My Pfaff Varimatic 6091 (aka Pfaff Stretch and Jeans) had the needle slightly off centre for a long time. This had not been an issue until I tried to sew in an invisible zipper, using a special invisible zipper foot, into a lace skirt. That was a nightmare. On one side the zip would be stitched too far from the edge, which was actually not a problem, even better because the runner didn't catch the embroidery of the lace. But on the other side the stitches would go almost through the spiral, which of course blocked the movement of the runner completely. After undoing and redoing it three times, I decided that the time has come for the needle to be centred properly. After at least an hour of research, I found this manual for Pfaff Tiptronic 2010-2040, where on pages 32-33 there are instructions on how to adjust position of the needle in the needle plate, and the pictures (Fig. 28, page 33) looked like what I saw inside my machine:
The manual is in Russian: to adjust the position of the needle, screws 45 have to be loosened and the plate 46 then can be moved - this will move the needle. Once the needle is centred, screws 45 have to be tightened. And voila!
I must add that at the end I did not use the invisible zipper foot to sew in the zipper into my skirt. Even with the needle in the right position, the stitch line was too close to the spiral, and the runner, even though it could move, kept catching and pulling the embroidery thread of the lace. So I sewn in the zipper the usual way, as shown, for example, here.
The manual is in Russian: to adjust the position of the needle, screws 45 have to be loosened and the plate 46 then can be moved - this will move the needle. Once the needle is centred, screws 45 have to be tightened. And voila!
I must add that at the end I did not use the invisible zipper foot to sew in the zipper into my skirt. Even with the needle in the right position, the stitch line was too close to the spiral, and the runner, even though it could move, kept catching and pulling the embroidery thread of the lace. So I sewn in the zipper the usual way, as shown, for example, here.
I don't know how you figured that out--the photos in the service manual don't look like the 6091, so you must have used your knowledge of the machine to extrapolate. Kudos to you for figuring it out and thank you for posting your photos! I was able to fix the off-center needle on my own 6091 Varimatic using your photos and can now use my quilting foot and use a double needle! Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteGenius! Many thanks. Alignment restored and off we go :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you very much! 5 minutes work. Unfortunately, the thread of one of the screw holes was damaged. But for now it looks good.
ReplyDeleteIt's possible to repair the thread using a permacoil or thread insert, a sewing machine shop may be able to do this. It requires a drill press and tap set though.
DeleteMy needle has been off for years. Couldn't use the buttonhole making option.
ReplyDeleteI found this post and though the pics in the manual did not look exactly like the plate and screws I trusted the photograph and loosened the 2 screws, put some pressure on the screw to the left and right and it did move the needle. When I got the needle centered while in the E needle position I held it there and retightened the screws...and it worked!!! thank you to seaberry dolls.
My 6091 has the same problem, needle off center. I wonder if they all came like that or maybe a batch got released with the needle off center. Sewing an 8mm lap seam on a ripstop sail with the triple zigzag and keeping the stitch centered inside the overlap was basically impossible with the whole stitch off center like that.
ReplyDeleteFYI you don't need to take the front off just the top. Perspective will trick you into thinking the needle is centered when it's not, the right way is to look through the slot in the foot from directly in front (where the left and right insides of the slot appear even) and line up the tip of the needle in the center. A magnifying visor or reading glasses make this much easier.
ReplyDeleteZig-zag timing will unfortunately be thrown off when the needle is centered by moving the cam-stack unit in left-right direction as described in the article. In zig-zagging, the needle needs to move from side to side while it's above the fabric, not sooner or later.
ReplyDeleteTo re-adjust timing after centering the needle, you can either:
1) loosen the black worm gear on the main shaft above the camstack and turn it a little, re-tighten, or
2) rotate the camstack unit a tiny bit while at the same time when you are adjusting the needle centering. If there is not enough play in the holes in the chassis to get correct timing, you can take out the screws and using a metal file, file off the thread and a bit of the shaft except at the very end of the screw. This the camstack unit will have more play in the chassis holes.
Personally I wasn't able to adjust the worm gear like the former option because is set screws were completely stuck.