Sewing Fleece Help

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Roclibrarian

Roclibrarian

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I've not used a sewing machine before and bought one of those cheap mini ones. It works fine on the cotton material which came with it, but can't get it to stich fleece!
When I try fleece, it looks like it's sewing but leaves no stiches behind. I tryed loosening the tension, it managed to leave one stich behind.
Any ideas were I am going wrong? It's driving me potty.
I did make some potty pads with iron on hemming, but they disintegrated in the wash lol. Need to get sewing.
 
How many layers are you trying to sew? And what model of machine are you using? All I can suggest is to re thread it and Google some tutorials. I've got a John Lewis mini which was quite cheap. It really can't sew much more than two layers of poundland cheap thin fleece. It's good but just not strong enough for that material.
 
It's difficult to say, but it certainly sounds like the machine you are using does not have the power to push the needle all the way through the fleece and pick up the thread on the bottom to make a complete stitch (if that makes sense).

You can try to make sure you have a sharp needle (I replace mine every 2 - 3 weeks, but I also sew a lot) and try using a thicker needle (80 or 90), but ultimately if the machine doesn't have the power then none of that will help.

I know you can pick up a basic but very functional machine not too much, and if you already have the materials the cost of a sewing machine will still be less than buying a couple of liners.
I did already have my machine, but the sewing I have done for the piggies has saved me a small fortune.
 
Thanks guys, I think the machine is just not up to it. It was only £15 and turned out to be false economy. Aldi is doing a digital sewing machine for £150 from today. Lidl are doing a more basic one for £60 from Sunday, so I think I'll splash out on one of them.
 
If you have a budget of up to £150 I would google machines that can cope with thicker fabrics. I did that and ended up with a machine that copes very well with thicker layers. I think there was a choice of 3 that came up when I looked (earlier on this year) one was the machine they use in the Sewing Bee programme and was a bit pricey - the other 2 were in my budget and I chose the one that people had posted helpful guides on youtube which I could refer to if I had a problem (I hadn't used a sewing machine since school) which was a long long time ago....
 
Well Lidl had a special offer today on sewing machines, so I got one for £60. It's brilliant. I'm a beginner, but have already sewed my first two potty pads. I'm surprised how easy it was......I was rubbish at school. I can now finally do something with that big bag of fleece I've been buying
:roll:
 
Roclibrarian said:
Well Lidl had a special offer today on sewing machines, so I got one for £60. It's brilliant. I'm a beginner, but have already sewed my first two potty pads. I'm surprised how easy it was......I was rubbish at school. I can now finally do something with that big bag of fleece I've been buying
:roll:
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Fab!
 
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