Removing Thread from the Upper Tension Unit on Brother PE-770

After almost three months of excitement over the wonders of my embroidery machine, a Brother PE-770, something happened.  I looked up to see that my thread had shredded and was knotted up and had magically disappeared in my machine.  I was stunned.  And I was in denial.

I re-threaded, and kept sewing... and noticed some stitch quality issues. Realizing that thread doesn't simply disappear, I tried the "use unwaxed dental floss" method that is often suggested on the Facebook Embroidery Message Boards, and still nothing.  So I kept sewing, in my child-like hope that stuff will just work itself out, until I couldn't deny it any more.  I had a problem.  I just didn't know where the thread was.  Similar stitch quality issues posted on the embroidery message boards kept insisting the problem had to do with the bobbin case.

So I took off the throat plate, since I knew how to do that, using a penny to unscrew it, and peered down.  I found one of the tiny threads that posters are always showing as the culprit.  I knew this was not my problem.  My problem was red thread, a big glob of it, that disappeared at the top of my machine.  Despite that, I lifted out the bobbin case and vacuumed the area.

In desperation, I even used canned air despite the warnings on the message boards not to.  I used a mirror and tried to look up the machine from the needle, hoping to see the thread dangling from a mysteriously hidden place.  Nothing. I changed my needle, my bobbin, I re-threaded... and re-threaded again.  I just wanted to see inside but was afraid to do anything that would "hurt" my machine or make things worse!

Finally, I contacted my favorite machine repairman, Nelson Maynard, who worked at Baer Fabrics for many years as a repair technician during some of the same years I worked there.  Baer's had a Bernina and Babylock dealership for decades.

Nelson started his own repair service after the store closed so I trusted his opinion on this and I was just desperate enough to ask the favor of what he suggested I do.  This was his response:

That was magical information!!  Once he said I could check on that myself, I had some courage. Following his advice....I found the screw hole he mentioned.  The screw is tiny and set in deeply.

And I removed the cover over the tension unit as he suggested.  I immediately saw the red thread!!

I lifted the presser foot as instructed.  That opens the tension discs so that the thread slides right off.  I removed the thread using the long tweezers that I use for my serger.

I replaced the cover and then tested the stitching.  You can see the letter "D" that I did earlier before removing the thread and all the loops and horrible, sloppy stitches.  Then you can see the letter "N" that I stitched AFTER removing the thread!  

This is the back of my stitching.  You can really see how much thread was looping up under the hoop before removing the thread.  The letter "N" shows that the stitching is normal again AFTER removing the thread in the tension unit.

And now this statement from me to you:
This solved my problem!  I am not suggesting you do this.  I am only sharing what I did to solve my stitch quality issues in this instance.  Also if your machine is under warranty, you will want to consider that Brother says the warranty is void if you open the machine in any way.  If you are in doubt, you should contact the Brother Corporation or your local authorized repair person.

If you are looking for a repair person, and are not too far from Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, check out Nelson Maynard Sewing Machine Service and Repair (click here) or contact him via email at nkmaynard2 at gmail dot com.  He has experience with all sorts of machines (check out the photos on his Facebook page!) and he has tuned up my sewing machine and serger for many years when I worked at Baer's (which means it has been too long since my last tune-up!)  Nelson is a real character, usually donning denim overalls but can occasionally be spotted in his kilt.  He is also a writer and an all-around good guy and totally trust-worthy.  And nope, he didn't pay me a thing to say this nor did he ask me to!

And now this statement from Nelson to you:
"There are a couple of good reasons that this sewing machine repair man feels that every home sewer should keep her (or his) machine in the good condition.

For one thing, it's a lot easier to work on a machine that has been well maintained than on one that has been neglected; I can turn around a machine a lot more quickly if I don't have to clear out wound-up thread from the shafts or evict small animals from the undercarriage.

