longun45 Report post Posted April 21, 2017 I want to say thanks to the members of this board it has proven to be invaluable. All I want to do is make belts and holsters. Simple. Or so I thought. I have been sewing at leather now for a couple of months and I have had some problems - go figure a newbie with problems. LOL I never realized there was so many different sewing variables. The thickness of the leather, the tension of the thread, the type of needle, the slot where the needle meets the shuttle. So far I have found about 4 types of leather needles. This does not mention stitch lines that need to be adjusted for lining leather on some patterns. Thanks for the patterns JLS. The biggest problem was nubbies on the bottom. At first it was not a problem but then I decided to change the needle. The needle had been in there for a while and it appeared to not be as sharp. Then the problems started. The biggest headache was nubbies on the bottom of the seam. I have adjusted the tension and adjusted the tension and adjusted the tension, rethreaded the machine numerous times and still when I go to turn a corner - nubbies. sometimes large and sometimes small but still nubbies. I even changed the needle. Frustrating. I watched youtube and all the videos I could find and went through this forum with a fine tooth comb. I think if there was a post that had nubbies in it I read it. Then I stumbled onto a post that had thread size, leather thickness, needle size and stitches per in. The problem as far as I can tell was that the thread did not have enough room in the channel on the left hand side of the needle for a turn and the thread was dragging on the leather causing the nubbies. So I checked the needle pack I got with the machine Organ needles 180/24 and I checked the room in the channel and the 277 thread fit just nicely with no room for wiggle. Easy Fix. Get some #25 needles ( for the 277) and some 207 thread. Hopefully that should solve the problem and the work will look like something I can sell. Again thanks to the members of this board for the information that helped to solve this little hiccup. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yetibelle Report post Posted April 21, 2017 Just wondering what do you mean by - "nubbies on the bottom of the seam"? Track marks from the feet or can you see thread "knots/loops" in the stitches from the bottom? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Northmount Report post Posted April 21, 2017 Pictures would help describe the problem. Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
longun45 Report post Posted April 21, 2017 (edited) This should cover it. As you can see the bottom thread is not pulled into the project = nubbie This leaves the top thread causing a nub by not pulling up the bottom thread, subjecting it to extra wear and it really does not look good. The problem is that even when tension did recover it did not stay as the nubbies on the straight part shows. Even before getting to the turn the tension was not consistent. This was a 277 thread with a #24 needle - not a good combination. I will have new supplies next week and that should fix the problem. Edited April 21, 2017 by longun45 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wizcrafts Report post Posted April 21, 2017 When you get some #25 leather point needles the bottom stitches will improve and the knots will be easier to pull up. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yetibelle Report post Posted April 22, 2017 When you see the" thread-nibs" on the top or bottom it's a tention issue. Plus that's a corner. Corners are hard in general. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Uwe Report post Posted April 22, 2017 (edited) Those nubbies/nibs/nubs/knots look kind of frayed, too. Perhaps your top thread is getting roughed up as you sew. A larger needle size may help. A brand new needle will fix many problems, too (the best $0.25 you will spend while sewing.) Also check for burrs on your feed dog or elsewhere in the thread path. Pull your thread through the feed dog hole by hand back and forth at various angles - the thread should slide smoothly and not get frayed. Many new few dogs need to be de-burred and polished to work well. Also, I have no clue which machine you are using. Did I miss something? At the corners, perhaps lift the foot only enough to clear and turn the material, but not enough to release top thread tension. Make sure your needle is in the material when you make turns. Make sure you use new, good quality thread, not some old bargain bin special. Lumpy thread will cause all kinds of problems. Make sure the thread pulls off the spool very smoothly without snags. A poorly wound or sticky cone of thread will be trouble. Springy thread that falls off the cone also causes trouble (use a cone sock or sleeve). In general, make sure your thread path is PERFECT! Make sure your bobbins are wound perfectly, too. Thread should pull off the bobbin very smoothly without lumps or snags or changes in tension as you pull with your fingers. Run some tests on scrap leather making "square spirals" with various needle and thread sizes and see which combination works and looks best before you sew more precious belts. Take notes and use the combination that actually worked. Report back with what you found. Edited April 22, 2017 by Uwe Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Northmount Report post Posted April 22, 2017 You don't have skipped stitches at this point, but this little piece of info goes along with Uwe's comment above about making turns. When you make your turns, either do it just as soon as the needle is buried in the leather, but not to the bottom yet, or wait until the needle bar has risen far enough for the hook to have caught the loop. The aim is to not affect formation of the loop, and to ensure the hook catches the loop, or you will have a skipped stitch. Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
