[amayausers] Re: Bobbin Tension ??
- From: "Roland R. Irish III" <signman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <amayausers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 08:14:34 -0400
I see one other answer already-so here's my 2 1/2¢....
bobbin too tight....we find you have to check EVERY time you load a new
bobbin-clean out under that tension 'bar' with a piece of cardboard or the
tip of a used needle. Thread 'density' can change from spool to spool,
humidity also affects the thickness of the thread. The 'drag' of the thread
through the tension plate controls how much bobbin thread gets through per
stitch. Remember the 'thirds' when looking at the back of the sewing-1/3
thread, 1/3 bobbin, 1/3 thread...if the top thread is really tight (and lots
of thread breaks) and very little bobbin showing, adjust the 'drop' (or
tension) very slightly-just a hair turn of the screw.
If you see bobbin thread on TOP with your sewing, and the thread is looping,
not sewn compactly, then IF you see MORE than 1/3 bobbin, check your
tension. Some fabrics (lightweight pique, thin jersey) just don't work the
same and the fabric itself 'puckers' under the thread-allowing bobbin to get
pulled up. If your bobbin 'drop' is okay and a 'fine tuning' doesn't help,
check the fabric AND your backing...it isn't always a bobbin problem! We
just did 4 pique shirts-they looked like good quality-but ended up using TWO
layers of 3 oz. backing-the material just offered no resistance at all to
the thread and bobbin pulling through.
It is a fine balancing act-and we have tried the magnetic bobbins, yes, it
did help! But those are shorter rolls-more expensive-so we save those for
really touchy material.
Maybe the new upgrade we've heard about with 'auto density' feature might
help, who knows?
The balancing act is trying to have your 'bobbin' thread pull tight enough
to hold your thread down to the material without puckering the cloth, while
your thread tries to pull the bobbin tight enough to hold itself in place
without pulling it back up...kind of a see-saw. Then add the density of the
backing, and the fabric itself-is it 'grabbing' the thread or letting it
slide? (cotton versus poly). Visualize that and you will get a better idea
of what you are trying to equal out!
Roland
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