Prism99

I have tried to use only Bernina bobbins in my Bernina machine. Just don't want any expensive repairs down the line.

I think I got some off eBay years ago, though, and they may be similar to the Walmart ones. What I noticed is that the expensive Bernina bobbins from the dealership have little knobs on the central post that grab the thread when you first start winding; the other ones have a smooth central post similar to other bobbins. Both work just fine in my machine, and I didn't notice the difference until several years later. When I purchased off eBay, I got enough so that I will probably never need to buy bobbins again!

Edit: I just went into my sewing drawer and found the two different bobbins. Comparing them side by side, I see that there are manufacturing differences. The one I think is original, with the knobs on the central post, has a more distinct rim around the inner circle, no notch in the inner circle, and 7 holes. The one with the smooth center post has less of an inner rim, a notch in the rim (on both sides), and 10 holes that are smaller than the other bobbin. To be honest, I've never noticed a difference in stitch quality between the two. When I have a choice, I usually pick the one with the knobs as I think it catches the thread better when I start to wind a bobbin.