Originally Posted by
Cari-in-Oly
After reading this whole thread and going back and reading the original post again, I'm wondering if it's not just an issue of making sure the take up lever is over the top of it's travel so the last stitch has finished. If that hasn't happened then the thread will still be tight because the hook hasn't finished it's travel for that stitch. Clear as mud?
Cari
I think Cari might be right. That's what I thought when I read the first post. On mine when I finish I rotate the handwheel towards me until the needle and thread arm are all the way up, and it makes a very subtle click. That's when I know that the stitch is done and the threads will pull smoothly out. Or I take up the foot and then rotate the wheel until the needle is out and the thread frees up. Same with all of the vertical bobbin machines I have, but I didn't know it was a thing before I started on vintage machines and I'd never seen it mentioned explicitly in the manuals.
The semi-vintage electronic Pfaff I use has a feature that does it automatically when you flip the foot lever up. It was creepy the first time I did it accidentally.