Hi, I have the same machine and this was driving me CRAZY..I was always struggling to get that bobbin thread as it was so short I couldn't reach it..then last fall I was at the Toronto Craft Show and I was looking at the Janome 7700 and I mentioned to the gentleman that this was a big nuisance...he said that you don't have to grab both...just hold the top one and the bottom one comes along and sure enough it seems to be working for me...try it out and let me know what you think...