Overlocker troubleshooting, what if it sews like this?

Overlockers are usually extremely reliable and will go on to stitch for many years. However, when it goes wrong, it is easy to fall out of love with your overlocker. 

If your four-thread overedge stitches end up looking like any of the images below, you need our advice...!

What a mixed up mess of ravelled thread, fabric bunching up and next would have been a snapped needle, or even worse, a bent looper...! The lower looping thread has near zero thread tension hence the overlocker can not control the thread if it has no tension at all.

Nearly as bad as the one above...now this stitch sample would not even hold two pieces of the lightest weight cotton together! The needle, in fact the right side needle, has zero tension. The huge thread loops give it away.

But how do I fix these problems?

The answer is simple. Rethread your overlocker, but this time, thread it correctly. Make sure you keep the thread taut as you are threading. Keep a close eye to make sure you dont miss out any of the thread hooks. Both images show how not-to-thread an overlocker. The most likely error is the tension unit has not been threaded correctly. This overlocker troubleshooting FAQ will explain how you may inadvertently miss-threaded your overlocker.