Brother 885-E33, Operation Manual

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IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS ............. 1

1. KNOWING YOUR SEWING  

MACHINE ........................................... 4

ACCESSORIES ................................................... 4

Included accessories .............................................. 4

Optional accessories .............................................. 5

Accessory compartment ......................................... 5

Flip chart (For models equipped with a flip chart) ... 5

NAMES OF MACHINE PARTS AND THEIR 

FUNCTIONS ..................................................... 6

The main parts ....................................................... 6

Needle and presser foot section ............................. 6

Operation buttons .................................................. 7

Operation panel ..................................................... 7

Spool pin................................................................ 7

USING YOUR SEWING MACHINE ................... 8

Power supply precautions ...................................... 8

Power supply ......................................................... 9

Foot controller........................................................ 9

Sewing speed controller (for models  

equipped with the start/stop button) ....................... 9

Changing the needle stop position.........................10

Changing the initial needle position ......................10

Cancelling the operation beep...............................10

THREADING THE MACHINE .......................... 10

Winding the bobbin ..............................................10

Lower threading ....................................................14

Upper threading ....................................................15

Drawing up the lower thread .................................18

REPLACING THE NEEDLE ............................... 19

Needle precautions ...............................................19

Needle types and their uses ..................................19

Checking the needle ............................................ 20

Replacing the needle ............................................ 20

Sewing with the twin needle ................................ 21

REPLACING THE PRESSER FOOT .................... 22

Replacing the presser foot .................................... 22

Removing the presser foot holder ......................... 23

2. SEWING BASICS ............................... 24

SEWING .......................................................... 24

General sewing procedure ................................... 24

Selecting a stitch .................................................. 24

Adjusting the stitch length and width.................... 25

Starting to sew ...................................................... 25

Thread tension ..................................................... 26

USEFUL SEWING TIPS .................................... 27

Trial sewing .......................................................... 27

Changing the sewing direction ............................. 27

Sewing curves ...................................................... 28

Sewing thick fabrics ............................................. 28

Sewing hook-and-loop fastener ............................ 28

Sewing thin fabrics ............................................... 29

Sewing stretch fabrics ........................................... 29

Stitching cylindrical pieces ................................... 29

3. UTILITY STITCHES ............................ 30

OVERCASTING STITCHES ............................... 30

Using zigzag foot ................................................. 30

Using overcasting foot .......................................... 30

BASIC STITCHING .......................................... 30

Basic stitching .......................................................31

BLIND HEM STITCHING ................................. 31
BUTTONHOLE SEWING ................................. 33

Button sewing ...................................................... 35

ZIPPER INSERTION ......................................... 36
SEWING STRETCH FABRICS AND  

ELASTIC TAPE ................................................. 38

Stretch stitching .................................................... 38

Elastic attaching ................................................... 38

APPLIQUÉ, PATCHWORK AND  

QUILT STITCHING .......................................... 38

Appliqués ............................................................. 39

Patchwork (crazy quilt) stitching ........................... 39

Piecing ................................................................. 39

Quilting ................................................................ 40

Free-motion quilting ..............................................41

REINFORCEMENT STITCHING ....................... 42

Triple stretch stitching ........................................... 42

Bar tack stitching .................................................. 42

DECORATIVE STITCHING .............................. 43

Fagoting ............................................................... 43

Scallop stitching ................................................... 44

Smocking ............................................................. 44

Shell tuck stitching ............................................... 45

Joining .................................................................. 45

Heirloom stitching ................................................ 45

SEWING CHARACTERS (for models  

equipped with character stitches) ................... 46

Sewing beautiful patterns ..................................... 46

Selecting characters ............................................. 46

Checking characters ............................................. 48

Deleting characters .............................................. 48

Sewing the character stitches ............................... 48

ADJUSTING STITCHES (for models  

equipped with character stitches) ................... 49

4. APPENDIX ......................................... 50

STITCH SETTINGS ........................................... 50

Utility stitches ...................................................... 50

Mirror image stitches (for models  

equipped with mirror image stitches) .................... 55

Character stitches (for models  

equipped with character stitches) ......................... 56

MAINTENANCE .............................................. 57

Restrictions on oiling ............................................ 57

Precautions on storing the machine ...................... 57

Cleaning the machine surface ............................... 57

Cleaning the race ................................................. 57

TROUBLESHOOTING ..................................... 58

Frequent troubleshooting topics ........................... 58

Upper thread tightened up ................................... 59

Tangled thread on wrong side of fabric ................. 59

Incorrect thread tension ....................................... 59

Fabric is caught in the machine and  

cannot be removed .............................................. 60

Error message “E6” appears in the LCD ................ 62

List of symptoms .................................................. 64

ERROR MESSAGES .......................................... 68

Operation beep .................................................... 68

INDEX ............................................................. 69

CONTENTS