Heirloom Quilter Posted July 6, 2010 Report Share Posted July 6, 2010 Last night while trying to sew zippers onto my new leaders, the fuse blew and the needle is stuck in the down position through the zipper and the leader and I cannot get it out. The flywheel will not budge to manually bring the needle up. I inserted the spare fuse, this morning, and tried to move the needle and blew the spare fuse. Now I have no fuses. I don't even know where to buy fuses or what size to buy to replace them. Until I can get the needle up, I'm afraid to put in another fuse. It will probably just blow too. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Zipper sewing is not my forte. I barely got them on the first time. This has been a week long project to sew on three 98" zippers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark Posted July 6, 2010 Report Share Posted July 6, 2010 Debbie, It might be tough, but try rotating the flywheel in the opposite direction to bring your needle back up. If you keep going in the correct direction, you are only jamming the needle more. And you are right the fuse will continue to blow until the needle is out, that is what the fuse is supose to do. If you have the Liberty, you will need a 3.15 A fuse which is a common size at any Radio Shack. Good luck and call if you need anything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heirloom Quilter Posted July 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2010 I've tried moving rotating the flywheel backwards and forwards, and it won't move either direction. I even had my husband try to move it. It won't budge. Any other ideas on how to get the needle out of the leader? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCramer Posted July 6, 2010 Report Share Posted July 6, 2010 I've never had this problem and don't know if it will work, what about removing the needle from the machine, like when you're replacing a needle? Just leave if in the fabric, at least you'd be able to move your machine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mestuart Posted July 6, 2010 Report Share Posted July 6, 2010 Mary just came up with my suggestion as well. I have had the needle stuck down, and loosened the screw that holds the needle, and then had to be quite strong moving the flywheel backwards. Good luck and let us know what you ended up doing. Marion in BC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heirloom Quilter Posted July 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 Thank you for all of your suggestions for getting the needle out of the leader and zipper on my Liberty. My DH finally took part of the front of the machine apart and was able to free the needle. This is what it looked like. It's no wonder I couldn't get it out and all the fuses kept blowing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyAboutQuilting Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 Wow, what did you hit that it bent the needle like that?? Glad you were able to get it out and get your baby running ok again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinneaMarie Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 Good grief!! That looks bad! I hope your timing is not off now!!!:o Glad it is all fixed for you!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heirloom Quilter Posted July 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 I sure hope the timing isn't off. I'd really be up a creek without a paddle then. I don't know anything about timing. How do you know if it is off? Does it make a noise or do the stitches sew differently? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heirloom Quilter Posted July 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 Marilyn, I don't know what I hit. I've been trying to sew my zippers on to the new canvas leaders for about a week now. I can't get them to stay straight to sew them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinneaMarie Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 Pin them and do one stitch at a time till you get past the pin. I put mine on with the longarm. Someone out there on the web has directions. Sue Schmeiden?? Darlene Epp?? Anyway, it was easy peasy!!:P I think if your timing is off you won't pick up the bobbin thread. I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 Darlene Epp has great instructions on her web site for installing zippers. http://www.trilliumhousedesigns.com/tips/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meg Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 Originally posted by LTZQLTR Thank you for all of your suggestions for getting the needle out of the leader and zipper on my Liberty. My DH finally took part of the front of the machine apart and was able to free the needle. This is what it looked like. It's no wonder I couldn't get it out and all the fuses kept blowing. wow that needle looked more like a dental instrument than a sewing needle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnCavanaugh Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 Debbie, I realize that you're already in the middle of attaching your zippers, but you might want to consider adding some small "separate" leader strips to each side of your zipper sets. I recommend this in the beginner class, as I'm not a huge fan of trying to attach the zipper directly to the machine's canvas--I'm too wishy-washy and might change my mind:). With this method, you have a piece of canvas on one half of the zipper (attach it with your regular sewing machine) and then you can either pin or baste this canvas to your machine leader (you'll be nowhere near the zipper teeth and it's much easier to stitch or pin on). With the other half of the zipper, create a mini leader, and mark the center and add reference marks left and right of center in one-inch increments. This allows you to ease in a wobbly quilt along the canvas. You can either pin your quilt to the mini leader or you can machine-baste it with your domestic machine. Hope this makes sense! As to your question about timing, if your stitch quality has suffered or the machine won't stitch, you'll need to re-time the machine. Unfortunately with a needle that looks as rough as that, you're bound to have some scratches in your hook assembly. Check your manual's appendix under "Hook Care and Maintenence" to find where to look for the burrs and scratches, and the appendix "Timing Your Machine" for instructions if you need to verify the timing or adjust it. If you need help, just let us know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iquiltit Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 I added a mini leader to my zipper. I then safety pinned the zipper to the main leader. Worked for me. Carol:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega QW Posted July 9, 2010 Report Share Posted July 9, 2010 Darlene Epp has done it again! We should erect a monument to her! Don't I wish I had known how to do this before I screwed up my zipper? ! Doing it myself with no friends (sigh), and in a hurry (stupid!) I managed, all by myself with no help from anyone, to stitch exactly on top of one of the zipper teeth, destroying it and causing a permanent problem. I hate to spend another I forget how much to buy another complete zipper set when I only need that one piece of the zipper, but I may have to. It is useable (barely) but requires a lot of patience and swearing before I can successfully close the zipper with the missing "tooth." All you newbies out there, follow Mother Epp's suggestions down to the letter. And, Dawn, super idea, that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NollR Posted July 13, 2010 Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 Dawn, I just got zippers and haven't installed them yet. I like your idea of the mini leaders, but I'm confused - sorry! How many of these mini leaders do we need and how wide do I make them? I have a 12' table and want to get the canvas for these so that I can do this your way! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heirloom Quilter Posted July 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 Dawn, I finished sewing the zippers to the leaders on the machine, I only had 1/2 of one left to do. It looks pretty messy, but it's done. However, I would like to use the mini leaders that you suggested for the zipper that I attach the quilt to. How much canvas do I need to make these little leaders, and do you sell the canvas for this project? I have a 10 foot table for my Liberty. Thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnCavanaugh Posted July 14, 2010 Report Share Posted July 14, 2010 Roseann, I purchased a length of canvas long enough to go the entire length of the canvas on the table. For me, that was 126 inches or so. You can make the mini leaders as wide as you like; mine are about 6 inches wide. If you'd like to have a "selvage edge" as the edge to which you attach your quilt backing and top, then you'd actually need double the length of your current canvas. One length of canvas would yield two selvage edges, and a second length would be needed to generate the third piece with selvage. If you chose this option, you can purchase 36-inch wide canvas and you'll have plenty. If you don't mind having a folded edge as your pinning edge, then you could get all the mini leaders from one length of canvas. However, you'd only get two pieces with selvage edges. You'd have to serge the raw edge of the other long piece or fold it over to create a finished edge. Hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carathren Posted October 16, 2012 Report Share Posted October 16, 2012 I found your posts most helpful. I am in a similar position. I thought I just blew a fuse. I changed it and the machine came on but the needle is stuck in the down position and the flywheel doesn't want to budge. I guess I hit the edge of my ruler when I was quilting but I sure didn't realize it at the time. Am I correct in thinking the only way to fix this is to get the flywheel to move? I've never had this problem and am just beside myself!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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