Purpose of the Take-Up Lever:
- The take-up lever is an important part of threading the sewing machine and knowing the upward position of your sewing machine needle.
- Always have the take-up lever all the way to the top when placing or removing fabric from under the presser foot to prevent snagging and bending the needle.
- Always have the machine threaded with the thread in the take-up lever to prevent knotted wads of thread.
Improvements in Take-Up Levers:
- Older machines require you to thread the take-up lever just as you would the eye of a needle.
- Many newer sewing machines have a slot in the take-up lever which allows you to slide the thread over the take up lever and it will fall into place in the take up lever.
