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I've completely lost my mind. (Moderated by Sharon1952, EleanorSews)
Posted on: 12/8/06 0:57 AM ET
I cannot, for the life of me, get my coverstitch working on any knit fabric. The top looks fine, but underneath the stitches are skipping. I'm not getting that nice consistent row of "v" shapes. The stitches basically look like a ladder. I can get it to work on cotton, but it messes up on knits. I'm very new to this and I know I'm doing something stupid. But after three days, I'm at a loss for how to fix this. I tried consulting the manual. Ha! I've tried universal, ball point, stretch needles. I've changed the tensions, differential feed, stitch length, presser foot pressure. I have checked the threading and the thread path. Although I will go re-check it yet again since I have done so many stupid things with threading it. I have checked the presser foot and the needle plate for burrs. I have stared at the serger, I have yelled at the serger, I even tried talking nicely to the serger.
Any of you coverstitch pros out there have any suggestions? Please?
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Any of you coverstitch pros out there have any suggestions? Please?

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Jennifer
Posted on: 12/8/06 1:07 AM ET
In reply to Pyrose
Have you tried the ELX705 needles that are recommended for Coverhem? Laddering is usually caused by the looper tension being too tight. You might also want to see if lowering the needle tensions help too. I suggest to only adjust one tension at a time to see what happens. Good luck to you.
-- Edited on 12/8/06 1:25 AM --
-- Edited on 12/8/06 1:25 AM --
Posted on: 12/8/06 1:15 AM ET
In reply to Pyrose
Pyrose, I am sorry you are having bother with your machine. I don't have this model, but have found whenever the underneath stitches mess up on my CS machine, it is normally a threading/tension problem.
I hope it is easily fixed for you.

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I hope it is easily fixed for you.

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Vonne ºOº Brisbane Australia
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Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age and dreams are forever.
We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.
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Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age and dreams are forever.
We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.
Posted on: 12/8/06 5:38 AM ET
Pyrose -- When I first got my Babylock BLCS, I had to do quite a bit of tweaking to the tension dials to eliminate skipped stitches. It's possible that something similar is going on with your machine. As Klynne mentioned, I had to decrease the looper tension quite a bit.
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Carolyn
Posted on: 12/8/06 7:29 AM ET
What machine are you using?
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"I base my fashion sense on what doesn't itch." — Gilda Radner
http://stitchesandseams.blogspot.com
"I base my fashion sense on what doesn't itch." — Gilda Radner
http://stitchesandseams.blogspot.com
Posted on: 12/8/06 8:49 AM ET
I am using a Janome Compulock.
Man, I really don't want to post this, but I have to. Part of the problem was I didn't even have the thing threaded right. After I posted my question, I reminded myself this is me we're talking about here. So I went back to check the machine again, and sure enough it turns out I can't read or tell colors apart. However, I will say in my defense that they picked an orangish color paint for the red path, so I got it confused with the orange path.
So now that I've actually got the thing threaded right, I've been fiddling with the tensions like mad. I did notice improvement when lowering the lower looper tension. But then I got to the point when it was too loose, so I realize there's something else I need to tweak. I then noticed that it appeared the right needle tension was off (I could see the loop popping out underneath). So I fiddled with that. I got to the point where I could get some "v"s to show up, but that's about it.
Now watch, later I'll be sitting down to figure out the problem, then I'll realize "Oh wait! I'm sitting at the sewing machine, not the serger! Silly me!"

Edited to add: Kylnne2, I have not yet tried ELx705. Although I should have known to try it since you posted info about those needles in my other needle topic. I will get some of those type of needles today and try it out.
-- Edited on 12/8/06 9:12 AM --
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Man, I really don't want to post this, but I have to. Part of the problem was I didn't even have the thing threaded right. After I posted my question, I reminded myself this is me we're talking about here. So I went back to check the machine again, and sure enough it turns out I can't read or tell colors apart. However, I will say in my defense that they picked an orangish color paint for the red path, so I got it confused with the orange path.
So now that I've actually got the thing threaded right, I've been fiddling with the tensions like mad. I did notice improvement when lowering the lower looper tension. But then I got to the point when it was too loose, so I realize there's something else I need to tweak. I then noticed that it appeared the right needle tension was off (I could see the loop popping out underneath). So I fiddled with that. I got to the point where I could get some "v"s to show up, but that's about it.Now watch, later I'll be sitting down to figure out the problem, then I'll realize "Oh wait! I'm sitting at the sewing machine, not the serger! Silly me!"


