ELNA 1000 not moving fabric through.

Fabric jamming in your machine may be caused by the feed dogs. The feed dogs are those tiny teeth along the sewing machine underneath the presser foot as those teeth pull the fabric through when the needle is making stitches. Lint or debris in the feed dog area can jam the mechanisms preventing them to move.

https://sewingmadesimple.net/why-does-my-sewing-machine-keep-jamming/

Probably not all to do with tension as to the thread. Is it the same in the bobbin and top? Is the thread new (and not cheap thread) is the needle the correct size for the material? and often times the needle is threaded incorrectly, a very common mistake. We all do it. :-)

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

The tension dial is on the front of the machine right above the needle. The higher the number, the tighter the tension is applied to the top thread. HINT: When threading the top thread, ALWAYS RAISE the presser foot throughout the entire threading process. This allows the thread to seat completely in the tension disk. Tension is correct when the top and bobbin threads meet in the middle of the fabric.

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thread looping on the underside is a symptom of no tension on the top thread so you need to look at the top threading path and the tension dial, is it set to 5? and is the thread pulled fully into the tension disc? Also always thread the top thread with the presser foot raised as this opens up the tension discs so the thread can bed in correctly. If you can see the feed dogs rising up and down above the needle plate during their cycle then they should be gripping and moving the fabric forward. Is there presser foot coming down firmly onto the fabric when you release the presser foot bar? This part does have a big spring inside which applies pressure downwards, maybe this is what the mechanic meant was broken. Was he a sewing machine technician? Maybe try to locate an old school Elna technician, start with www.elna.com and go to your country, then search for a local dealer.

Firstly check that you have the top thread going through the tension device and threaded correctly, including the thread take up lever, loops on the underside is a sure sign that the top thread is not under tension. With the broken needles thrown in, it does sound like your machine needs some love from a trained Elna technician. Great machine so worth the cost of a service IMHO.

130/705h, standard sewing machine needle for 99% of all domestic machines. Flat shank to the back of the machine. Sharp or universal for woven, ball point for stretch fabrics. Choose needle size depending on fabric weight you are sewing. 60 for fine silk, 70 cotton voile, 80 for poplin, 90 for home spun or drill, 100 for denim, 110 for coating, curtains etc.

Needs to be a ball point needle for stretch fabric, sounds like you are using universal sharp needle. Stretch fabrics require ball point to push between the fibres, also, a slight zig zag stitch is more durable as when you stretch the garment during wear a straight stitch will often break, need some elasticity in the seams. Some machines have a stretch stitch too.

Feed dog lever should lower the feed dogs, these are the teeth that grip and move the fabric foward and backwards as the needle goes up and down, they are under the needle plate.

Only time you would lower the feed dogs is if you want to do free motion embroidery or darning perhaps.

So no, don't touch for normal seam stitching. If you are sewing very heavy fabric you may want to lessen the pressure on the presser foot a little (if your machine has this adjustment it will be a knob on top of the head above the pressure foot area).

You may find that your machine doesn't really like very thick fabrics. Sewing something like upholstery weight with a domestic machine is pretty ambitious; an industrial strength machine is best bet.

Are you sure the feed dogs are faulty, its more likely that they are full of fluff or need resetting if they are moving too low. Is your needle plate correctly installed too, if it is sitting up a bit high it will mean the feed dogs arent coming through the holes at the correct height.

I did buy a machine like this recently, owner said it did'nt sew. The needle plate was fitted upside down, 30 second fix!

If you don't have a repairer you know of in your area, then start with the Elna website www.elna.com, go to your country, then "Dealers" and locate your local Elna dealer.