How to Fix a Sewing Machine: What You Can Do Yourself

First: unplug it

Every manual we read says it. Brother: “Make sure you unplug the machine before you clean it, otherwise you risk getting an electric shock or being injured.”¹ JUKI adds: “Do not dismantle the machine other than as explained in this section.”⁵

The four fixes you can do yourself

Fixing a sewing machine at home mostly means these four steps, in this order:

1. Rethread everything. Remove the upper thread and the bobbin and thread both again, following the manual. Misthreading appears in many rows of the troubleshooting tables.^1,7
2. Put in a new needle. A bent, blunt or wrongly inserted needle causes skipped stitches and broken needles.^1,15 See our needle guide for sizes and types.
3. Clean the lint. Remove the needle plate and clean the plate and the bobbin case: Brother lists dust there as a cause of skipped stitches.¹ “Many problems are caused by dust, lint, or thread ends that have collected on the working parts of the machine,” says New Mexico State.²
4. Use the right bobbin. Brother lists “You have not used a bobbin that has been designed for this machine” among the causes of a broken needle.¹

Brother puts it plainly: “If the machine stops operating correctly, check the following possible problems before requesting service. You can solve most problems by yourself.”¹

Symptom by symptom

Common problems and what the manuals check first

Symptom	Check first
Needle breaks	Needle insertion, bent or blunt needle, upper threading, tension too tight, pulling the fabric1
Fabric does not feed	Feed dogs lowered, stitch length at zero, presser foot not lowered, lint in the feed dogs5,7,8
Skipped stitches	Dust under the needle plate or in the bobbin case; needle condition1
Machine is noisy	Thread caught in the hook race; lint in the hook race or bobbin holder5,11
Fabric stuck in the machine	Thread tangled below the needle plate: lift the fabric, cut the threads, clean the race1

When to call a technician

• Hard handwheel or unusual noise. Brother: “immediately stop using the machine, and contact your authorized dealer or the nearest authorized service center.”¹
• Timing. SINGER warns that turning the handwheel away from you “may throw off the timing and require repair at a service center”; Kentucky’s guide says a machine out of time “will require a trip to a technician”.^3,4
• Scratched or broken parts. A scratched needle plate, presser foot or bobbin case is replaced, not repaired at home, per Brother; a bent or broken take-up spring needs “a professional”, per New Mexico State.^1,15
• Error codes. On JUKI’s HZL-L series, codes E1 to E7 mean “a problem in the control circuit”: contact the service center.⁵
• A jam you can’t clear. Brother: “instead of attempting to remove it forcefully, contact your nearest Brother authorized service center.”¹²

Oiling: follow your manual, not a general rule

Oiling, as each manual describes it

Maker and model	What the manual says
Brother (XM2701, CS7000X and others)	“it must not be oiled by the user”1,12
SINGER HD4552	“No lubrication (oiling) is needed.”8
SINGER M3500 (front-loading bobbin)	1 to 2 drops of sewing machine oil at the hook16
BERNINA 335	“one drop of BERNINA oil down into the hook race”13
bernette b38	“2 drops of oil on the felt” in the hook race14

New Mexico State’s rule: “If your machine does not require oil, do not use it. Do not oil the tension discs”.²

How often to service it

Makers and the university guide don’t agree. SINGER recommends a tune-up by a SINGER technician “every 3 to 4 years”; BERNINA’s 335 manual has the dealer service internal parts every year with intensive use and every 2 years with normal use; Kentucky’s guide says every two years.^3,4,13 Between services, clean the lint regularly: the BERNINA 335 manual asks for basic maintenance after every 3 to 4 full bobbins.¹³