true4uca

Just was given a bobbin winder, no instructions. Tired it ,my bobbin wound really loosely . That thing was so fast. Could not unwind the bobbin, thread was really messed up, nally just had to cut thread off..Guess that's why it was free.

b.zang

I wonder how long a bobbin winder is expected to last. I've heard that winding bobbins is hard on the sewing machine motor, hence the external winders. I've been curious about them for a while now. You are now making me reconsider such a purchase.

Onebyone

If you mean the stand alone bobbin winder called the Sidewinder I have one. I use it often or rather my grand did. She loved to wind bobbins on it. I about cleaned out Walmart on plastic bobbins one summer. I had a shoe box full. I took them to guild to give to the members as hand sewing thread if the bobbins didn't work for their machines. One thing I did was take the top off the sidewinder and put in a very heavy weight. There is lots of room in the body of it. I found a chunk of metal in my husband's shop that fit. The weight kept it from falling over when winding.
I still have it and it works fine to fill a lot of bobbins but really I'd buy it again for just the grands to use. Every grand from age four found it to be their favorite way to 'help' in the sewing room. The boys loved using it. I guess because it was a machine and it did something they could make happen.

SueZQ from MN

I have a Sidewinder that I have had since it first came out, and I love it. I have also purchased another as a back-up in case this one dies. I use it with a battery and it winds well. I never use the machine winder anymore as this is so much easier

Iceblossom

I bought a low end brother sewing machine (still in the box) for $10 at the thrift store. Turned out, the bobbin winder didn't work. I bought a side winder (for around $25) and had pretty good results. It liked the weight of the batteries, but did better plugged in.

No longer have the bottom Brother, but I kept the sidewinder.

thimblebug6000

Some bobbins don’t work on the original winders, not sure what brand you have. My Husqvarna ones don’t.

Snooze2978

The bobbin winder that came with my Innova has you put the thread thru the 1st hole up at top, then go down to the bottom but put it thru the right side 1st then the left side before going up to the gear up at the top which also goes thru that gear before taking it back down to where you attach the bobbin to wind it. Think that cross over at the bottom adds more tension to the thread as it winds. I'll see if I can take a photo of what I'm trying to explain as I know I don't explain well.

Onebyone

I have switched over to pre wound bobbins for the most part. One prewound will last me about four or five bobbins I wound myself, depending on what machine I use. They are wound much tighter and I have little or no tension issues with the bobbin.

dunster

Like Suz, I also received a bobbin winder with the purchase of my Innova longarm. It has a tension control, so I can change how tightly the bobbin is being wound.

Iceblossom

@Onebyone That's how I got started using SoFine thread, my friend's longarm couldn't wind a decent bobbin no matter what we tried, and her other machines couldn't handle the M bobbins, so we started buying prewounds from Superior Threads. I got my sidewinder and I think it does M, but we were so happy with the prewounds it was just easier to go that way.

The (used) long arm I bought last year (sadly, still not set up) came with some sort of Steampunk contraption bobbin winder that I haven't really looked at. All like cast iron and set on a wood board. I think her husband had been an electrical engineer or something and maybe built it himself. I'll make a point of looking at it to see if there are any manufacturers marks.