Thread: Directions for loading a White rotary bobbin (White Family Rotary, etc.)

Old style rotary bobbins are actually pretty easy to load, but I though someone might find this tutorial helpful.

1. The thread should be positioned so it is going over the top of the bobbin. The bobbin case should be positioned so that the small hook on the side of the bobbin case is facing you.
2. Slide the bobbin into the case, pulling the thread through the small hook on the side of the bobbin case.

3. At this point, if you flip the case so that the tension spring faces down and the open part on the side of the bobbin case faces you, then the bobbin should be easier to keep in the case. Pull the thread toward your left, bringing it down through the slot in the bobbin case and behind the tension spring.

4. Now it the trickiest part for me. The thread needs to go between the tension spring and the bobbin case, coming out of the top. It helps me to pull the thread all the way down, then slide it back up along the back of the tension spring so that it catches between the bobbin case and the tension spring.

5. Looking at the side view again, you can see the thread goes from the hook on the side of the bobbin case, then travels up into a small slot on the bobbin case and between the bobbin case and the tension spring.

I think your bobbin holder is like my Domestic 153 - maybe that is why it doesn't work right. Does your White take a special sized needle?

Originally Posted by miriam

I think your bobbin holder is like my Domestic 153 - maybe that is why it doesn't work right. Does your White take a special sized needle?

No special needle for mine, a regular 15x1 works in the Family Rotary.

Looking around on parts supply sites, it seems that this type of bobbin and case works in several different vintage machines, including White, Kenmore, Franklin, Domestic, and Viking. In the pictures, the case is original to my machine, but the bobbin is new from Sew Classic.

Thanks! The old manuals can be really helpful, but sometimes they lack a lot of in-depth pictures, and I tend to want more visual instructions.