How to Thread the Singer 6215C Sewing Machine

According to the manual, the Singer 6215C sewing machine is from 1984, so it was one of the newest sewing machines in my vintage collection. According to the International Sewing Machine Collectors’ Society, the Singer 6215 models were produced in Brazil between 1985 and 1989. It features the free arm sewing machine bed option, 8 built-in stitches, buttonholes, and a drop in bobbin.

I won this item in an auction for 1 whole Canadian dollar – approximately $0.70 US.  I couldn’t resist when no one bid on it. It was described as functional, but it turned out that it had timing issues. My husband and I troubleshooted the problem, fixed it up, and then I gave it to a coworker who was on the hunt for a sewing machine.

Before I gave it away, I filmed how to thread the machine and how we fixed the skipping zigzag stitch issue in case it can help anyone out who may have this same model.

In this video demonstration, I’ll be showing you how to thread this machine (including winding the bobbin), and after I’ll show you some troubleshooting tips if you are experiencing skipped stitches while zigzagging. 

If you are looking for the manual for this machine, I was able to find it on here on manualslib.com.

Skipped Stitches on the Singer 6215C Sewing Machine

When I brought it home, the straight stitch worked fine, but as soon as I switched it to the zig zag, I experienced skipped stitches.  The wider I made the stitch, the more prominent the issue appeared.  I enlisted the help of my mechanically inclined husband.

The biggest cause of skipped stitches is a bent needle.  Even if it doesn’t look bent to the naked eye, switch it up to rule it out.

Next, we cleaned out all the dust and dirt from around the bobbin case using a little brush tool like this one.  Never use canned air.

Unfortunately this did not solve my skipped stitches issue either.

The issue seemed to be with the timing.  At some point in this machine’s life, the machine probably got jostled, and one of the gear teeth was in the wrong position.  We removed the belt, shifted it one position over, and put it back in place carefully.  After that, it was as good as new. You can watch this process in our Skipped Zigzag Stitches video:

This machine lived in my personal collection for a very short time, but I’m happy to have gotten this neglected machine out of someone’s closet and into another person’s home who could put it to use.