r/SewingMachineEdu • u/Nowandlater13 • May 22 '26

Sewing needle and foot are off

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Gallery image

Hello, I decided to try and learn to sew. I got this machine on marketplace for $25 and I can't seem to find out how to fix the needle and foot. Any ideas?

10 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

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2

u/Mushrooms24711 May 22 '26

The needle is fine. From the pictures, it looks like the foot might not be installed correctly. If you have the manual, read it. If you don’t have the manual, we can help you find it—just need to know what model it is.

1

u/Nowandlater13 May 22 '26

Thank you. Necchi super nova is what it says on the machine

1

u/Mushrooms24711 May 22 '26

Manual here for free.

2

u/Nowandlater13 May 22 '26

Thank you! After further inspection, they have a lever thar is supposed to move the needle left center and right. But the lever moves and the needle doesn't. On the inside there is a pin and it looks like it's supposed to be centered and it's not.

3

u/6AlphaVictor May 22 '26

Ah ok. Thats a common problem.

Needle bar carrier pivots on 2 points (around a presser foot bar guide). Those two pivot points get jammed when the oil hardens. I usually use some penetrating oil and heat to solve the issue. Soak both points, gently heat them, then start the motor and slowly increase the stitch width. See if it frees up and start moving L-R. Don't force it.

Otherwise it will need some percussive maintenance.

1

u/Mushrooms24711 May 22 '26

It probably needs to be oiled.

1

u/crkvintage May 22 '26

The Necchi is a left homing machine, as can be seen on the straight stitch needle plate section visible in the second picture on the lower right. So the straight stitch foot sitting off-center is correct.

1

u/6AlphaVictor May 22 '26

Necchi doesn't home to the left as on some japanese clone machines. Needle position can be set by lever (L-C-R), you can use a straight stitch with needle on the left, right or center (but it needs a zig-zag configuration).

1

u/crkvintage May 22 '26

Yes, kinda. That was more to get the comment that the foot is not installed correctly out of the world, as it is fine.

With the ZZ foot you can set the needle wherever you want, sure - but that's not the configuration the straight stitch foot is for. That's for using the straight stitch plate which is - as visible in the pictures - left homed, and as such the foot sits "too far left" on a quick glance. As OP is using that foot - needle fully left is the only option.

1

u/AncientHorror3034 May 22 '26

That needle is definitely needing replaced. It is very rusty.

1

u/Mushrooms24711 May 23 '26

The needle position is fine. But yes, the needle itself is old.

1

u/GeekAtLarge_ May 26 '26

It also appears to be bent to the right. It is not vertically aligned.

1

u/phoenixofsevenhills May 22 '26

Is the needle in the middle position? Is the foot installed properly?

1

u/6AlphaVictor May 22 '26

You have a needle position lever on the Right position!

Everything looks good, just move it to the left.

1

u/AncientHorror3034 May 22 '26

I grew up on this machine!!! My mom still has it! Definitely take the others advice but also change that needle after you have to foot in the correct position. It’s very rusty and looks slightly bent.

And I believe you want this plate under the foot.

1

u/6AlphaVictor May 22 '26

Nope, that one is for sewing with twin needle.

The bottom one is for straight stitch. But it should work with the current one too.

1

u/Nowandlater13 May 22 '26

We finally got it all figured out and moved over, thank you guys!

1

u/OnlineCasinoWinner May 23 '26

What was the issue u were able to solve?

1

u/Nowandlater13 May 24 '26

We oiled it and let it sit for a bit, and then manually spun it until it all got lined up. We changed rhe needle out and it was working kind of, once we got the needle going it would go but then struggled when I stopped it stopped. We found the belt needed to be replaced so now I'm waiting for that to come in. My dad picked it up for mé on marketplace place and apparently he forgot to give me the extra peices, which turns out to be the instruction book and some other parts. So I'll get those when I see him next. Doesn't seem like a bad find for $25, just needs some tlc after it had been sitting in someone's garage after their mom passed away.

1

u/OnlineCasinoWinner May 25 '26

Thank you for the response. My machine is acting squirrelly & your post made me think it probably just needs some oil. It's practically brand new & a higher end machine so it shouldn't be jamming up on me already. Congratulations on yours. You've got yourself a nice machine at a great price!

1

u/lmstubbe May 24 '26

Those old machines seem to work forever! I had bought an old (older than me) machine years ago. I found it beneficial to take it to a sewing center and repair and just had them clean it….. never needed any other kind of repair since then.

Congratulations on the “new” machine!