Sewing machines used to be fairly simple machines. You had a few different presser feet for straight sewing, buttonholes, and a few specialty stitches. The machines would wind bobbins of thread in different colors, and then you only had to install a bobbin and a spool to start sewing.
Now, so many new additions, bells, and whistles have made sewing machines much more complex. The good news is that all of the computerized technology that goes into these machines provides sewers, seamstresses, and tailors with a lot of different sewing, embroidery, and fancy stitching options. The bad news is that, when it comes time to repair the machine, the repairs are never simple. Here are some sewing machine repairs that are very different from the repairs needed by the basic sewing machines of the pre-computerized sewing era.
The On-Board Computer
This is both a boon and a drawback to modern sewing. Like a mini-CNC machine, you can press and enter numerical codes into your sewing machine that will automatically sew anything, any stitch, any pattern, and add a decorative flourish if you choose. The problem, as is the case with any sort of computer or digital programming, is that the computer can begin to malfunction or the buttons will refuse to press. It is akin to trying to type on a laptop, but certain keys stick or refuse to type, no matter how much you press them. Then you cannot use a number of stitches you have been accustomed to using. Repairs to the on-board computer with this sewing machine can be some of the most expensive sewing machine repairs to make, too.
Multiple Spools of Thread
More common with sergers than with standard sewing machines, multiple large spools of thread line up behind the machine. Bobbins can be wound off of any of these spools, and you can program the machine to switch between thread colors simply by the number-coded spools. It looks complicated, and it can be to the beginning sewer, but experienced sewers love this feature. The trouble begins when the machine becomes confused about the spool order, and you end up with pink thread on a blue garment, or something similar. Something internally is off, and the repairs required have to reset the machine's programming so that the spools are number-coded in order again. When the repairs are made, bobbins of thread made from the spools should be correct as well.
For more information, contact a sewing machine repair service.
