Hi! I am hoping somebody can help me with this. I am trying to make a seat belt cover with some fleece fabric and having trouble getting it to work thru my machine. I have sewn fleece fabrics before with no trouble but this time the thread is binding and breaking or it skips spaces-stitch, stitch, skip, skip skip, stitch ,stitch. Like that. I have tried adjusting the thread tension and the machine(older Montgomery Ward) has been cleaned and is not linty inside or anything like that. I can sew on cotton type fabrics with no troubles. Am starting to wonder if I need to cover the fleece with a cotton fabric to solve the trouble? It would still be soft and cushy, but I know the cotton fabrics I have wear out quickly. So am in hopes somebody else will have a suggestion. Thank You to anybody who can help or gets what I am talking about
Have a GREAT day!!

have you tried a new needle ?? and make sure the stitch length is at leasr on #3.. also google sewing fleece ,you will find an answer to the problem..

This message has been edited. Last edited by: beers1,

What size needle are you using? I would think at least a 16 and possibly an 18 if you can find one. Fleece is typically thick material and requires a thicker, tougher needle. Also, make sure you're not using a ball point needle (except, see below).

Usually when thread binds and skips it's a tension issue. It could also be the thread - what kind are you using? Cotton? Cotton/poly? or 100% poly? The thread blend should match the fabric blend.

Also, is the bobbin thread the same blend as the top thread? Mixing poly and cotton threads will cause tension problems that no adjustment can solve.

Have you tried sewing on fabric of similar content (i.e., 100% poly, or a poly/cotton blend) using the same needle and tension?

Another possibility - what is the backing on the fleece? Is it a loosely knit type fabric or nylon like that sometimes used as a backing? I've seen this on robes; if there's a nylon type backing, then the problem might be the needle as nylon requires a ball point needle.

I had an old Montgomery Ward machine that was really a great machine, but I had similar tension, breaking and binding thread when I began using poly blends. I couldn't sew with something like 100% poly Silkessence at all. Had to get a new machine which could handle synthetics.

Let me know how these suggestions work; it's an interesting issue.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: GardenSprite,

Thank You both for the response! I will give the recommendations a try! I did change the needle before starting and I think it is a 16 but will check that. I had sewn on 100% cotton fabric prior to the fleece and it worked nicely. I did try using tissue paper on the top and bottom sides of the fabric the last time I tried, that made it flow better but I still had the stitch skipping problem. But with the tissue, I could just tear it away after doing my stitching(such as it was!). So that may have solved my 'flow' problem.
I will give some of the other ideas a try and I Thank You both again for the response and I will report back with what I learn! Going to google polar fleece now!
The fleece is 100% Poly, and the thread is a cotton blend (Coats Dual Duty).

Crafdragon, Sounds like you're on the right track to solving part of the problem by using the tissue paper.

I'm puzzled now, though, as typically a stitch skipping problem is either a tension or thread issue. You're using the same bobbin thread as top thread? Different threads can certainly cause a tension problem.

I use Dual Duty on all the synthetic fabrics I sew; it's the only thread that can handle slippery polyester fabrics like Silkessence.

I'm wondering now how thick the fleece is, and if a cotton thread might work. I think cotton is much stronger than Dual Duty (which I've found doesn't last over the years - hems always need to be replaced). With some of these synthetics, sometimes it's just trial and error.

Please do report back; I plan to make some fleece lined jackets and it would be very helpful to know ahead of time what problems I might encounter.

Good luck!