Sewing Machine Frustration

I have a Brother sewing machine too. I have had it for 3 years, and I recently have been having trouble. I have noticed that my thread gets all tangled and the upper thread breaks.
Once my needle was getting dull, and when I put a new needle on it fixed the problem. Sometimes it is the tension (adjust the upper tension...only adjust the lower tension if nothing else is working and mark it so you can put it back EXACTLY if it doesn't fix the problem..it is factory set). But lately I have found that I just need to take apart the bottom section where the bobbin is and clean it really good. I work with a lot of fleece, so I was getting a build up of lint that was my problem.
But I think I am still going to take it in soon just to get a good cleaning and service.
I am very novice about sewing, so I read the book and surf the net and just play around with it. Some days I just have more problems then others....

For Velcro you are going to need a stonger needle (like one you would use for denim...)I would talk to someone at the fabric store and have them show you the needle you will need.
If the stich is falling out, then it is not going all the way through (I think). You might want to try and Lengthen your stich and loosen the tension...Velcro is VERY thick...that is why it is working on your test strip, but not the velcro. You need your test strip to be Velcro...
And if all else fails, you can by Velcro that is on a fusing strip. All you do is peel the back off and it is lightly tacky, and iron it on and it will make a permanant bond with the fabric!!

is the the thread bunching up? as the others say check the tension. I had an older brothers and it seemed to bunch a lot. Sometimes it takes some practice to get the tension right. On the bobbin when you hold the string (with it in the bobbin) it should only move about an inch or two, if it moves more then its to loose, tighten the screw on the bobbin, if it doesn't move then its to tight, losen it. Sometimes also, the thread could be bad quality. Make sure you get high quality thread, that sometimes makes a big differnce. If you are having trouble with the top tension, you may want to just play with it.
Also i use to take mine to walmart and have the lady at the fabric department play with it and tell me what is wrong. With out knowing what your real problem is though its kind of hard to tell you what you need to do.
J.

Well. what is it doing????

I am pretty good at adjusting sewing machines. Where are you located? I have two Brother machines, one the PE-300 (expensive, like $1,200) and the other one the best one at Wal-Mart when I showed up at an out of town retreat without my power cord (son took it out of the case to get the cat to chase him and had it in his room). I think the Wal-Mart one was about $250. I love both of the Brothers. The more expensive one goes out of adjustment pretty quickly, but I've learned to adjust it myself. The less expensive works great.

I would get it adjusted if I were you. They are usually pretty dependable little machines. If you live close to me, I'd be happy to take a look at it for you. I'm in Shawnee, KS.

As mentioned by someone else, the material can affect the tension so make sure you set the tension while testing it on the same type of material you plan on sewing. Also, the foot pressure can affect how it feeds and sews. I worked for over 7 years as a seamstress and within the first couple years, the mechanic, who had been there long before I was, started asking me for help fixing the machines. lol

make sure that the tension is right for the thread and material you are using. Make sure that the bobbin case and that area are clean and lubricated. If you can't get it to work after that I would get some one to look at it. Selling it would just be trouble, just like selling a car or cell phone.