Singer 9117 Sewing Machine

[MartySews2]

Nothing but water or an occasional Diet 7-Up or iced tea for me. Since I don't have a sewing room, I have a rule of no beverages around my machines or my fabric unless it is sealed with a lid. That seems to work okay with my family.
Marty

[dcagliero]

I didn't actually mean drink while sewing ahahahahahaha. I wouldn't even keep a glass a water near me for fear of knocking it over. Well here goes gals. I threaded my machine no prob. I threaded the bobbin, no prob. Bobbin is all good turning clockwise with the thread BUT ( go figure ) there is a PROB. The ( feed dogs ) I guess their called don't seem to be working. The material is not being pulled AT ALL. I tried some on line trouble shooting. The foot dogs are up and my pressure foot is down. There are no additional adjustments for my pressure foot either only has a up and down nothing in between. Sounds like my barter machine isn't up to par. Should this be a easy fix at the sewing machine doctor or ???? Any suggestions ???? ps. still haven't had that glass of wine yet, maybe I should

[dcagliero]

Also need to add - the machine is making a stick but I have to totally tug the material through and still am fighting it

[bridesmom]

I don't understand what u mean by the machine making a stick?

[bridesmom]

Try to sew with no thread in the needle and no fabric and watch the feed dogs, they should be moving up and down in a kind of circular motion. If that's not happening it could be as easy as a thread or fluff caught or a trip to the sewing machine hospital

[dcagliero]

I'm sorry Marty and Laura. I'm not very good at explaining stuff, especially with sewing, yikes. Let's see how to put it, it's like the material just isn't being fed through at all. I will try what you said Laura and use the machine without material or thread and see how the foot dogs work. My husband said it might be the gears for the foot dogs which you can replace. They have them on line for $12 a set of two. And they have a video that tells you how to replace them.

[MartySews2]

Dee, first of all, did you use your bobbin winder or did you wind your bobbin by hand? Was your presser foot in the up position when you threaded your machine? Did you oil your machine following the directions in your manual? You could have some thread or lint caught in the bobbin race if your machine was purchased used. Do you have the correct size bobbin for your machine? How is your thread unwinding from the spool? It should be in a clockwise direction. Check your manual to be sure. Always thread your machine with the presser foot in the up position so the threads can be seated in the tension disks. Winding your bobbin on the machine's bobbin winder will make for a smoother bobbin. Otherwise, if you wind your bobbin by hand, the thread could be wound unevenly. If your machine has been sitting up for some time (over 2 weeks) then drops of machine oil in the correct ports will make everything run smoother. Always test on a scrap of fabric to catch any excess oil. Please do NOT use WD-40 or 3-in-1 oil as they will gunk up your machine. Only use sewing machine oil from a dealer or a sewing machine store. Remove your bobbin parts to check for any built up lint or pieces of thread caught in the machine. Let us know what you find.
Marty

[Pudge99]

I have sewn on some machines from this time frame. Many of them had a stitch length regulator dial. Your's could be set to zero which would make it so the feed dogs don't move.

[LeapFrog Libby]

My regular sewing machine has a button to lower the feed dogs. when you get thru sewing free motion and get ready for regular sewing , you push the button and then you have to start sewing before the feed dogs will come back up. I don't know how your machine works , but check your manual carefully.

[dcagliero]

First and foremost I want to THANK you ALL for being so helpful ! I would have been lost without you all ! Libby, Gina, Laura, Marty and Lennie I started going through each one of your suggestions for the process of elimination. Guess who the winner is GINA! I DO have a "Adjusting Stitch Length Dial" on my machine and I had it all the way over on #1. I now moved it in between #2-3 and YEAH it works the feed dogs pull! Saved by the Sewing Power Group! I will get a move on to my project and send pictures