For another, while I am happy to work on my customers' machines if they have significant mechanical problems, I don't want you to have to do without your machines for a week or two (or three, depending on my backlog) only to find out that there wasn't any significant problem to start with, and that a little bit of home diagnostics would have saved you  the time and expense of having your machines serviced.  (So, for instance, you bring me your machine, describe your problem, and put it on the table; I look at it, take the needle out, turn it around, and say, "Here ya go; that'll be eight-five dollars."  No, there's no way for that to be anything but awkward...)

So, while I'd suggest regular tune-ups to keep your machine in fighting trim, I think we are all well-served by watching out for your machine's well-being between visits."

And...he had this to add to me so I thought I would pass it along too because qualified and trusted free advice is rare....

Thanks for checking out out my post today!  I hope it was helpful to you.  Check out my Embrilliance Software and Machine Embroidery page here on my blog (see the tab above or click the link) for my previous posts on embroidery, lists of my resources for learning and supplies with direct links, and my notes.

Links to all my pages, including my paper-crafting Project Gallery, are on the tabs under the header of my blog.

Coming soon:  Baby Embroidery Gift Set Tutorials!

Loopdedoo Bracelets for Girls, Dolls, Paper Crafting ..and Goodbye to Baer Fabrics

One of the gifts I gave my daughter this year, in an attempt to give her a new, fun, creative craft outlet this winter, was a Loopdedoo.  I went to the store to pick up a friendship bracelet kit I had seen- a different brand in fact- but the cool packaging and sticker announcing that this was a Toy Of The Year Finalist caught my attention instead.

What makes it super easy to use-- even for an 8-year-old like my daughter, is that the spinning tool turns the core threads as you cover them with wrap threads.  It turns manually-- no batteries or noisy motor! They tie off with a simple knot, leaving the end threads exposed. In a matter of minutes, my kiddo can complete a bracelet herself. Learning was so easy with the how-to videos created by the company (no searching Youtube, hoping other crafters have supplied instructions like so many other craft tools).  My kiddo has made tons of bracelets for herself, some for friends...and even some for her dolls!  (They also have just created an advanced video for making Loopde strands longer than 8-1/2" long.  So far, she hasn't needed anything that long!)

To tell you that she has been bitten by this bug is an understatement!  It is easy to use and comes with everything you need to get started--although I did donate an extra pair of embroidery scissors to the cause!  It came with 18 skeins of embroidery floss, but that went pretty fast once she started cranking them out.  I found bulk packs of embroidery floss at a nearby craft store (super cheap with a coupon) and then we scavenged my crafty space for bakers twine, ribbon floss, perle cotton, and crochet thread.  No fiber was safe!  We even tried using charms and beads.

She makes a 7" Loopde strand to make a bracelet for her wrist. The company makes charms on a strand that can be twisted into the bracelet, but we found adding a charm from my stash is easy enough to do one at a time.

She decided to make some for her American Girl dolls.

We learned that American Girl doll hands are different on each side.  The right hand is slightly more open, requiring a larger bracelet to get it over the right hand than the left!  For bracelets to be worn on the doll's right-hand wrist, my kiddo twisted a 4-1/2" Loopde.  For bracelets for the left-hand doll wrist, she twisted a 4" Loopde.  For doll ankle bracelets, she twisted a 5" Loopde!

I helped her to make a tiny attachment loop.  The directions say that the attachment loop should be a finger's width away from the hook.  For a doll bracelet, we made the attachment loop about two doll fingers width.

Making the attachment loop this small meant that we had to use a crochet hook to help tie off the finished bracelet!

It is even easier with a helper!

My daughter used three lengths for the core and 4 lengths for the wrap threads.  Three skeins of embroidery floss will make two doll bracelets and one doll anklet!

So, as I helped her and tried a few of my own for fun, I started to be reminded of a tool we used to sell at a fabric store I worked at that helped a seamstress easily twist fibers together to make trims.  It made me think of using the Loopdedoo spinning tool to make cording, frogs, and trims on accessories!  I think it is a great tool for paper crafters too!  I made a button closure for an envelope I am using in a journal.

I am still using the bulk bakers twine that I got from Country Clean Paper Supplies.

