How do I change an overlocker needle?

Check which needle system your machine takes before you buy anything. Some overlockers take ordinary domestic needles, many take an industrial system, and the two are not interchangeable — the shank length differs, which puts the eye at the wrong height for the looper and produces skipped stitches.

The method.

Unplug the machine, or at least keep your foot well away from the pedal. There is very little room around the needle bar and the loopers are sharp.

Turn the handwheel to bring the needles to their highest position.

Change one needle at a time. With two needles fitted, removing both makes it easy to put the left one in the right position, and machines are fussy about which is which.

Loosen the correct clamp screw with the small screwdriver supplied. Some machines use one screw per needle, some a single clamp — look before turning.

Push the new needle all the way up until it physically stops, in the orientation the manual specifies. This is the mistake that matters: a needle sitting a fraction low skips stitches and can strike a looper.

Tighten firmly and check by turning the handwheel through a full cycle by hand before running the motor.

Use a piece of folded card under the needles to catch a dropped one. An overlocker has plenty of places for a needle to disappear into.

Change them often. Overlockers run fast and blunt needles quickly, and a fresh needle solves more overlocker faults than any dial.