Are you having troubles with your fabric bunching up while you sew on your serger? This is a common problem and is luckily easily fixed! In fact, it still happens to me every now and then even though I have years of experience with serging.
So why is your fabric getting bunched when you serge?
Sergers can bunch up fabric when the thread tension is too tight, when the differential feed is on an incorrect setting, or when there are threading or tangling issues.
In this post, I will go over the 4 common reasons your serger is bunching up your fabric, and how to fix them!
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1. The Thread Tension Is Too Tight
This is the most common reason why your fabric gets bunched up. They are easy to accidentally spin out of place. (My children like to play with them and mess up my settings too sometimes. Argh!)
When one or multiple thread tension dials are too highly adjusted, they make very tight or unbalanced stitches that can pull and gather the fabric, and even break threads.
Check your thread tension dials at the top of the machine (The colored wheels with numbers on them). They should usually be set to a mid range number, my machine (Brother 1034D) recommends 3-5 as the default tension for each thread.
Many sergers have dotted or dashed lines or some other marker near the numbers it recommends as the default settings so you can easily re-set them without getting out your manual.
2. The Needle Threads Are Wrapped Over The Presser Foot
This issue happens to me sometimes when I have too quickly re-threaded my machine and forgotten to pull my threads down to the right spot.
If the needles’ thread is wrapped over the top of the presser foot, it prevents the serged stitch chain from moving backwards, and it will bunch up.
After threading the two needles (or one needle if you are only using one), you need to make sure the threads are bought backwards from the needles, then down underneath the presser foot so they are free to move away as you serge.
It is an easy fix, but sometimes overlooked!
3. The Differential Feed Needs To Be Adjusted
There are a lot of dials and switches on an overlocking machine. One of the important ones is the differential feed.
The differential feed controls what speed the feed dogs move your fabric. They can both be the same speed, or they can each be set to different speeds.
If the differential feed is adjusted too high, it can gather or bunch up the fabric. In contrast, if the setting is too low, it can pucker the fabric.
Try turning your differential feed back down to the default setting (my machine recommends number “1”) and see if that fixes the bunching problem!
A general tip is this: the more stretchy your fabric is, the higher the differential feed settings should be.
4. It’s Not Threaded Properly or threads are tangled
Last but not least, the baseline answer for all sewing and serging troubleshooting. Try re-threading your machine!
If your threads are even somewhat improperly threaded or they got twisted or tangled somehow, it can lead to a bunch of problems (pun intended).
It is a bother, but you might as well try unthreading it all and threading it again to see if it solves your problem. You might be pleasantly surprised!
Pay special attention to how each thread passes through the tension dials. If the threads get stuck there and are too tight, this can cause the bunching you’ve been experiencing.
Conclusion
These are the four most common causes of sergers bunching up your fabric. Improper tension, differential feed settings, or threading can all be culprits of fabric bunching. Luckily they are easy fixes and can usually be done at home.
If you continue to have problems, it may be time for a professional to take a look.
I hope one of these troubleshooting tips solves the problem for you. Let me know which it was in the comments below!
Make sure to check out my other serging guides!
