am still employed, my husband is employed, and we have two other vehicles) I knew one day I would have to stay home with her, which actually happened 5 months ago when she fractured her skull. I am very fortunate to be able to work from home now- but it is difficult at best to leave the house with her to learn anything. My biggest adventures out of the house are trips to Tandy on Saturday mornings:) I literally knew NOTHING about sewing or leather or my chosen craft when I started this journey.. my ultimate goal was to make supplemental income to fund special schools and therapy that I knew would be needed. ( I refuse to let others pay for my responsibility when I am capable of doing so myself, ie tax payer money....)This was what made sense to me. I wasn't going to try a pyramid scheme or selling avon if you know what I mean. It had to be working from home, so forgive me if you are wondering " why the heck would she choose this without existing skill or a source of apprenticeship?" Any who, here I am, a room full of top quality leather, much custom ordered, when I decided that if I was going to finally take the big leap I had to purchase a top quality machine made for this purpose. A walking foot with NO ISSUES OR SERVICE NEEDED. With REVERSE. So I bit the bullet and ordered a brand new CONSEW 206rb-5. It arrived Tuesday, smelling of oil and with its test strip of fabric underneath its feet. After setting up, I began to sew( although intimidated and Leary of injuring the beast) and to my dismay a few things... ( here I finally get to the point... but please understand I am self taught, have read every manual, searched every thread, and every available youtube video.. and am still at a loss and begging for your expertise...) In reverse it seems to twist and loop its thread?!? and barely get into the same holes? I thought this machine could accurately pierce the same holes made when sewing forward directions???? It looks like crud! And I am far to inept to correct the issue myself:( Now I am reduced again to twisting my work backwards to back tack, which is what I purchased this machine to avoid. Further, GOOD GRIEF the amount I have had to tighten the top tension when switching to 2-3oz leather ( doubled up to make 4-6)!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And If I backtack more than once the top thread breaks!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT AM I DOING WRONG??? Tears flowing.......:*( I just cannot see why I would have to adjust the bobbin tension, and certainly I do not know more that the dealer that set it up! I had to adjust the top because the bottom thread lies flat across the bottom on the thick leather. Using 69 bonded nylon thread top and bottom, dpx17 needle, and tears to lubricate ...sigh... thank you for any help you can offer. I know that no one wants to feel bad for someone with a brand new machine, more like I don't deserve it if I cannot operate it properly. I know its my error, but have no one to teach me.

Hello all I am new here, been reading the forum trying to solve my problem.... I recently purchased a 211G155 to sew purses and leather with. I am not new to sewing but this machine has me baffled. I too have this thread tension issue resulting in a rat's nest on the bottom of the material... I have checked and double checked my threading, there is a killer video on youtube about how to tread thru the tension disks. So I am pretty sure I have that correct. Wizcrafts wrote " A thread rat's nest under the material is usually caused by a total lack of top tension. However, the bobbin thread is usually picked up in those situations; it's just tighter on the bottom than the top my a magnitude." And this goes along with sewing machine common sense. What I cannot figure out is HOW or HOW TIGHT the tension should be.. There are no markings or adjustment indicators on the tension disks. It seems that there is quite a bit of tension on the thread, it is hard to pull so I know it is not an issue of no tension at all. The machine seemed to work perfectly when I bought it. It was set up and sewed a sample of my material just fine. All I have done is brought it home and wound new thread on a bobbin and threaded it with new #92 nylon thread and have a singer 130 needle properly installed. So I guess my question(s) would be, how tight is enough tension? How hard should it be to pull the thread thru the tension disks/spring? Do I just keep cranking the knurled nut down? Or does anyone have another opinion of what I am doing wrong? Thanks a bunch. Mia

Hi there, I was using Coats Ultra Dee T90 Polyester thread and I been quite happy with it. now I'm doing more projects with mixed leather and heavy Cordura Nylon fabric with unusual colors where I do not need a hole lot thread for. So I was hunting for for some good small cone Polly thread and found at the Thread Exchange 2 ounce cones of bonded Eddington Polyester. I really do like the look of the thread but I have some problems working with it. The bounding makes this thread much more stiffer then the Coats Ultra Dee I was using before. To get a proper stitch I have to increase the thread tension a lot and that leads to a undesired amount of puckering. I already tried larger needles and I played with the pressure foot pressure, but I'm still not happy with the results. Does anyone has a good tip what I could try the get the thread tension down or avoid the puckering in a another way? oh... my machine is a Juki DNU-1541S if that matters... Thanks Martin