KenmoreGal2

Not a tension issue but since you brought it up.....

I get a bit of thread stuck in the bobbin area quite often, I believe between the race and the hook. I've pinpointed it to when I am just beginning a line of stitches. It's often the first stitch I take, I can tell right away that it's stuck. I tilt the machine back, open the bobbin area up, remove the bobbin and hook and take out the thread. Then everything is fine. Why does that happen? Is it just a peculiarity of my machine?

Thanks!!

Cari-in-Oly

Are you holding on to your thread tails for the first few stitches?

Cari

KenmoreGal2

No, do you think that's it? I had another machine that would make a nest if I didn't hold the tails. I thought I didn't have to do that with this machine, but maybe I was wrong.

Boy Cari - you sure are solving all of my problems in the last few days!! Thanks.

I'll definitely hold my tails and see if that solves it.

Cari-in-Oly

Glad I can help. This is just another one of those little things that years ago was routinely taught but isn't necessary with a lot of todays modern machines so isn't taught any more.

Cari

KenmoreGal2

Why would this not be necessary with today's modern machines? What changed?

Cari-in-Oly

I'll leave this one to Tammi, she can most likely explain it better than I can. Some of it I don't completely understand myself. I just know that modern machines that have the built in thread cutters and drop in bobbins in front of the needle, you don't have to hold the tails, in fact you don't usually have tails to hold if the machine has automatic thread cutting.

Cari

KenmoreGal2

Thank you!

Sammie1

Can you perhaps give advice on this?

I just got this old lady going. I believe I've got the top and bottom looking the same but the seam is puckered. If I change the tension, then I get an uneven stitch. Do I need to loosen the tension on the bobbin so I can then loosen the tension at the needle so that there would be less tension all together? Here are pics. The stitches on the left are the ones I thought were the most even.

Cari-in-Oly

Try loosening your presser foot pressure.

Cari

ArchaicArcane

As Cari mentioned, holding the tails will resolve this. It's not a peculiarity of your machine specifically but I find it seems to be more prevalent on the vertical hook/races than on a horizontal hook for some reason. Some machines are more aggressive about yanking that needle thread down and trapping it though.

The only reason I can come up with is that the horizontal races are somehow more friendly this way. I've never seen anything written about it though, so I'm guessing. I also notice that a lot of the vertical hooks don't do as well with the thread cutters. Maybe these are a couple of ways that the "Extra" 90 degree turn is actually beneficial? It's also probably largely thanks to those thread cutters that we aren't really shown to hold the tails anymore. Man I hanker for an automatic thread cutter sometimes. Usually when my scissors go for a bungee jump and hit me in the knee on the way down.

This would have been my first suggestion too.

The other reminder is that just because a stitch is balanced, doesn't mean it's not too tight or too loose top and bottom. If the presser foot pressure doesn't resolve it, I would try loosening both top and bottom tensions somewhat. Puckering usually happens because the thread is being pulled too hard for the amount of advancement. Soooo, technically, if your project is such that you can do it, you can also shorten your stitch length. This would be in a situation where, say you have just enough pressure to move the fabric but you're still puckering - despite appropriate tension top and bottom.

It's a dance really. The number of steps sometimes can make it an intricate dance.

Incidentally, I haven't mentioned it in this thread but I have in other threads. Bobbin tension should be about 1oz. A fishing weight tied to a hanging bobbin thread can help you set a good known bobbin tension for a given thread, allowing you to know that the top is the one needing to be adjusted.