SKIPPED STITCHES

As a general rule, try replacing the Latch Hook and/or the Needle when a skipping problem is present.

Some times the Latch Hook or the Needle has become bent or damaged slightly, and therefore not sewing correctly. If you still have a skip, determine the nature and location of the stitch, and it will help you correct the problem.

Does the skip always occur at or near a specific location, if so it probably has to do with handling or thickness of the material. Handling cause a skip when the operator pulls the goods off the Finger as the stitch is being formed.

Thickness or a tight corner can cause a skip as the stitch can only be formed at speed in a consistent smooth manner. A single skip that is consistently a set distance apart on the goods shows a disturbance in the flow of the thread to the machine.

Check for proper threading, check the Thread Guides for burrs, check the Thread Stand, and check the spool of yarn itself. The thread can wrap around the Thread Stand and cause extra drag. The Spool itself can have a consistent bad spot every so many inches that are due to damage or tension during its winding process.

A skip on the top of the goods versus the bottom points you to the relationship between the Needle and the Latch Hook.

A skip on top of the goods means the Latch is not picking off the Needle above the work, or the Latch is not shedding the loop properly. A skip on the bottom of the goods means that the Hook is not catching the thread off the Needle below the Needle Plate.

Adjustment of Hook Setting, (length and tilt) and adjustment of the Needle Timing in relation to the Latch Hook should correct this problem. Skipping can also occur if the Feed Dogs are dull or improperly set. Poor feeding doesn’t allow the natural chaining of the stitch to occur, thus changing the timing of the interaction of the loops.

Note that fabric and Stitch Guards can also cause this poor chaining.

On some of the Crochet Machines the Presser Foot must be in place in order for the machine to stitch. This again is because the foot holds the thread in time and location to allow the interaction of the Hook and Needle.

The Supplemental Thread Carrier on some models also plays a key role, whether it is carrying a thread or not. The Supplemental Thread Carrier actually pushes the thread from the Needle above the Plate back into the Latch Hook; similar to the way the Presser Foot on some models holds the same thread to be caught by the Latch Hook.

The Moving Cast Off Horn and the Fixed Cast Off Horn also can cause a skip if improperly set, they must force the shedding of the loop down the Latch Hook past the Latch. This allows the Latch to close around the next loop and interlock the two loops thus forming a stitch.