Hi, what is a eyelet? - Brother XL-5500 Mechanical Sewing Machine

Here you can download the manual:
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1002243/Bernina-Activa-131.html#product-Patchwork%20Edition%20140
and go to pages 14-15 for buttonholes.

Need more information to search and assist you.

Use http://www.google.com to help search yourself.

Only sewing machine I found that sounds similar is this:

http://amfreece.com/d415-s-311.html


Electronic Eyelet Buttonhole Machine 311

For the top thread, make sure that the needle is fully up. With the spool on the spool pin. Bring the thread in front and under the first hook and then under and behind hook two. Bring the thread down and under the third point below the spring eyelet. Bring the thread up until hooks into that spring eyelet. Continue up and get the thread into the hole in the take-lever from back to front. Bring the thread down to the needle clamp thread guide and hook it into the guide. Finally pass the thread through the needle from left to right.

The manual for the 117.812 is the same as that for the 117.552. Manuals Lib has this manual here: https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1050640/Kenmore-117-552.html . The threading diagram and instructions are on page 4, https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1050640/Kenmore-117-552.html?page=4#manual . See the later pages for winding and setting up the bobbin. The pictures may help more than the verbal description.

I hope this helps.

Cindy Wells

If your machine is capable of making an eyelet stitch, the instructions should be in the machine's manual.

On my coverstitch,the lower looper swings out to the right so I can access the thread eyelet, wondering if yours is the same?. And i dont pull the thread up to he top, just leave a tail loose, make sure i swing the looper ack to the left, then close cover and stitch.

I can help you with this, the Elna Lotus has a pretty simple bobbin winding system, the bobbin winder is top right of the machine, drop bobbin with holes to the top onto the spindle. Now Lotus have a dial on the right side which switches between bobbin winding, stitching and locked for transport, turn it to Bobbin symbol. Take the thread from the spool pin at the back across to the metal eyelet at top front (it sits inside the accessory tray when transporting so you may need to pop open the tray lid and flip this eyelet out)
Now take thread across and through a hole on top of the bobbin and holding the tail, put your foot onto the foot control to get a couple of winds onto the bobbin to hold the thread. Now place your finger or the handle of a pair of scissors onto the top of the thread spool to apply tension so that the thread winds evenly and slowly wind the bobbin until about 3/4 full, making sure it winds evenly. Tension onto the spool is the key here, Lotus doesn't have a tension device to control the thread tension as it winds so you need to do this, critical to getting a good stitch out of these lovely machines.

Hope this helps you out.

normal tension for the top thread on a sewing machine is between 4-6, usually 5. If the top thread is breaking you need to firstly look at the thread you are using; is it old and brittle or a new reel. Don't use those cheap cottons you buy 4 in a pack in a bargain bin, they shred colour and fibres and are not good for the machine. Brands to use include Guttermann, Mettler Metrosene, Molynecke, and Madeira.

If you can access them, try cleaning between the discs on the tension device. To do this, turn the tension dial to zero, then "floss" between the discs using the selvage edge of a clean piece of cotton offcut, if some gunk comes out, clean some more. You can moisten the fabric with denatured alcohol if the discs are pretty gummed out. Make sure you set tension back to 5, then thread up again and pay particular attention to the thread take up lever. This draws down the thread from the spool on its downward stroke, so is necessary to ensure smooth flow of thread from spool to needle.

Also see if the thread is catching anywhere in the thread path, it may be catching on the thread spool itself, some have a slot to hold the thread during storage. Also see if the thread has wrapped around any of the thread eyelets or part of the machine. Make sure its threaded through all the eyelets in the threading diagram, usually top eyelet, tension dial, take up lever then down to the needle.

Try all these things and see if it resolves the issues you are having, it is easy sometimes to just miss one part of the threading up, even experts do it sometimes.

I think you mean the take up lever? are you sure that the thread is threaded correctly into the eyelet/thread guide above and below the take up lever?

If it is an open ended take up lever (many are now) then the thread may be coming loose from it on the upwards stroke because the thread is not being held in an eyelet after it passes through the take up lever, or there is insufficient tension on the top thread.

If you are sure that the threading up is correct and it is still happening then you may need to make a modification to the take up lever and turn it into a closed eye. You could take it to a professional and see if they can maybe remove the takeup lever, close down the loop at the end with pliers and then reposition it on the machine.

Or maybe try a home solution by finding a grommet or metal eyelet part and somehow mounting this into the open part of the take up lever carefully with a small amount of plasticine or bluetack perhaps. Just a guess though, never needed to do this, if my thread comes out its because I don't have it threaded fully somewhere.

This sounds like the thread is not in your take up lever, are you sure that it is threaded correctly? Maybe it is wrapping around one of the eyelets or the take up lever rather than just going through the eyelet. The fact that the thread is wearing at the needle is indicative that the thread is too tight when the needle goes downwards. Is your top tension set too high perhaps. The skipping stitches part is normally indicative of either a blunt needle, using a sharp needle on knit fabric, or the timing is out slightly.
You should be able to trouble shoot the first two options. For the timing, will it sew a zig zag stitch at all? If timing is out or you've tried all the other trouble shooting; I'd suggest a trip to the serviceman.

There are two sizes of metal........use one of each to create the eyelet.

Thread the longer one over the stalk shaped side, and the shorter one on the other side........if the fabric is lightweight, the clamping motion should also cut the hole as it engages to create the eyelet...if it is too thick, you will need a hole punch to clear the way first.

The action is for the longer shaft to pass through the fabric, then the inside edge of the smaller one, then the edges are bent and rolled but the flanged die to finish and secure......try a few samples on scrap first.