What causes the embroidery thread to break or Fray?
Thread breaks and frays may or may not be separate issues. Thread breaks can be caused by tension issues, machine timing, thread path interference, thread caught under spool, old or Rayon thread or poor digitizing. Thread frays usually have more to do with timing, burrs and nicks in the thread path.
This is a good method to determine what the issue is.
- Is the thread breaking on just one needle or all needles? Yes, go to step 2. No, go to step 12.
- Did you just change the needle? Check to make sure it is not backwards, or that the eye of the needle is not pointing to the left. The eye of the needle should be straight forward or slightly to the right.
- Is the needle pushed up all the way? Sometimes if the hole for the needle is gummed up or dirty, you may have to use needle nose pliers to push the needle all the way up.
- Is the machine threaded properly? Try re-threading according to your machine manual.
- Is the top tension too tight? Or does it feel similar to other needles when you pull on it?
- Are you sure you put in a new needle? A worn needle eye will fray and break thread. Sometimes, you may have a new needle thats defective.
- Is the presser foot nicked, burred or bent? Make sure the needle is not rubbing on the presser foot. The needle should be close to the center of the hole at the bottom of the presser foot.
- Are you using Rayon thread? If you pull the thread straight out through the eye of the needle and the thread breaks, you have a defective needle, or you have old Rayon thread. Switch to Polyester thread.
- Are there too many stitches in this part of the design? If the digitizing is not done correctly, or you took a larger design and shrunk it down without taking out stitches, you could have a design that is just too dense to sew.
- Do you have the presser foot adjusted all the way down so that it touches the fabric when it is at its lowest point?
- Could the needle depth be off? Did you hit a hoop on that needle?
If thread breaking or fraying is happening on all needles, check out these suggestions.
- Have you oiled your hook today?
- Is the bobbin tension too tight or loose?
- Are there some deep scars on the needle plate?
- Is the needle going through the center of the needle throat plate? Check with your machine manual or contact your machine tech.
- Is the outside of the rotary hook area smooth without burrs or scratches?
- Build up of adhesive sprays and glues on the needle – use needle-friendly adhesives and glues. Be sure to clean the needles with rubbing or denatured alcohol between projects using sticky backing.
- Improper hooping – if the fabric is too loose or the hooping was done upside down, it can cause thread breaks. Make sure the bottom side of the fabric is resting on the top of the needle plate. If there is more than an 1/8″ gap then the hoop will bounce around and break thread when you are sewing.
- Machine timing is off – improper timing may cause thread breaks or frays.