Sewing is, for many of us, a hobby. And because of this, it’s really nice when it’s low-stress.

Unfortunately, things will go wrong and you’ll likely cause a jam sometime during your sewing years.

If you are one of the many folks who sew, or want to sew without the stress of jams, read on for jam prevention sewing tips.

Before I go on though, it must be said in my experience, there are two causes of jams.

The first, and what I’ll address in this article, is related to sewing technique or procedure.

The other, which I cover in another article, is related to the machine and it’s operation or maintenance.

Stitch and Tension Settings

Double-check your stitch settings.

The proper stitch selection, length and width for what you are going to sew. Is the stitch long enough, wide enough?

And check your tension settings, is the tension tight enough, but not too tight?

If you are sewing a fabric for the first time, or just rethreaded your machine or are using a new-to-you stitch, test on scrap fabric. It’s always better to ball up and jam scrap fabric than your actual project.

If your thread tension is too loose, you could get unwanted balls of fabric that jam your machine.

Generally, if your thread is too tight, you’ll have other issues. But if it’s an imbalance where one thread is much tighter it could pull the thread to the other side of the fabric and cause a ball that jams. (This is more common with the bottom being tighter than the top and the top just balls up on the bottom of the fabric.)

Presser Foot Down

Make sure you always start sewing with the presser foot down.

If the presser foot is lifted, the tension disks are open. And that means if you try to sew, the top thread will be way too loose. And it’ll just make a ball of thread. And that can cause a jam.

Side note, I often will get my fabric in there, with the foot up, and maneuver it into place and tap my pedal to put the needle through the fabric. I have the feature to stop with the needle down though. If not, I’d hold the fabric there, turn the hand wheel till the needle is in the fabric and then put the presser foot down. I don’t always do this, but I sometimes do with tricky things that like to slip around before I can start sewing. If you try it, make sure you aren’t taking a full stitch, that you are stopping with the needle down.

But truthfully, I’ve done it. I’ve shoved a wad of fabric in under the presser foot and forgot to lower it. It happens. But the good news, is it’s usually really recoverable. After you clean up all the balls of thread that just got created.

Start Sewing Slowly

I would have to say that the vast majority of the jams that I have happen to me happen in the first 2 stitches when starting to sew.

When you start sewing the seam, start sewing slow so you can catch and prevent a jam at the beginning if it looks like it’s going to happen.

It’s always a good idea to ease up to the full speed of the machine rather than just smashing the pedal down.

And if it looks like a jam is happening, chances are it is. So, don’t just floor the pedal and hope the machine powers through. It usually just makes it worse.

Conclusion

We are human. I mean, I am, I’m assuming if you’re reading this, you are too.

And as such, we are not infallible. That means we will likely do things that cause jams.

Don’t get discouraged. Just, learn from your mistakes so you can try to not make them in the future.

Though 30+ Years of sewing and I still occasionally make some of these.

I’m Human.