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Okay. So I've said before I'm not all that educated or experienced in the artform of seamstressing and tailoring. Today it comes into focus in a bad way. 
I need help, big time.
I used to machine sew suede or leather pawpads with ease. I just clipped them to my mohair and stitched away. No problems.
Lately, however... especially today... two things are happening which stops me in my tracks. It only happens when I sew pawpads in suede or leather, and never when I'm sewing mohair pieces together, or any other fabric for that matter.
They are:
1. The needle goes in and out... and takes ZERO STICHES along the way! It just makes little holes and moves forward, leaving nothing behind at all in the way of stitching or thread. It does this only while "sewing" the suede or leather parts. When it hits mohair, it's business as usual.
And YES --I am using a leather needle! It comes in a little plastic white case that says LEATHER so I think I've got that part right, at least!
2. The needles goes in and out and tries to take a stitch... but the thread gets all frayed and bunched up within about three stitches, and breaks off at the needle eye area. Again, without changing any settings, when I get to all mohair, this problem goes away.
I've tried adjusting the tension a bit but I don't really know what I'm doing, and it doesn't seem to make any difference. In fact, I don't really understand the numbers on the tension adjustment dial... I just adjust until the threads meet sorta kinda between the two pattern halves... not on one side or the other. Are the bigger numbers a HIGHER tension... meaning the top thread is more taut as it's stitched?
And with that suede/leather issue... What the HECK is going on here?
AARGH!!!!
Please don't tell me to handstitch the paws or I will poke my awl into my eye.
Thanks in advance for any help or advice you can give!!!
Cluelessly yours,
Wild Thyme OriginalsI have my fingers crossed that someone with actual sewing machine knowedge is typing at the same time I am, and that Shelli will not maim herself with that awl! :pray: DON'T DO IT SHELLI!!!! We need you here! What has me really perplexed is that it is only happening on suede or leather... that is just too wierd. Now, when I get the machine out... dust it off... once a year.... to make Halloween costumes, I find that after going five or six stitches, I have a huge mass of bobbin thread on the back of the material, and five or six beautiful stitches at the front of the machine. Yes, I'm thinking your problem must be a tension issue. Either that or it has something to do with your "feed dogs." that's the only other part of the sewing machine I know.... But I don't really know what those puppies do either. Quite frankly, my machine terrifies me... "Tension," "feed dogs" it all sounds so mean and scary! I hate to think how productive I could be if I got over my fear of the machine! Somebody please jump in here and save Shelli!
Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild tHyme Originals
http://www.picturetrail.com/bastadolls
Pandy Potter BearsI've had this problem before. I used to use a layer of very thin paper/tissue paper over the ultrasuede and it just ripped off after I had stitched. It helped the needle go through. I don't know the why or how but it did help. Hope this helps!
Back Road BearsLMAO!!!!
Oh, Shelli, I feel your furstration!!!
OK, try lengthening your stitches until the thread catches. (You may have to go around twice if you feel your stitches are too long.)
Yes, the higher the number the stronger the tension. When you adjust the tension on your thread you should usually adjust the tension on your pressor foot too. I find it usually works best when the numbers on both match or come close.
This is NOT an uncommon problem. In fact, Nancy mentions it in her Bears with a Past book..... I'm just not recalling if she said why it happens or how to fix it. You have that book don't you?? It might help.
I may have been no help but until someone else comes along with a suggestions it's something, I hope!!!
:hug:
Country BearsAwww heck Shelli, sewing machines, don't ya just love 'em!! NOT!!! :hug:
I've NEVER understood tension (well in the sewing machine sense, I know exactly what daily tension is all about!! 
) I really need to learn this, my machine does this a LOT!!
<Holler> DILU, oh DILU........ :dance: Dilu will know - she's my sewing machine GENIOUS!!! 
When you adjust the tension on your thread you should usually adjust the tension on your pressor foot too.
You can adjust the tension on the pressor foot?????????
Cracking up here...
Sunnie BearsShelli,
Don't know what kind of machine you use, but the presser foot tension is adjusted by the big button on the top that is in line with the needle. It has a big spring on it and if you push down on it, it will tighten the tension. Leather can be a bear to sew (no pun intended) You might try using sewers aide (it is a silicone liquid that you can put on your needle to make it go thru the material easier., What is happening is the leather is thick so it kind of knocks it out of time because the needle takes longer to go thru it and the little hook that catches the thread underneath has already gone by when the needle finally gets there.
Sonya
Back Road BearsOh dear.
Well, yes, on most machines anyway.
Some self adjust however.
You should have two knobs with numbers on them. One for thread tension. One for presser foot tension.
No? Well, then I don't know what to say w/o seeing your machine.
Maybe we'll be in luck and Dilu will come along and say it has nothing to do with tension! (fingers crossed!)
