(no subject)

I had to do some mending and altering this morning, and one of the joys of having a sewing machine that is literally older than you are is that you can take it entirely to pieces and work out what's wrong with it if it isn't working properly. One of the pitfalls of this is that you often have to.

The needle, for some reason, wasn't staying threaded when I tried to stitch, and when it was, the bobbin thread was pulling through strangely. So I took the lower (bobbin) mechanism entirely apart, cleaned it, and reassembled it. When that didn't work, I took the upper (needle) mechanism mostly apart, cleaned it, and reassembled it. When that didn't work, I took both apart more or less at once.

Then I checked the owner's manual (also older than I am) and it said, "if the needle won't stay threaded and the bobbin thread pulls through strangely, adjust the screw on the bobbin a quarter turn."

That was literally all I needed to do: remove a piece that's removed on a regular basis anyway, turn the screw in it a quarter turn to loosen the tension, and reinsert.

Goddammit, Singer.

But at least now the hole in my undies is mended and the shirt that didn't quite fit right now fits right, so there.