Sewing First sewing attempt

Good job! It looks nice!
I don’t have enough info to say for certain on the machine. Mine will often jam if I start it too close to the edge, particularly on stretchy fabrics. How far past the edge of the fabric are you starting? I sometimes like to place my needle a quarter inch in, go forward a few stitches, reverse back to almost the edge, then stitch forward like normal. There are also needles with different tips meant for stretchy fabric. Mine can work around them, but perhaps your machine is a bit more picky.

Also, do a test piece. Find some boring, woven, non stretch scrap fabric you can sacrifice and see if the issues carry over. If it just happens with your sweater fabric, it could be an issue with the fabric or how you sew it, not the machine itself. Your fabric looks like it’s stretchy and very textured, which can cause some interesting issues. Perhaps it’s catching on the feed dogs or the presserfoot? It looks like it may have some loose loops that could catch.

Jams can be a lot of things. What was the machine doing? Like was it trying to suck the fabric down into the machine, was it breaking needles, was it trying to keep the fabric above but only stitch in one spot, was it looping above/underneath the fabric, etc. I likely don’t have the experience to solve it, but that information might help someone else here figure it out.

 

It looks very nice and warm, great job!

As for the jamming - sewing machines hate stretchy fabric, knit fabrics like this tend to get stuck in the little teeth on the sewing plate and will not move forward smoothly, resulting in gathering around and getting pulled into the hole between the spool and needle. Could also be that the tread tension wasn't fitting for the type fabric, pulling it harder than it should have. I'm sure there are a few youtube videos on sewing stretchy materials that have some good tips and hacks for this, though, and you'll be sewing it on the machine in no time

 

Not bad for a first try!

About the machine, it could be a number of things.

The fabric you chose probably isn't the most beginner friendly.
The easiest fabrics to work with for machine sewing is plain woven cottons, such as quilters cotton. Fabrics like that don't stretch and so they don't move around as much. So maybe try that until you get more familliar with the sewing machine.
If you are set on knits, try a less textured one. Good quality t-shirt fabrics are probably among the easies knits to sew.

Sewing knits does require a stretchy seam. If you sew with a regular straight stitch, the seam will not stretch with the fabric and can distort or break. Read the user manual for your machine to find out about what seams you have available.

Needles does matter. You need an undamaged needle suitable for your fabric. Look for needles with something like "stretch" or "jearsy" in the type description. These have a differently shaped tip compared to standard needles. This helps the needle slip between the fibres, rather than cutting trough them. It prevents damage to the fabric and can help against the machine pulling the fabric down into the feed dogs. You can try different sizes of needle as well, but with a fabric like this that looks to be fairly loosely knitted, it shouldn't make a huge difference.

For thicker fabrics, and especially knits and other soft fabrics, you may need to adjust the presser foot pressure. If your machine tends to push the upper fabric layer forward and ahead of the presser foot, causing bubbles and stretching, the pressure may be too high. On the other hand, if the machine doesn't seem to feed tha fabric properly at all, you may need a higher pressure. Check the user manual, there should be instructions there on how to adjust it.

Another thing to consider is seam allowance. Ideally, for small things, you want a narrow allowance, but some fabrics and some machines doesn't like that. Sometimes you can get away with a larger allowance while sewing and trim it down afterwards. It works best for straight seams and simple garments, but it's a trick worth knowing.

Sometimes (especcially when working with slippery or thin fabrics, but sometimes it works for knits as well) it helps to lightly starch the fabric before cutting. This stabilizes the fabric and that can help it behave well in the machine. When the garment is done you simply wash out the starch to get rid of the stiffness.

And lastly, perhaps the most universal sewing tip ever, but... Make tests before comitting!
Make sure your machine, fabric, needles, thread and seam choice work out together before cutting the garment pices out. This way you know ahead of time if it has a good chance for working and you have the oppurtunity to adjust seam allowances and other things like that. Tests are boring, but the do reduce waste and frustration.
If a fabric just doesn't work, it's ok to put it aside for a while and get back to it later when you have more experience.

Hope you'll figure it out!

 

It looks very nice for your first try!

For your sewing machine: ​

Is the thread/fabric getting stuck and knotted under the feed dog? (this is the metal piece that has "teeth" and sits in the sewing plate below the presser foot) It's easy to get the thread or fabric stuck if starting at the very edge of the fabric, so try to start farther in so there's something for the feed dog to grab. If the fabric isn't moving properly because of this you can use the hand wheel to progress the stitch and then move the fabric forward yourself.

