Tension adjustments are mostly done just for the needle thread by turning the tension dial or knob on a sewing machine. Modern machines are coming from manufacturers with adjusted bobbin tension – you don’t change it usually even if you sew with different fabrics and different threads. So, the question is – can I change the bobbin tension? I guess you have to figure it out for your machine – and test it with different fabrics, threads and needles. The Featherweight Shop has it for sale and the tool can be used to measure the bobbin tension on any household sewing machine with a front-loading bobbin case.īut I don’t know any tool for measuring bobbin tension for the drop-in bobbins. There is also an interesting bobbin tension meter – check it out here (see the image below). Towa Sewing M-Style Thread Bobbin Case Tension Gauge TM-3 The tool is helpful if you regularly change the type and weight of your quilting thread.
It’s used mostly for longarm and mid-arm sewing machines. There are special gauges now so you can check your bobbin tension easily.įirst, let me mention a bobbin tension gauge. If you want to check the bobbin tension properly use special tools made for this purpose. Maybe it would work better with a metal bobbin, I don’t know. Well, my bobbin was jumping out of the bobbin case all the time so it seems to me this test is useless. The thread should have a little resistance. So, when is the tension correct? If you jerk the thread slightly – the case should drop a little and then stop. If the bobbin case drops quickly the tension is too loose and you need to increase the tension. If the bobbin case doesn’t move at all when you jerk it the tension is too tight and you need to decrease the tension for sewing with this thread.
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I heard about how to do the bobbin tension test a long time ago when I was just learning to sew. The test is fun but not really very helpful. If you want to find out if your bobbin tension is right for the fabric and thread you are using for the project you can perform a simple bobbin tension test. Older machines or machines with front-loading bobbins may need bobbin tension adjustment. In this case, it might be necessary to change the bobbin tension also. But sometimes the added tension is too big for the thread you are using and may cause thread breakage or skipped stitches. In most cases, changing the needle tension is enough to get a perfect stitch.
If the fabric is very fine there is no space between the fabric layers for threads to interlock, actually. If the tension is correct the needle and bobbin threads interlock between the fabric layers. This tension spring assembly is set at the factory. The screw is tightened and when the thread is going between this plate and the bobbin case there is some pressure applied to the thread. This is what gives the bobbin thread its tension. This small metal plate/spring is attached to the bobbin case with a screw. If you wonder where the bobbin tension disks/plates are on a sewing machine (Brother, Singer, Janome) you can see them in the video below. If you move these 2 parts closer together by tightening the screw the amount of pressure will increase, if you move them further apart by loosening the screw the amount of pressure will decrease. When a sewing machine is working the moving thread is “squeezed” between these 2 parts and the amount of pressure on the thread is controlled by a small screw. One of these parts is a small flat bobbin case spring/plate/disk (I don’t know the name of the other part though). The printable version includes the sister article “ Sewing Machine Tension Adjustment“ What is the bobbin tension?īobbin tension (as I understand it) is a small amount of pressure on the thread in the bobbin case created between the 2 parts of the case. I only recommend products I believe in and use myself.Ī printable copy of this article is available for a small fee in my Etsy shop or my site shop.
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