Tip from Man Sewing Rod Appell
 

He recommends cutting your thread at the spool and pulling it out through the needle when you are changing thread on your machine. Says it will prevent tension problems. I have been sewing for 50+ years and had never heard this. Just wanted to share.

I'd heard that back when I first started using an embroidery machine. They said to always pull the excess thread out from the needle end, not the other way around. Something to do with the tension as you mentioned as well all it would also pull out any lint that might be in the tension disks.

I have heard from others that pulling the thread back from the needle to the spool is not good, causes lint...I once had it get jammed inside the apparatus of upper tension stuff somewhere in the thread path, and a piece of thread got stuck in there; I knew it because I had to yank it out through the needle end. I started having random tension issues and brought it to my dealer whose tech found multiple bits of thread :( so I try not to do it any more. :o

I've been sewing for 60 years and this is the way my mom taught me. Be sure to raise your presser foot first.

Back in 1998 when I bought my first "from the dealer" machine I was taught this. This past year I was with my Mom and she had never heard it...

On the machine I use on my small quilting frame, I cute the thread at the spool and tie my new thread on it and then pull the whole thing through the needle, don't have to rethread the machine that way, never had any problems doing it that way. that cleans out a lot of lint along the thread path. I need to start doing that on my piecing machine.

Yes, he mentioned it was very important to raise the presser foot when you thread and unthread the machine because the position of the presser foot controls the tension.

Great idea! I love this board, always learning new things. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks :)

We were taught to do this in High School Home Ec class. My Home Ec teacher was a great seamstress. She made wedding dresses and tailored clothing. Our first sewing project was a skirt and vest from tissue patterns. No apron or laundry bag in her class. LOL If you finished sewing early, you learned to knit and crochet until the semester was over.

Bwa ha ha ha! That's exactly what we made!

I also was told to cut the thread at the spool end and pull it out at the needle end "right way" through the tension discs after I bought my Husqvarna 875Q.

New to me! I'd always pulled it the other way with my 1965 Elna Supermatic workhorse. *LOL* I thought I was "saving" thread. BTW, she's never been serviced since I bought her. But she's always been oiled and cleaned every time I sat down to sew: she's just as fine a machine as the day I bought her fifty years ago !!!!! :)