Brother CS6000i Fabric Not Moving

Is the fabric in your Brother CS6000i not moving while you're sewing? Use this troubleshooting guide to help diagnose why.

Make sure the presser foot is lowered down.

• Push the presser foot lever down to lock the presser foot, so that it wedges the fabric between the presser foot and the needle plate.

Check your stitch type and length to ensure they are correct for your project.

• If the stitch length is set to zero, the fabric will not move.
• Adjust the stitch length and the machine should work again.

Check to see if the thread is tangled.

• Unthread the machine, remove the bobbin from the bobbin case, and clean underneath the needle case to remove any lint or loose thread.
• Rethread the machine carefully, leaving no slack for the thread.

Make sure you have threaded the machine correctly.

• Look for any knots in the thread, especially in the bobbin case. Knots will stop the machine from working.
• Rethread the machine. The thread take up lever should be in the highest position and then attach the spool of thread. Pull the thread through the needle tension discs, then through the needle, leaving a long tail of thread.

The thread tension needs to be adjusted depending on the weight of the fabric and the thread.

• Adjust the upper thread tension to ensure it is balanced with the bobbin thread.
• Rethread the machine, making sure the thread is seated correctly in the tension disks and threading path.
• Make sure the bobbin is inserted properly and wound evenly.
• If the problem continues, you may want to change the type or weight of the thread you are using.

Feed dogs may get jammed when thread snags or debris accumulates.

• Turn off the machine, and remove the needle and presser foot.
• Carefully clean the feed dog area by removing any lint or thread.
• Manually move the feed dogs up and down to ensure they are working properly.
• Reassemble the needle and presser foot, turn on the machine, and test it without fabric to ensure the feed dogs function correctly.

The needle may be damaged, bent, or dull, which is dangerous.

• Check to see if the needle needs to be replaced.
• Turn off the machine, loosen the needle clamp screw, take out the damaged needle
• Insert the new needle with the flat edge to the back of the sewing machine. Ensure it is placed as high as possible, tighten the needle clamp screw.
• Make sure the needle is straight. Manually turn the hand wheel to ensure the needle moves freely.
• Turn on the machine and test it.