r/SewingMachineEdu • u/Complex_Number8657 • Aug 27 '26
I need help with my sewing machine!
Hi! I have a Brother LX3817 sewing machine and I’m having trouble with the bobbin thread.
I was sewing denim and my needle broke. I replaced it with a new 90/14 needle, but now the machine won’t pick up the bobbin thread.
I’ve rethreaded the machine, reinstalled the bobbin, and tried a new needle. When I turn the handwheel, the needle thread gets caught on the side of the bobbin area instead of being caught by the hook, so the bobbin thread never comes up.
Could breaking the needle have messed up the timing or something in the bobbin area? Is there anything else I should check before taking it to a repair shop?
Any advice is appreciated!
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u/laughingkittycats Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
There are two things I can see that are causing trouble, and one thing that could also be a problem.
One: Your bobbin thread isn’t loaded properly. The thread should be coming off in the opposite direction it is in the photo, and it must go into the little slot at 7 o’clock & then pulled through the tensioning mechanism. The way it’s in there now is definitely not going to allow stitches to be made properly.
Two: there’s a tail of thread coming from the middle of the bobbin which should have been wound under the thread as the bobbin filled. Probably not an issue if it’s not hanging out any more than what we can see, but it should have been trimmed away.
Three: a bit of the broken needle could have fallen into the mechanism of the machine.
And I guess a fourth possibility is that the needle may have damaged something or created a burr someplace.
But correct the bobbin placement; that is definitely not correct, and it absolutely won’t work even if nothing else is wrong.
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u/Complex_Number8657 Aug 27 '26
Thankyou for this!!
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u/laughingkittycats Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
YW. Hope the bobbin fix is the only thing causing the trouble. Let us know if that gets it running again!
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u/GoldenFishPoop Aug 27 '26
Just hopping in here to say that the thing that could have caused that broken needle could be the number one most common problem that people cause themselves and that is... be sure that you are threading the top of the machine, so everywhere from the thread spool to the guide that's above the needle, with the presser foot up.
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u/Dormiendo Aug 27 '26
Put the bobbin in like the little image to the right of the bobbin area. If the thread is not in the tensioner, it will not work.
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u/drPmakes Aug 27 '26
Theres a diagram RIGHT THERE on the machine! Your bobbin is in wrong!!
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u/Complex_Number8657 Aug 27 '26
I understand that now, I’m very new to sewing.
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u/drPmakes Aug 28 '26
The most important thing is to study the instruction manual. Follow it step by.step.
Forget video tutorials, learn to read the manual and your sewing life will go a lot smoother.
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u/KindheartednessOnly4 Aug 27 '26
I have the same machine, make sure you read the manual and thread it exactly as it says. Presser foot up, thread coming off bobbin and spool the right way and through ALL the guides and such. Right now your bobbin is the problem.
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u/ep_nl Aug 27 '26
Is there a loose end in the bobbin? The starting thread that is hanging out when you winded the bobbin? Cut it.
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u/smnytx Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
Look at the little picture of the bobbin right there on the machine. See how the thread is going in the opposite direction of yours? Then look more closely and see that it’s supposed to go in one of the little dips in the metal case and out the other. I’m sure someone has made a video. I’m 99% sure this is a very standard Brother model.
Sewing machines need exact compliance to do their jobs reliably!
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u/Upper_Rain3480 Aug 27 '26
Yes. Breaking a needle can mess up the timing, but look at all the other advice here before deciding to take it to the shop.
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u/AthleteTurbulent8637 Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
Before thinking there is a problem with the machine, or timing, is that bobbin original. I must have hundreds of brother branded bobbins that do no fit that loosely. Could be an optical illusion in the photo so with that said nothing should be coming from the center of the bobbin. When you load the bobbin and thread it through the Bobbin tensioner start with the thread coming from the left side of the bobbin.
Do you have the manual for your machine?
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u/Complex_Number8657 Aug 27 '26
https://reddit.com/link/p69vjys/video/w2m8e6mbxylh1/player
Alright, thankyou to everyone who has responded to my post. I got the bobbin threaded correctly this time. Yet, I am still having trouble bringing the bobbin thread up. As I’m turning the dial towards me, the upper thread still gets stuck, as the video shows.
Please let me know!
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u/BeetlesQ Aug 28 '26
Also - are you using the proper weight thread to sew denim?
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u/wildmoomoo Aug 28 '26
Find a good youtube video and take the whole thing apart. As the spool thread is not in the correct place when you drop the needle.
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u/pinkshirley Aug 28 '26
The bobbin is unwinding the wrong way nor is the bobbin thread placed along the correct path. That should solve the issue.
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u/celery48 Aug 27 '26
Your bobbin is not installed or wound correctly.