Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 12
  1. #1
    Senior Dog janedoe's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    New England
    Posts
    5,095
    Thanked: 1922

    Threading your sewing machine?

    How difficult is this for you? I blew the entire class last night working on it then practicing. Love the results but holy cow! Is there such a thing as a faulty bobbin?

  2. #2
    Real Retriever
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Georgia
    Posts
    298
    Thanked: 167
    One thing, make sure you have the right type of bobbin for your machine. I don't know if your instructor went over the subject yet, but there are two types of bobbins. Your manual should tell you what type you need. Also, make sure the tension is right and when in doubt, rethread....

  3. The Following User Says Thank You to MySprockette For This Useful Post:

    janedoe (09-26-2018)

  4. #3
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    8,135
    Thanked: 5108
    I'm sure there can be faulty anything, especially in a classroom situation where equipment might have been subject to rough handling. Yes, you can miss a clip and miss thread a bobbin but it won't sew at all then, maybe one or two stitches before everything gets fouled up. And tension is a big bugaboo, more so in the bobbin than in the top. The amount of pressure on the pressure foot will affect tension too, it must be changed with the fabric used. STitch length plays in too. And thread. And some machines are picky about having the same thread on top as in the bobbin.
    Hidden Content

    Castilleja's Dubhgall Oban, the Black Stranger of The Little Bay
    Oct. 15, 2007 - June 13, 2021
    Oxtongue Rapids Park. Oct. 2019 Hidden Content

  5. The Following User Says Thank You to Snowshoe For This Useful Post:

    janedoe (09-26-2018)

  6. #4
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Carolina in my mind..
    Posts
    6,391
    Thanked: 4178
    My older machine was kind of a pain to thread but I've gotten a new one that self threads the needle- you read that right- self-threads! Just the needle, not the rest of the up down and around. I mean, how many different strength pairs of reading glasses should one person have to contend with?

    On my machine, the bobbin has to be put in to unwind in a certain direction. If I put it in backwards it won't work right. My worst problem, as MySprockette mentions above, is the thread tension and I never really resolved that issue on my old machine. I often find that the bobbin thread is too tight or the top thread is too loose, I'm not sure which is the issue, but the underside of the sewing looks like I was trying to make fringe- the bobbin thread is tight and the top thread is a bunch of equal-sized but large and visible loops. I couldn't get it resolved to my satisfaction so I replaced the machine. Hey, the machine was at least 40 years old before I sprung for a new one. I don't do quilting, just need to sew forward and backward and the occasional buttonhole so it's not a fancy machine.

    When I was in middle school, then known as junior high school, girls had to take Home Ec and learn how to sew and cook. Some of the foods we cooked were disgusting- I doubt anyone caught the bug to be a chef from making some of that stuff. I did enjoy sewing, though, and made most of my clothes in high school, then clothes (infrequent) or costumes (most of them) for my kids, now an outfit for the grands once in a while. I wonder what I could sew for Henry? Oh yeah, nothing, he's too dignified to wear clothes.
    Last edited by smartrock; 09-26-2018 at 08:58 AM.

  7. The Following User Says Thank You to smartrock For This Useful Post:

    janedoe (09-26-2018)

  8. #5
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    8,135
    Thanked: 5108
    Quote Originally Posted by smartrock View Post
    My older machine was kind of a pain to thread but I've gotten a new one that self threads the needle- you read that right- self-threads! Just the needle, not the rest of the up down and around. I mean, how many different strength pairs of reading glasses should one person have to contend with?
    Isn't that great? I have that now, too. My previous machine had a large white dot behind the needle, to make threading it by eye/hand easier to see. This machine doesn't so the odd time I do want to thread by hand I must slide a piece of white paper behind the needle. I did like the vertical bobbin on the old machine better than the horizontal bobbin I have now. Maybe I just have not gotten used to it, yet, in about four years.
    Hidden Content

    Castilleja's Dubhgall Oban, the Black Stranger of The Little Bay
    Oct. 15, 2007 - June 13, 2021
    Oxtongue Rapids Park. Oct. 2019 Hidden Content

  9. The Following User Says Thank You to Snowshoe For This Useful Post:

    janedoe (09-26-2018)

  10. #6
    Senior Dog janedoe's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    New England
    Posts
    5,095
    Thanked: 1922
    The bobbins came with the machine. The problem with one of them seems to be that it's not as flat as the others so I can't guide the thread into the machine. I tried and tried and thought I was losing my mind then I popped another one in and it was fine.

    Is there a brand of bobbin that is pretty consistently well made?

    The instructor didn't go into the machines at all. She expected us to know our machines when we showed up. I was really surprised. We jumped straight from basic hand stitches to our first project. I was a few minutes late but she didn't even take attendance until 15 minutes in so I don't see how she could have covered threading and machine use in those first few minutes. It's unfortunate because she expressed that what she really wanted to do was an open sewing forum rather than structured classes but the school didn't want her to. Apparently she just decided we could go online.

    That's OK though. These things happen. I'll just keep asking questions and get what I need from her. JoAnn is doing a class on comfy pants that I'm really interested in too. When I get through this series, I'll take that. In the meantime though, I do feel like I'm fighting this machine.

  11. #7
    Real Retriever
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Georgia
    Posts
    298
    Thanked: 167
    With bobbins, one type is very slightly rounded on the sides and the other type is flat. One is also a little longer, I think.
    The comfy pants class is one of our most popular beginners classes! Speaking as a Joann employee, of course...

  12. The Following User Says Thank You to MySprockette For This Useful Post:

    janedoe (09-26-2018)

  13. #8
    Senior Dog janedoe's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    New England
    Posts
    5,095
    Thanked: 1922
    Quote Originally Posted by MySprockette View Post
    With bobbins, one type is very slightly rounded on the sides and the other type is flat. One is also a little longer, I think.
    The comfy pants class is one of our most popular beginners classes! Speaking as a Joann employee, of course...
    The instructor at JoAnn helped me shop. She was so nice and thorough. Great store. I'm going in tomorrow to familiarize myself with fabrics. Hope you guys don't mind lurkers!

  14. #9
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    8,135
    Thanked: 5108
    Quote Originally Posted by MySprockette View Post
    With bobbins, one type is very slightly rounded on the sides and the other type is flat. One is also a little longer, I think.
    The comfy pants class is one of our most popular beginners classes! Speaking as a Joann employee, of course...
    You work at Joann's? Oh, I'm so jealous. Mind you, we don't have that chain but their online presence is impressive.

    I thought I was being quite clever to buy bobbins, the right ones for my machine, pre-wound in various colours. I'd get bobbins and some cheap thread for basting, but probably not a real project seam. They all have too much thread on them, it protrudes beyond the bobbin edges, so they don't fit i my machine. I have to manually unwind a bunch of thread, onto another bobbin if I ever want to use that thread.
    Hidden Content

    Castilleja's Dubhgall Oban, the Black Stranger of The Little Bay
    Oct. 15, 2007 - June 13, 2021
    Oxtongue Rapids Park. Oct. 2019 Hidden Content

  15. #10
    Real Retriever
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Georgia
    Posts
    298
    Thanked: 167
    We love to help newbies! I'm always trying to be as encouraging as possible, and I can tell you that some regulars at my store are in there some days almost as long as some of the employees!

  16. The Following User Says Thank You to MySprockette For This Useful Post:

    janedoe (09-27-2018)

 



Not a Member of the Labrador Retriever Chat Forums Yet?
Register for Free and Share Your Labrador Retriever Photos

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •