20 Most Recent Elna 2007 Mechanical Sewing Machine - Page 5 Questions & Answers

Hi Beverly,My suggestion is that you join up the Yahoo group called "Elna Heirlooms" you'll find lots of very helpful fellow supermatic owners there and probably what you are looking for too. Here is one page from the manual for threading the bobbin into tension, once you've mastered this on the Elnas, its the same for all the Swiss ones.Yes, top threading is important, you need to get the thread into the tension discs and also the take up lever. Have you cleaned out the tension discs too? these do get gummed up with fibres and dye particles sometimes. Just turn tension down to zero and "floss" between discs with the selvage edge of a clean piece of waste cotton fabric.Might see you over on Yahoo, several of the members there are really knowledgeable on these great machines.cheersTallygirl

If your SU is an Air Electronic model i.e. 80's model, Elna didn't make a walking foot to fit. However, if you've got a walking foot that is the same height from sole plate to the screw fitting as a standard Elna foot then you could give it a try. The walking foot connects to the presser bar with a screw but the needle bar also needs to hook into a secondary lever on the side of the walking foot to make the foot actually move. Probably sounds very confusing . Check the movement of the foot manually by hand turning the fly wheel to see how it works before you actually use with the motor to minimise any problems if the foot doesn't fit.

Also you'll probably only be able to do straight stitch with this foot due to the clearance around the needle plate.

I dodn't know your model really well but it will be one of the following: a clip on foot that you just pull down on to remove, a clip on foot with a button at the back of the pressure foot holder - press the button to release the foot a clip on foot with a little lever at the back of the pressure foot holder - lift the lever to release the foot If it is a clip on foot, then you just need to raise the pressure foot lever, put your fingers onto the pressure foot and press downwards, it should unclip.To put one on, place the pressure foot onto the needle plate under the pressure foot bar and lower the pressure foot bar down onto the foot, lining up the base of the foot holder with the little bar on the foot, it should click into place.

Possible causes:top tension dial set too lowtop tension dial not working at alltop thread not seated into top tension discstop thread hasn't been threaded up correctly, missing out the tension discs or take up leverMost likely your top tension device is either set too low, or gunked up and not working right or has actually failed. Can you access the tension discs? If so, turn dial to zero and 'floss' between the discs with the selvage edge of a clean piece of waste cotton fabric and see if any black stuff comes out. If so, continue until it comes out clean. Turn back to 5 or the marked normal setting.Now thread up again from top spool down to tension, through take up lever, then down to the eyelet just above the needle. Lower the pressure foot to engage tension then pull on the thread downwards. Is it hard to pull? If not, then the tension dial is faulty and you'll need to get the machine serviced.If this feels firm and hard to pull, then take a look at the lower thread tension but this shouldn't normally need any altering (unless you've adjusted it previously for some reason and not reset it to normal setting). Check thread is fully into the tension spring, bobbin is in the right way and bobbin case is in fully in the correct position.If you look at the zig zag stitiching you've done, can you identify if the loose thread is the top one? If you use two different coloured threads for troubleshooting, this often makes it a bit easier to see what's happening, just make sure they are the same weight and brand of thread if you do this.I hope this helps you to identify the problem and fix it. But if you suspect that the top thread tension device is just not tensioning the thread even if you turn the dial right up to 7, then you'll need to get the machine serviced as the dial could well be faulting.

most machines will have a rubber o ring as part of the bobbin winding mechanism, when you engage the bobbin winder, this o-ring will move over against the main engine drive wheel and this then makes the bobbin spindle turn. So yes, you may need to replace the rubber o-ring, they can perish and wear. Called Bobbin Winder Tyre, you could try www.sewingpartsonline.com, they have loads of Kenmore models listed but can't see yours. However, if you email them, they should be able to advise what part number it is. If you start by opening up the machine case and take a look at the bobbin winder area first, you may find this rubber has split or perished.

Your problem has been posted against the Elna 2007 mechanical sewing machine - not sure if this is your machine but it shouldn't make much difference. All domestic sewing machines have very similar needle placement.The needle bar is the piece that goes up and down and holds the needle. There is usually a housing at the bottom with a thumb screw that is used to secure the needle. To change, turn your flywheel towards you until the needle is at its highest point. Turn off the motor or unplug machine for safety. Hold the needle with one hand and undo the thumb screw with the other. Insert a new needle into the housing FLAT SHANK TO THE BACK, all the way up into the housing, then tighten the thumb screw.Standard domestic sewing machine needles are coded 130/705H and almost all makes and models will use this type of needle. Industrial machines are different and some overlockers/sergers will use a slightly longer needle called ELX.The important thing is to change the needle regularly, about 4-6 sewing hours is maximum before the point starts to go blunt. If you can hear a squeaking or popping sound as you stitch, this is most likely a blunt needle. Also use the right sized and type of needle for the work you are doing. So for knits and jerseys, use a ball point needle to avoid skipped stitches. For lycra use a stretch needle coated with blue, helps with this synthetic fibre.For wovens, use a sharp or universal point but pick the right size for the weight of fabric. Sheers, organza and fine silks, use a 60. Lightweight cottons, use 70. Medium weight fabrics use a 80 etc, right up to 110 size for coated upholstery fabrics. There are special needles for denim too as this is a very densly woven fabric so again, a blue coating helps to get the needle through the fibres.I trust this helps you to resolve your problem.

