Needle Keeps Falling Out of Sewing Machine (How To Fix)
Needles can be the cause for a large portion of your common sewing ills. When the needle is not placed correctly or is the wrong one, your sewing time is hampered creating a lot of frustration. Sometimes the needle will just quit on you.
There are many reasons what your needle could simply fall out of its place. One is that you accidentally broke the needle holder. If this is the case, you would need a qualified repair to replace that little but vital part. It is not a cheap repair.
To read more about why needles fall out and how to fix the problem simply continue to read our article. It has the information you need to know in order to find the right solution for your falling needle problem.
Why Needle Won't Stay in a Sewing Machine
You have just read one reason and to be more specific on that possibility, while you may not have broken the needle holder, you could have stripped the threads on the screw or the nut holding the screw.
When that happens, the screw will not tighten nor hold the needle in place. Then, there is the possibility of the needle clamp screw is deformed a little bit for a variety of reasons. That deformity will keep the screw from doing its needle-holding job.
The latter problem is easy to fix as all you need to do is buy a new screw which does not cost that much. The former may need a qualified repairman to handle and their labor costs are quite high.
Another simple and easy-to-fix source is possible and you may not think you are doing it. When you hand tighten the screw, you may think you have it tight and the needle secure. But in reality, you did not tighten enough and the needle simply worked its way loose and fell out.
To fix that source, just use a screwdriver to tighten, not over-tighten the screw. While you may think your fingers got the screw tight, the needle did not agree. and found a way to escape.
Sewing Machine Needle Falls Out
Many of the sources for this issue are easy and not expensive to fix. One reason that is not so costly is that you simply used the wrong needle for your sewing machine or fabric. Simply replace the needle and tighten it up.
Another source may be that the sewing machine and its parts are extremely old. The metal parts do wear out eventually and if your machine has been in constant use for over 20 years, this is a very viable problem.
To fix it, you need to simply hunt down a replacement part and either put it in yourself or ask for a repair to get it done for you. Or, you simply placed the needle in your machine the wrong way.
This can happen when people are not paying attention to what they are doing or forgot that the machine they are using is not the same as the other one or ones they own. If you are not sure how the needle should be in your sewing machine, check your owner’s manual to see how it should be placed.
Finally, the needle shank or clamp simply cracked on you due to overuse or by having the screw tightened too much. It happens to metal when they are exposed to pressure stress that is more than what they were designed to handle.
Check for cracks and if there is one, simply replace the part.
Sewing Machine Needle Clamp Fell Off
This can happen and the solution may be different depending on the brand of machine you own that had this problem. For bother, they recommend that you double-check to see that all the parts are still there.
5 parts, the needle bar thread guide, socket set screw, needle clamp, needle clamp pin, and the needle clamp screw, should be present to have the assembly in proper working order. Any one of those parts can break, get lost, or crack and stop your needle from remaining in place.
If they are broken or missing, then you will have to take your Brother machine to a Brother approved repairman and let them fix it for you. If all the simple fixes talked about already are not the source of the problem, you may have to take your sewing machine to a qualified repairman to analyze the problem and provide a solution.
Check your owner’s manual to see what can be done before you go to the repairman. Your problem may be something simple you have not thought of yet.
How do you Fix a Needle Clamp?
If you have no cracks or broken areas, the needle clamp should simply slide back on the needle bar. Then you just tighten the thumbscrew until the clamp is securely in place.
There is the possibility that the thumbscrew fell and got lost. In that situation, you need to go and buy a replacement screw. The trick to that is for you to make sure you get the right one. If not, then you will be making another trip to the store or the repair shop.
That was instructions for a Brother sewing machine. For other brands, you may need to use an Allen wrench to tighten the screw that holds the needle clamp in place. This is not a tough fix as the apparatus is quite simply designed.
The place for the clamp will probably have 2 screws holding it in place. One is the Allen wrench while the other may be a flat head screw. Put the clamp on facing forward and that should line up with a J-shaped part that is inserted into the clamp in a tiny hole on the bottom of the clamp.
This is a common problem with sewing machines and it can be a bit tricky to fix.
Sewing Machine Needle Bar Loose
As you know the needle bar is the device that holds the needle in place on almost all sewing machines. When it gets loose it can cause you problems as one sewer said she could turn the needle while it was still in the needle bar.
Before you conclude that something is off with your sewing machine’s timing, you should check your needle first. If the needle is not inserted correctly, is backward, or is slightly rotated then you will have problems with your needle bar. Work on the needle first to save you time and money.
Depending on the problem you may have to simply replace the needle bar. This happens as parts do wear out. Or the collar and screw on the needle bar got loose and all you need is a little flat head screwdriver to tighten the screw and all will be well.
What causes the needle bar to get loose is that you sewed through quite a few seams in a row and the tough work simply made the needle bar loosen up. To find the flat head screw, you may have to take a plug off that is guarding the needle bar screw. Then turn the screw to the right to tighten it.
How do you Realign a Sewing Machine Needle?
This may best be left to a qualified repairman as the positioning of the needle has to be precise if you are going to have any quality sewing results. The key will be to set the needle bar height to the right level.
To do that, you need to find the needle bar adjusting screw. You may have to follow the needle up to the needle bar, and then go up more till you see the adjusting screw. Now move the hand wheel until the needle is at its lowest point and do not hit anything as you do this.
Next, move the wheel until you see the hook point in a position that will enable it to pass behind the needle. If this is not taking place, then you need to loosen the adjusting screw and lower or raise the bar accordingly.
Do not turn the needle bar and when you finally have the right position with the hook and needle, tighten the screw back up again. Then set the needle to its default position and if that is the center then the needle needs to enter the needle plate precisely in the center of it.
Some Final Words
Dropping a needle while sewing is a common problem and there are many simple fixes to take care of the problem. However, there will be some fixes that require a repairman to handle.
Sometimes, it is best to let the repairman handle these fixes as they have the expertise and the knowledge to get the job done correctly and in a very short amount of time.