Edited to add: Kylnne2, I have not yet tried ELx705. Although I should have known to try it since you posted info about those needles in my other needle topic. I will get some of those type of needles today and try it out.
-- Edited on 12/8/06 9:12 AM --
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Jennifer
Posted on: 12/8/06 9:33 AM ET
In reply to Pyrose
I'm not familiar with the Compulock except through photos, so this is just general advice ...
1. Thread nets. Slipping a net over each cone or spool will add a bit more tension. I think Janome includes them with their sergers, so you should have some.
2. On my Viking combo serger/CS machine, there is a set of tension "clips" right before the needles that you must use when coverstitching (but not for overlocking). Maybe the Janome has those too? I know lots of Viking owners miss those clips when first trying the CS functions.
3. My Viking will only use size 90 needles for CS. What does your Janome require?
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1. Thread nets. Slipping a net over each cone or spool will add a bit more tension. I think Janome includes them with their sergers, so you should have some.
2. On my Viking combo serger/CS machine, there is a set of tension "clips" right before the needles that you must use when coverstitching (but not for overlocking). Maybe the Janome has those too? I know lots of Viking owners miss those clips when first trying the CS functions.
3. My Viking will only use size 90 needles for CS. What does your Janome require?
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--
"I base my fashion sense on what doesn't itch." — Gilda Radner
http://stitchesandseams.blogspot.com
"I base my fashion sense on what doesn't itch." — Gilda Radner
http://stitchesandseams.blogspot.com
Posted on: 12/8/06 2:16 PM ET
Ron50 recently posted something about the EL needles and why they are a requirement on a lot of coverhem machines. It's quite mechanically detailed, but I'm guessing your machine needs them since the Janome Coverpro (coverhem only) machine does.
It's a common problem, one that drove me nuts with my older Pfaff serger. Try a longer stitch length (3 to 4) in addition to all the other advice. For some reason a coverstitch will skip more if the stitch length is short.
It's a common problem, one that drove me nuts with my older Pfaff serger. Try a longer stitch length (3 to 4) in addition to all the other advice. For some reason a coverstitch will skip more if the stitch length is short.
Posted on: 12/8/06 11:20 PM ET
Thanks everyone for all your suggestions. I tried everything so far except the spool nets and ELx705 needles. I don't have any spool nets and the dealer was out of them(of course). I'll try to get some tomorrow and try that. As for the needles, I was finally able to get a hold of the exact type my manual recommends. It's still not working. Not even a teensiest change for the better. I would think it should work with those needles since it tells me to specifically get 15x1SP. Heck, the needles were even Janome brand. I have changed the tensions one by one in different directions to see what would happen. It seems to want to improve when I lower the looper tension, but if I go too far it gets worse. So then I'll leave it where it's the best and try adjusting one needle tension at a time. I have no idea what's going on. And it's really ticking me off!!!
So now I have a TOL serger that doesn't coverstitch, do the chain, or do the 5 thread safety stitch. It does all other stitches beautifully. I'm thinking since it does the others fine, then it must be me and not the machine. I think I'm just going to use it to do regular overlocking and just forget trying to do anything else with it.
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So now I have a TOL serger that doesn't coverstitch, do the chain, or do the 5 thread safety stitch. It does all other stitches beautifully. I'm thinking since it does the others fine, then it must be me and not the machine. I think I'm just going to use it to do regular overlocking and just forget trying to do anything else with it.------
Jennifer
Posted on: 12/8/06 11:44 PM ET
In reply to Pyrose
Just another thought on this problem....I have a switch on the foot of my serger that can be set at either A or B and one setting is for regular serging and the other setting for coverhem. Does your serger have this switch and is it set to the proper setting? The other setting is disabling the upper looper, not with a converter but with a switch that drops the looper..does your serger have this and if so is it set correctly for coverhem. Is your thread antenna all the up as high as it will go? You might have these setting correctly set if your serger has them..but it also boggles my mind why you cannot get your stitches done the way they should be. I hope you will still give the Schmetz ELx705 needles a try.
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