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.

you can buy Elna parts from www.whitesewingcenter.com, he specialises in the Swiss Elnas and carries range of stock. Or www.sewingpartsonline.com or www.sewusa.com stock Elna parts for both early Swiss as well as the latet ones. not sure if you meant a pressure foot or the foot control. If its pressure feet the generic low shank feet may well fit your mschine too once you buy the pressure foot adaptor for the newer clip on feet. There was a Lotus Sp and a star SP but the pressure feet were the same with the built in shank you attached with a thumb screw. the air electronics had the adaptor and clip on feet but they have same height and needle position so can use on earlier ones too.

blind hem foot is good if you want to machine stitch a hem but not have a seam showing. it will have an adjustable piece you can move left or right with a screw. but blind hemming works best on straight grain and not on a curve like a skirt hem unless its a knit fabric that gives. to make a blind hem press the hem allowance up then turn the main garment piece back to form a Z shape. you then stitch along the hem side with your blind hem foot guidr running along the top fold and use the blind hem stitch which looks like three little zigzags then one big zig far to the left onto your folded piece taking a little 'bite' - this stitch shows on the right side when you press the top of the Z back flat. so you need to adjust the foot position and how wide the needle swings to minimise this stitch showing. hope this makes sense and helps you with your sewing.

can you please elaborate a bit further? do you mean the pneumatic foot control is not working? If so, check that the air line isn't sitting under your chair's leg, any pressure on this line will stop it working as it operates on air pressure into a bellows inside the machine. If you think that the foot control or the air line has a hole in it you will need to replace it, these parts are still available for sale from www.sewingpartsonline.com, just search using your Elna 2 digit model number to find it. All the Elna air electronics use the same foot control so there's no compatibility issues.

On the Carina SU there is a button on the flywheel to disengage when winding a bobbin. Be sure this button is pushed in.

Many of the new models do not require oiling.

Check the maintenace section of the manual for cleaning the shuttle area. Sometimes lint can build up and cause the machine to get noisy.

If it has been over a year since the machine was serviced, it may be time for a proffesional tune-up.

You need to pull them up from the retractable position for storage and transport, many Elnas have the retractable thread spools like this to protect them from breakage.

that is correct. you need to take to repair man unfortunately. loko on craigslist for replacement probably cheap right now.

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Is your top thread tension on 1? this sounds way too loose, should be 4 or 5.
This is a horizontal top loading bobbin machine isn't it like the Janomes?

Do you have a manual for it? It sounds to me like the top thread is too loose and as it is pulled down and around the rotary hook there is no tension on it to pull it back up through the fabric and form a stitch which is then causing it to jam. Then once youve gots bits of thread in there, its just jamming and jamming. Cleaning out the bobbin holder as you described is good, you may need to do it again and ensure all bits of thread are out of it.

I think you need to revist all the threading up and ensure that the top thread is under tension, try number 5. Also check that bobbin is correctly wound nice and smoothly, then loaded into the bobbin holder correctly so that the thread is coming off the bobbin spool in the right direction, ie thread needs to come off the bobbin, then reverse direction in a "v" shape, usually in the direction of the back of the free arm. And that the thread has been clicked into the tension spring fully, put the thread into the slot of the tension device and press down on it with your finger tip until you hear it click into tension.

Also double check the take up lever, if the thread has slipped out of this, it will jam up for sure.

If you don't have any manual for this then try www.sewusa.com, there is good troubleshooting tips and threading diagrams for lots of makes and models.

Hope this helps you, persever, its most likely threading/tension issues and can be overcome with the right settings.

I just had the same problem.
I had a look around inside the machine, without taking off too many covers. By taking off the bottom panel I was able to look up inside and see what the 'reverse' lever was doing . The lever appeared to be moving another part inside the machine, except it wasn't returning to its original position (so it was stuck in 'reverse'). I used a long stick to push it back, and sprayed some WD40 onto it and after that the lever was able to move the part back and forth, and hey presto the machine works forward and reverse again.
Hope this helps if anyone else has this problem