Core skills

Setting Up Your Machine Safely

How to place, power and prepare your machine so it runs safely and comfortably before you thread it.

Beginner15 minMachine

What you will learn

Safe workspace setup
Connecting power and pedal
Starting with the needle up

Materials and tools

Sewing machine with power cord and foot pedal
Manual for your model
Stable table and chair

Before you start

Clear the table of liquids and clutter. Keep the cord away from walkways.

Step by step

Place the machine on a firm table at a height where your forearms rest level when your hands are on the machine bed. Sit on a chair with a straight back and feet flat on the floor.
1. Spool pin
2. Thread guides
3. Tension dial
4. Take-up lever
5. Needle clamp and needle
6. Presser foot
7. Feed dogs
8. Needle plate
9. Bobbin and bobbin case
10. Presser-foot lifter
11. Stitch selector
12. Stitch length control
13. Reverse lever or button
14. Handwheel
15. Foot pedal
Check that the machine is switched off. Plug the foot pedal cord into the machine and the power cord into the wall. Place the pedal where your foot rests on it with the knee slightly bent.
Raise the presser-foot lifter and check that an all-purpose foot is fitted. If the foot looks different from the one in your manual, check the manual for the correct foot and how to attach it.
Turn the handwheel toward you until the needle is at its highest point. Look at the needle and make sure it is straight and has no burr.
Switch on the machine. Many machines turn on a sewing light. Check that the light is working.
Find the stitch selector, the stitch length control, the tension dial and the reverse control. Compare them with the manual so you know how your model names and marks them.
Press the foot pedal gently without fabric to hear the machine run. Release it at once. The machine should hum smoothly, and the needle bar should move up and down evenly.
Switch off and unplug when you finish sewing, and every time you leave the machine. Cover it to keep dust out.

Tips for a neat result

Good lighting prevents eyestrain. Use a lamp that does not cast a shadow from your hand.
Keep scissors and pins in a tray to the left, away from the needle.

Common mistakes and fixes

The machine does not run when you press the pedal.

The power switch is off, the pedal cord is loose or the bobbin winder is engaged. Check the plugs and the manual.

The machine slides across the table.

The table is slick or the pedal is pulling the cord. Use a non-slip mat under the machine and the pedal.

Safety and fabric care

Switch off and unplug before changing a needle, threading, cleaning or leaving the machine.
Keep fingers at least 1 in (2.5 cm) from the needle while the machine is running, and sew slowly while learning.
Keep long hair, loose sleeves and jewelry away from moving parts.

Check your result

You can sit comfortably with the machine in front of you and the pedal under your foot.
The machine runs smoothly without fabric.