I have the Scandia probably 5 yrs old...feed dog is up but wimpy...not moving fabric....it's sporatic...many times the fabric stops and the needle sews in place and then is will move a little - stitch length is all over the place...what's wrong?

The needle never moves forward/back on its own for most sewing machines. The needle bar goes up and down. The fabric moves due to the action of the feed dogs. First remove the fabric from under the presser foot. Check for tangled thread wrapped around the feed dogs or fabric/thread going down into the bobbin area in a tangle. Next check if the feed dogs are up. (When the feed dogs are down or covered (on some machines), the machine is in darning mode. The fabric will only move if you move it yourself.) With the fabric out of the way, rotate the hand wheel and check if the feed dogs are moving. Open up the bobbin compartment and clean out any lint, thread or other debris that may be tangling the mechanism. Take off the throat plate and check the feed dogs. A damaged throat plate can stop the feed dogs from moving properly. You may need to replace the throat plate.

For some machines, you may need to make sure that the unit is not in bobbin wind mode. This is usually obvious since the needle bar won't move either.

I hope this helps.

Cindy Wells

Are the feed dogs moving at all--like moving toward the back of the machine, dropping down below the needle plate, moving forward, rising, and then moving toward the back of the machine? Make sure the stitch length is set high enough to actually move the fabric--not set at zero or near zero. If the feed dogs stay below the needle plate, then most likely they have been dropped for darning.
If the feed dogs are frozen, not moving, and it is an older mechanical machine, they may be seized due to old oil.

Wheel on right side that controls the needle up and down is very tight...

Or, the feed dog mechanism is broken.

Is the feed dog raised into sewing position and not dropped as for darning? Feed dogs need to be in the raised position in order to pull the fabric through the machine.

If the stitch length is set too short, it will cause the fabric to barely move thereby causing the machine to stitch in one place.

Raise your presser foot and gently rotate the handwheel and watch the feed dogs. Do they rise when coming to the front of the machine, move toward the back of the machine, drop down below the needle plate, and move forward to the front of the machine again? If so, the feed dogs are working properly.

If the feed dogs never rise, they are in the dropped position for darning or free motion quilting when you would move the fabric manually.

If, on the other hand, the feed dogs do not move at all, then they are seized and you should probably get your machine serviced.

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Check that the stitch length is set to make ~10 stitches per inch. This stitch is long enough to actually move the fabric. If the stitch length is set too short, the fabric will stay barely move and the needle will stitch almost in place.

Check that the feed dogs have not been dropped for darning or free motion quilting. In this position, they do not rise and are, therefore, unable to contact the fabric to pull it through the machine.

With the presser foot raised and using no fabric, hand rotate the handwheel and watch if the feed dogs actually drop down below the needle plate, move toward the front of the machine, then rise above the needle plate, and move toward the back of the machine. If the feed dogs are moving in this manner, then they are functioning properly.

Is there lint or gunk stuck in the feed dogs? This will restrict the ability of the feed dogs to grip the fabric.

Are the feed dogs worn? Are the little teeth worn so there are no sharp points?

What type fabric are you using? If it is very light-weight or slick fabric, the feed dogs will have a difficult time gripping the fabric. Most machines have a presser foot pressure adjustment so that more pressure is applied between the presser foot and the feed dogs. Consult your Owner's Manual. The adjustment is usually a dial either on the left side of the machine, on the front of the machine located above the needle bar, or on vintage machines it is usually a skrew located under the top lid above the needle bar.

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First, make sure the feed dogs are in the up position and NOT dropped for darning.

Second, check that the stitch length is set to at least a 2 or 2.5 to make sure the feed dogs will actually move the fabric a noticeable distance. The closer the stitch length is set to zero, the closer together the stitches will be until it will sew only in one place because the fabric will no longer advance.

The feed dogs need to move. They should actually rise, move toward the back of the machine, drop down, move forward to the position to again rise--this creates one stitch. If the fabric is not moving, then it is possible that your machine has not been cleaned and oiled recently. Old oil will dry and cause the moving parts to seize.

It was working now it seems to be frozen the needle part wont move


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Look at the feed dogs to see if they are rising above the needle plate at least 1 mm. If not rising lint may have felted between the feed dogs and the needle plate. It could also be the feed dogs have been lowered, or the height has slipped. If the feed dogs are above the needle plate turn the hand wheel and see if they are moving from the front of the machine to the back. If not it is a length adjustment. If this is normal the pressure on the fabric may be too low. Another problem may be the timing of the feed dogs. The feed dogs should rise above the needle plate when the needle leaves the fabric and descend when the needle comes down into the fabric. This requires an expert to fix.

Obvious things first:

is the pressure foot lowered to hold the fabric down?
Are the feed dogs clean and not blocked up with lint?
What stitch length have you set the machine to (if this is what you mean by "5" then that's not it obviously)
Is the machine in a buttonholing sequence or something similar?
Are the feed dogs moving at all in the stitching sequence? Raise the pressure foot and without fabric or thread manually turn the flywheel towards you and watch them moving. Are they coming up above the surface of the needle plate during their sequence.

If they are not moving at all, good chance a gear in the lower shaft has failed.
If they are moving but not coming up above the needle plate enough to move the fabric backwards, then they need adjusting to the correct level.

h! there,
fabric moves forward when machine run due to movement of feed dogs,feed dog has a teeth, when your foot presser goes down attached to fabrics the pressure hold the fabric between pressure foot and feed dogs that why when machine run feed dogs pushed fabric when recieved stitch.try to check adjustment of feed dogs it maybe set at rest or neutral.reset it to upward towards needle.check also bobbins thread if accumulation was build up under feed dogs.regard and have a nice day.

hi! there if your feed dog does not move the fabric forward or backward,if this is so try to run machine w/o the fabric check if feed dog move on cycle,the teeth should be moving upward and downward rotation pushing action on your fabric,the teeth should come out to the plate slot of feed dog.if not adjust upward, and adjust also the presser foot of needle.if your feed dog is not moving when machine running,thre is a mechanical disengage or loosen in shuttle assymble and feeder dog mechanism they link together ubder the machine,as the shuttle move on one stroke the feeder also move also with the needle.Chesk the adjustment and link mechanism.in addition to this try to clean feed dogs by brush chips thread and fabrics sometimes stored on mechanism of feed dogs and shuttle.

When this happens it is because the thread tension was not right so it gets stuck under the bobbin case and the feed dogs. Use a bigger lint brush and take out the bobbin casing and clean out the shuttle. When you rethread pull slightly on the thread before you feed it through the needle. This will make sure the thread is properly in the tension discs.