Donna's Duin BruinsShelli,
I am guessing here that you have a leather foot pad and a mohair leg going together, is that correct? Have you tried having the mohair against the feed dogs and the leather up facing the needle? Are you changing to your leather needle and then changing back to the regular needle? I don't use a leather needle on my machine. I sew everything with just the regular needle. I make my stitches a little longer for the leather. I think I also remember that you use the mastex thread on your machine, try changing to regular old cotton sewing thread and see what happens. I had a machine that did this type of thing when ever the needle got dull. I will try to find my trouble shooting book for sewing machines. Stay calm, breath in the good sewing machine vibes, breath out the bad sewing machine vibes.
Donna
HA!!! Thanks, Donna. I have tried sewing both ways; leather up and leather down. Doesn't make a whit of difference.
I'm gonna try all the stuff posted here, and hope it doesn't mess everything ELSE up!
Thanks for trouble-shooting for me if you get a chance. I admit, I'm so clueless on this particular subject area I don't really know where to start.
Where's that owner's manual, anyway... !
Sunnie BearsShelli
Donna is right about trying a regular needle. I find it works better than the leather ones. Have you tried sewing it by just hand turning the wheel? Just to see if the stitches catch iif it is really slow?
Sonya
Donna's Duin BruinsShelli,
I can't lay my hands on my book. But do a google search for sewing machine trouble shooting. When was the last time you took your bobbin case apart and cleaned it? And when was the last time you cleaned the feed dogs? Are you sure you have the needle in the correct way? My thinking is that if it is sewing fine for the mohair it has to be if you are changing to the leather needle. Have you tried it with the regular needle? I had one machine that would not work with the leather against the feed dogs, had to do the tissue paper thing or put another fabric against the feed dogs. Did you buy your machine locally? They may be able to talk you through it on the phone. Does the manual give you any hints? Don't let it get you too frustrated. And I am guessing you are on a deadline for bears besides!!!!!! Try to stay calm your machine is like an animal, it knows when you are stressed.
Donna
Hi Shelli
I had the same problem with my machine and it happened after I had it in for a cleaning I took it back along with a piece of ultrasuede so the technician could see what was happening. I believe the timing was off as was mentioned by Sonya Try a piece of tissue paper under the foot pad next to the bed of the machine- this helps it to slide better, then tear the tissue away after sewing. Amamda also mentioned doing this
Hugs
Gail
Kiprie BearsHi Shelli , I'm just crossing my fingers and toes. :pray:
I am NEW for sewing machine and
can't give you any advise. :redface:
Donna's Duin BruinsShelli,
Are you up and running yet? Thinking this through, it has to be due to the drag of the leather when the needle passes through it. The mohair has give so when the needle passes through the fabric the pinch of the thread is not that big of a deal. But with the leather there is no give and the thread is held tight against the needle and may not be allowing it to form the loop in the bobbin area for the hook to pick up. Did you try turning it by hand to see if it would work that way? I have an idea if you are willing to try it. Put in a brand new needle, I don't know that it will matter what kind it is. Baste in the pawpad by hand so that you are not dealing with the clips or plan on taking them out as you go. I want you to put the regular presser foot back on your machine and try it that way. I am thinking that it will hold the leather firmer and let the needle past through the leather better and not pinch the thread as much. See if this will get you going back in the right direction. I don't think it is the tension and timing and stuff like that or it would not work on your mohair. Give it a good cleaning, oiling, new needle and the regular presser foot and see what happens. If it will work this way then we can try working you back to the zipper foot. But it sounded like it was slowly becoming a problem which means that there was one little aspect that needed attention. If you need to borrow my old singer for awhile let me know.
I know how frustrating this can be, I'm sorry it is happening. What kind of machine do you have?
Donna
Shel,
I called my friend Harry, who owns his own business and does sewing machine repairs to ask him,he suggests you all club together and buy him an air ticket and he will come and service all the sewing machines. 
He says it is something to do with the clearance between the needle and the hook which refers to the timing on the machine, and if this timing is out, then the upper thread from the needle and the lower thread from the bobbin will not meet hence no stitches will form. Using a leather needle( which is bent out a bit) could cause a problem- so try a normal needle. Adjusting tensions will not make any difference.
Tips like using paper under suede/felt, help prevent fabric from slipping, basting before stitching helps keep pins etc out of the way, different types of feet, can help get closer to the sewing seam.
If possible Shel, take your machine in and try and get it serviced.
TENSIONS
1.The upper dial/knob/disc is marked from 0-10 on your sewing machines- this is the top tension and refers to the cotton reel you place on your sewing machine. It must be threaded correctly along all the paths- refer to your manual which is provided with your sewing machine. The higher the number the tighter the tension. Normal sewing you can leave the tension on about 4-6. If you want to do a satin stitch or a button hole then you would turn the tension to 3. Because a satin stitch is a stitch which is building up you want your tension to be loose/softer. If you make this thread to tight , then it is going to snap. If you are using 100% cotton, and it is old, then lightly spray it with water, to put back the moisture, or it will also snap.
The bottom tension is in the bobbin case- and it is ADVISABLE to never ever adjust this, leave it well alone, or get someone who is experience to adjust it. Normally you will not even know where it is ,unless shown.