Stretch fabrics also often require certain needle type and tension, your machine should come with a booklet that may have basic information about the stitches it does and the settings it need for certain fabric. The booklet for my Baby Lock Verve recommends ball point needles (which are made for use on stretch fabrics) of size 75/11 or 90/14.
Here's a link I found with some good starting information on sewing knitted fabric: How to Sew with Knit Fabrics: Top Tips for Beginners
What machine do you have? Knowing this will make it easier to help with any problems.

 

You did a super job!! learning to sew is a ton of fun and I think the sweater looks wonderful!
Sometimes it's sewing with knits that is the problem. They are not as simple to work with as a woven cotton for example. There are ballpoint needles especially for knits as well. One thing that could cause repeated jamming is accidentally putting the needle in backwards. It's not something I've personally done but it's an easy mistake to make and it will make the machine very very angry.
When I was learning to sew with a machine I bought myself I would read the manual if there was a problem and that served me well.
Back to knits, some people end up really loving sewing with them by machine. I still do, its my favorite just to relax.

 

That is an excellent first attempt! Seriously, well done.

My first time drafting a pattern, I forgot to add a seam allowance. My second time, I added more seam allowance than I used and ended up with pants that wouldn't stay up. It's a learning process, and you'll get there!

I have zero advice on sewing machines, though. I do my work by hand.

 

Great job!!! Even with those frustrations you carried on and made such a lovely little sweater. My first attempt wasn’t wearable either, I also forgot the seam allowance lol
You’re starting on a good foot; just imagine the things you’ll create when you get more comfortable with this medium!

 

Oh! I do have suggestions! (Seeing as how I've run into that problem a few times on the occasions I've gotten to use a sewing machine; never for doll stuff, but definitely with thick fabric.) The mass of thread is because it's actually stitching a whole bunch of stitches on top of each other, and the jam happens when there are enough stitches that the thread in them catches on the moving parts.
1. If you can adjust the pressure with which your machine's foot presses down, you'll want to loosen it as far as it'll go when working with thick fabric; that'll give it more space to move.
2. If you get the chance, get a walking foot. I've never been able to use one because for some reason the one that came with my last machine - came with it - is the wrong size for it. What is does though is move the fabric from the top and bottom both, so it works better for knit fabric than a pressure foot which can stretch it out.
3. Sometimes you just gotta leave yourself enough space to pinch the opposite side of your fabric and pull to start it. I've had times where it fed through just fine once it was going, but boy it did not want to start at the beginning.

 

For when the tips above still don't solve it :
If the thread gathers into a nest underneath also when using an "easy" fabric, it's probably the tension from the spool - there's a little screw on the side of the spool that lets you make feeding the thread harder or looser, it should have a reasonable amount of traction but not too much. Now, I don't think this is the problem you have there, per se, but if the problem persists when using other fabrics, that's usually the culprit and it's good to know how easy of a fix it is (I tossed my machine aside for a year when this first happened to me - it took me 5 minutes to fix in the end).

 

You did a brilliant job for your first try. Sewing in such a small scale is difficult even for a seasoned sewer. You should be really proud of yourself and Im looking forward to seeing what you create in the future.

As for the sewing machine jamming issue, with small clothes like this, because the seam allowances are small it happens often. I recommend putting a piece of paper beneath your pieces to prevent the needle pushing the fabric into the machine. It does mean you need to clean the paper from your seams but it will stop it from happening. It will also dull your needle more quickly cause youre sewing through paper but it wont hurt the machine at all. Hope that helps.

 

Are you holding the thread ends when starting?
When sewing, the tension of the thread is held between whatever tension mechanism you machine uses (usually a couple of washers or disks that the thread is passed through when threading the machine) and the previous stitch. Since there is no previous stitch when you start a seam, the tension doesn't work right and the thread can be pulled down and pull the fabric with it.
Some machines are more sensitive than others with this, but on most it does make a difference.

 

Try holding them firmly and see if it makes a difference.

 

Very nice first!

 

That is an excellent first project! If you ever want sewing-machine pointers, I've sewn a variety of things in a wide variety of fabric types. For some projects, the right needle or presser foot can make a huge difference in how the finished product looks.