To successfully operate a sewing machine, it is best to know and understand the different parts of your sewing machine.
I will show you some of the most important parts of my Brother Innovis 80 sewing machine. Please refer to the manual for your machine if you need help locating these thing on your machine.
The neck of the machine in the space to the right of the needle. It is the part that the quilt gets scrunched up in while you quilt.
The bobbin and bobbin case hold the lower thread.
The presser foot lever lifts and lowers the presser foot so you can place the fabric under the presser foot.
The needle. It is the sharp pointy part that sews the fabric. ;)
The presser foot is the part that presses the fabric down while it is sewn. Underneath that is the feed dogs. The feed dogs help move the fabric through the machine.
The thread take up lever is an important part in providing tension while sewing.
The spool pin holds the spool of thread and is the first part when threading the machine.
The bobbin winder fills the bobbins with thread.
The hand wheel helps to manually move the needle up and down. Always turn it towards you. Most computerized machines don't require you to use this. They automatically place the needle where it is needed.
The power button helps provide power. Also shown is the plug for the power cord and the foot control.
Feed dog position switch. This is a good thing to know when free motion quilting. It engages or disengages the feed dogs.
The thread tension dial loosens or tightens the tension on the top thread. This is not something that should be played with a lot. I hardly ever touch mine.
The reverse or back stitch button. This helps you make a couple back stitches when starting or stopping a line of stitching.
The stitch length and the stitch width buttons can change how long or short or wide or narrow your stitches are.
There are many other parts of a sewing machine that I didn't mention. Consult your owners manual to find all the different parts and how to use them.
Have fun quilting!