COMPUTERIZED machines- will adjust tensions on their own- yet you can manually adjust them, do this as mohair/plush would not be your day to day sewing fabric- and might work better on the above mentioned tensions.
STITCH LENGTH-
Working with mohair, a stitch length of 2.5 for shorter piles and 3.0 for longer piles is normal. Computerized machines can also manually be changed.
Also needles need to replaced often, the rule is one needle per one garment.Cleaning the bobbin case often helps as sewing mohair/fur does cause a lot of fur pile up, and as I have mentioned before even computerized machines need oil on the rotary hook.
Hope this helps for those who are new to sewing machines. Any other help with machines shout I will try and help
Lynette
I love you all! Thanks for the great tips. I tried a few things... wax paper, which helped a bit, but not entirely, as I ended up with fraying thread and breakage after, maybe, twelve stitches, instead of three. I adjusted tensions again; no result. I made stitch size bigger... which helped somewhat; again, delaying the inevitable, but not eliminating the problem. Also switched to a normal needle... no assist there.
What did finally eliminate the problem was basically hand-turning the machine. I put my foot very lightly on the pedal and hand-held the knob as the machine made very slow, very big stitches. I watched super-carefully to see what was happening as the needle did its work. It's kind of hard to explain, but...
... When I sew normally, the needle goes in, catches the bottom thread, and pulls out, tightening down onto the fabric in one smooth motion. No hiccups.
... When I sewed very, very slowly, using huge stitches (4 instead of my usual 2-3), and hand-controlling the knob, what I saw was the needle go in... catch the bottom thread (this part was invisible to me), and then, as it pulled out, kind of slip over and over itself in a circular fashion as it "tightened" itself onto the fabric. This was new; it was as if it were string on a yo yo. You know how you have to wind that dang string ten thousand times before it will "catch"? And, in the meantime, the string goes round and round but is still free floating? It had that kind of look to it. The top thread went in and then instead of tightening down, it looked like it was "slipping" thru the hole the needle had just punched. If I went slowly enough, that gave it time to catch and secure before moving on to the next stitch and ruining what had just been left behind.
The end result was a stitch that doesn't look like a 4 to me... more like a 2. So some kind of tightening occurred which involved the extra thickness of the leather, or some such thing, I'm imagining. It was as if the machine needed TIME for the top thread to finish punching thru the leather, hook up, and then secure itself... and wasn't getting that, running at full speed. Not sure I'm right on this, but that's what it looked like to me.
Anyway... to answer your questions about my machine.... it's, like, the most basic model there is. A SINGER, and the one they use in home ec classes to teach irresponsible teenager types, who will likely drop or hit the machines!, how to sew. It has a whopping total of five stitches... and I found the manual. No indication at all that there's a bobbin tension adjustment... although that may be an interior feature known only to the "secret sewing machine servicing patrol."
:)
It also has no pressure foot adjustment, or feed dog adjustment, that I could find in the manual or on the machine.
And it has a whopping grand total of five stitches. Yes, five. Very basic model, great for sewing up mohair, which I thought would gunk up a more fancy shmancy model in ways that frightened me when I was first starting out and bought the thing!
Anyhoos... Thanks, all, for your enormous help! Problem solved... sorta. For now.
You're appreciated!
LuxembearsI always sew the paw pads by hand. For me it is just more accurate and it's too fidley under the machine.
Ah, Glad to hear your problem is solved. We don't want a one-eyed Shelli!!!! 
Shelli,
From what you have described, you will see its the timing top thread meeting bottom thread at the right time, does not matter what machine you have modern or old, 5 stitches, 1001 stitches.
No need to fiddle with foot pressure, feed dogs, tensions, this is only when you are sewing with embroidery patterns when you need extra care.
happy stitching,
Lynette
Estelles canal bears and Tod Teddiesthere is a trick I learned in refurbishing furniture you need to spray the leather or suede with silicone, if you cant find a spray ( usualy available in knitting shops ) the silicone hair serum works just as well it just means you will need to smear it on with your finger. it disapears completely when dry the silicone takes all the friction and drag from the leather and it slides through the machine. I know this sounds mad but it realy works I did it all the time even once on oil paintings on leather I had to turn into dining chairs ( they were worth hundreds of pounds each I was terrified but the silicone got me through
Just Us BearsShelli.
This is probably obvious and I'm sure you would have done this already....but did you put a brand new leather needle in and try that?? I have found that nine times out of ten, if a machine is skipping stitches it's due to a blunt or bent needle. I would still use a leather one...just a new one for every bear. The other thing, which you have already dicovered is that you do need to use a much larger stich length when sewing leather as the feed dogs stick more to the leather and so don't feed it through as fast.
Thanks for the silicone idea Estelle...sound neater than using tissue paper which I normally use.
Best of Luck.
PijangibearsHi Shelli
How thick is the leatherneedle - there is a number on the needle. Try a bigger needle number 110, it will give room for the tread. You can have the same problem in other materials, if you use a needle, there is to thin.
Hugs Birgitte :dance:
