Proper way to remove thread from your machine

[ghostrider]

The guy in our guild presentation said it had to do with the way the thread plys are twisted together---they are designed to glide smoothly in the direction from spool to needle; but when pulled 'backward' up through the tension discs that small bits of the thread gets shredded off and will eventually cause problems. News to me!

That may possibly have been true long ago, but with the newer, thinner threads of today that are processed to be virtually lintless I'm still not swallowing it. The 'backward' pull-out is tension free with the foot up. No tension=no drag; no drag=no shredding; no shredding=no lint (aka small bits of thread).

Bobbin threads always run through the system 'backwards' because they're wound in reverse. Thread makers work hard to reduce linting for that reason and the better they get at it, the lower the 'need' to cut the top thread at the spool, my opinion of course.

I clean the disc area when I clean the bobbin area. Actually, I clean the entire thread path, upper and lower, and keep my machine covered when not in use to keep dust, cat hair, etc from finding their way inside it. Nope, 'backward pull-out' of my top machine thread is close to the very bottom of my worry list....right above a zombie apocalypse and invasion of body snatchers.

[MsHeirloom]

The guy in our guild presentation said it had to do with the way the thread plys are twisted together---they are designed to glide smoothly in the direction from spool to needle; but when pulled 'backward' up through the tension discs that small bits of the thread gets shredded off and will eventually cause problems. News to me!

If this is true, I guess we should never sew by using a wound bobbin as a thread source thru the needle- guilty!!!!!

[Jannie]

I have yet to be convinced that it makes any difference so long as the foot is raised to release all resistance as the thread passes between the tension discs. If the tension discs are disengaged, how can something as thin as a piece of thread passing untouched between them cause a problem?

I think a more logical rule would be this one...foot down, cut up; foot up, cut down.

I'm with you. I asked my machine salesman/repair person about this and he didn't think it made any difference. Until I notice something has gone wrong, I probably will still pull it back to the thread.

[ManiacQuilter2]

I have yet to be convinced that it makes any difference so long as the foot is raised to release all resistance as the thread passes between the tension discs. If the tension discs are disengaged, how can something as thin as a piece of thread passing untouched between them cause a problem?

I think a more logical rule would be this one...foot down, cut up; foot up, cut down.

I have to agree with ghostrider. I have never had a problem with my Bernina (mid 90s) but I always have my presser foot up before removing the thread. Maybe it makes a difference on make of your DSM.

[maviskw]

I have heard of the "right" way to thread a needle and knot it also. You thread the needle while the thread is still on the spool. Then knot that end. Now you pull off what you need from the spool and cut it. I don't always remember to do that, but it has the same reasoning behind it: the thread is meant to be pulled one way, and pulling the other way raises the fuzz on it.

I don't think it is rocket science. But I have had my thread "wear out" while I was sewing with it. The reason probably was that I knotted the wrong end of the thread and was pulling it through the wrong way with each stitch.

[ghostrider]

I have heard of the "right" way to thread a needle and knot it also. You thread the needle while the thread is still on the spool. Then knot that end. Now you pull off what you need from the spool and cut it. I don't always remember to do that, but it has the same reasoning behind it: the thread is meant to be pulled one way, and pulling the other way raises the fuzz on it.

No, wait. If you agree with the idea that thread leaves more lint when pulled backwards through the tension discs, then knotting the leading end when you hand stitch is doing exactly the same thing...pulling it backwards. You can't have it both ways.

Draw a line (the thread end) coming off the base of a big squiggle (the spool). Make the end of the line an arrowhead (the 'grain' of the thread). On your machine the arrow points down through the discs and into the needle...sewing in the direction of the 'point'. Fine and dandy.

Take that same arrow and tie a knot directly behind the point, right inside the <. Now pull off the rest of the thread, cut it and start sewing. You're pulling backwards, against the point of the arrow. See it? For handwork, knot the end you cut not the leading end, and you'll sew the same way it goes through your machine.

[maviskw]

No, wait. If you agree with the idea that thread leaves more lint when pulled backwards through the tension discs, then knotting the leading end when you hand stitch is doing exactly the same thing...pulling it backwards. You can't have it both ways.

You certainly are correct. I don't remember where I heard this.
Actually I do very little hand sewing, and I'm with the people who say it doesn't make that much difference anymore. So, carry on!

[Onebyone]

I have heard of the "right" way to thread a needle and knot it also. You thread the needle while the thread is still on the spool. Then knot that end. Now you pull off what you need from the spool and cut it. I don't always remember to do that, but it has the same reasoning behind it: the thread is meant to be pulled one way, and pulling the other way raises the fuzz on it.

I don't think it is rocket science. But I have had my thread "wear out" while I was sewing with it. The reason probably was that I knotted the wrong end of the thread and was pulling it through the wrong way with each stitch.

With the way the new processing methods of making thread there is no right or wrong end anymore. There is right a and wrong way the thread feeds off the spool.

[ghostrider]

With the way the new processing methods of making thread there is no right or wrong end anymore. There is a right and wrong way the thread feeds off the spool.

And if that's the case, doesn't it debunk the 'pulling it backwards off the machine leaves more lint' idea?

[MaryTG]

I have to agree with ghostrider. I have never had a problem with my Bernina (mid 90s) but I always have my presser foot up before removing the thread. Maybe it makes a difference on make of your DSM.

Agree with both of you 100%. There is no way that thread under no tension harms the metal tension disks. When my foot is up, my tension disks separate enough that I can see between them, so in no way is pulling thread (which comes through at that point with no resistance) can harm them. I think this is one of the "rules" that gets passed along that may have once had some validity in some cases, but is not universal nor is it necessary. As an engineer by trade, my feeling is if the disks are that sensitive, the wrong material has been used in manufacture of the disks.