I used only two fibers for this:  embroidery floss and bakers twine.  I wanted a closure that was thicker than just bakers twine alone and this worked perfectly.  I measured out three lengths for the core and 2-1/2 lengths for the wrap.  I twisted a 6-1/2" Loopde strand (alternating between color block and swirl looping styles) and cut the core threads to finish at 7-1/2".  (The paper envelope was cut from Cricut Artiste at 3-1/2"-- page 33.  I cut off the scallop edge).  I glued the shank buttons on with E6000 plastic adhesive, catching the small attachment loop under the top button before gluing.

The Loopdedoo kit turned out to be a great purchase.  My daughter loves using it to make things for herself, for her dolls, and for quick gifts for her friends!  I found this one at a local Meijer store for about $29.  If you think this might be a fun tool for your kiddo, I would suggest also picking up a pair of embroidery scissors and a couple sizes of crochet hooks-- a small one for tiny attachment loops and a big one for chunky fibers!  They fit perfectly in the drawer under the tool.  The drawer is too small for the instruction booklet and all the embroidery threads and other fibers your kid will be sure to acquire so a little sewing basket or box is helpful too!

Earlier in this post, I mentioned that I had worked at a fabric store a while ago.  Actually, I worked at Baer Fabrics for nearly 17 years.  I started there as a teacher, teaching teenagers how to sew at a Summer Camp.  I had just graduated high school the week I got the job, so I was a teenager too!  It was just supposed to be a summer job.  I quit for a few months, moving to New York for college.  I hated it and came home to attend the University of Louisville.  Baer's hired me right back. I was in sales for years there before being asked to do the visual merchandising for the store.  I did that for years and then was asked to manage the home decor department-- the 3rd floor of this fantasy-land for creative folks!  At some point, I took on managing the first floor as well, but when my friend who had left his job at Baer's had returned, as did several of us who left, I happily jumped to give him back the management of that floor!  (That friend, by the way, was my best friend and he later became my only attendant at my wedding.  Yes, I had a male attendant.  He and his wife -an ex-Baer employee- flew to The Venetian in Las Vegas for our wedding.  During the ceremony, to add to the strangeness of it all, we looked out and saw one of our Baer Fabrics customers watching the wedding with her family!)

I left again when I decided to just work for my husband and found out I was pregnant during my two-weeks notice.  My friends threw me another great shower; the first was my bridal shower the year before, where everyone made special keepsakes for me.  (The gifts from the bridal shower were so beautiful and all handmade-- meticulous, perfect and so impressive that my mother-in-law's best friend, who was in-attendance, jokingly lied when I opened a vase from her, telling everyone she had hand-cut the crystal.  I married into a loving, though uncrafty, family!)  It was quite a send-off!  I came back to Baer's a couple of years later when my husband sold his business, to start an Ebay department for the store.  I worked that and another full-time job at the same time, and finally quit again when my mother developed breast cancer and my husband's new business was taking off so that I could work just one full-time job, a horrible but better-paying job as a bookkeeper at a construction company.  The owner (and president) of Baer's was hard to say goodbye to and my two-weeks notice went on for months until he finally found someone to take over for me.  I considered that more than a compliment, as hard as it was.  After I finally left, while I was still at the construction company, I learned that Baer Fabrics was closing for financial reasons.  I went back to work at Baer's for the last day of business and I did so for free and without asking just so I could say good-bye to the people, the institution, and the owner who once told me I was like a daughter to him.  The folks there saw me through becoming a college graduate, through the deaths of my grandparents, through my sister's leg amputation, through my wedding, through becoming a mom, and through so many little moments too.  It felt like home.... with a dysfunctional family, but home!

I only mention this because I found out a day or so ago that the building is being prepared for demolition.  Farewell, Baer Fabrics!  I had more laughter and more tears there than in any one building my whole life.  I will miss seeing you from the expressway and from the downtown streets that always led me to you, the magic inside those walls, and the kind and generous people who worked and shopped there who made it impossible to stay away...

Thank you for checking my blog post today!  To see many of my previous projects, check My Project Gallery.  So see my previous doll clothing and accessory posts, check my Doll Clothes and Accessories page.