Watson

First time filling my own bobbins for my Tiara sit down and I have a few questions for M class bobbin users.

The light for "auto fill" was on on my bobbin winder, but it didn't stop...is there an adjustment I have to make? (No instruction book.) For now I'll just hit the stop button.

How full do you make them?

My first bobbin was sort of squishy...I increased the tension for the second and it was better. My Tiara still sewed fine with the squishy one. How firm do you want your thread to be on the bobbin?

When I got towards the end of the bobbin (I didn't put two and two together at the time) it started to make a rattling sound as I sewed. Obviously next time I'll take it out if I begin to hear this. Is this normal or something to do with my bobbin being squishy or something else?

Is it possible to reverse your bobbin winder so you can take off the thread if you filled a bobbin with the wrong colour? These bobbins are expensive ($25.00 for 8) and I'd like to try to rescue it.

Where do you get your bobbins for a good price?

Thanks!

Watson

donna13350

I wind my own, usually a bunch at a time. Bobbin winders are not reversible, but you can put the bobbin on the spool holder and use the thread for piecing to use it up.
You can buy M bobbins a lot cheaper than what you paid on ebay and amazon.
If you buy the prewound, I'd look at Superior threads.

PaperPrincess

I have a different machine, but also get the rattle when the bobbin is low. It's a good low bobbin indicator, so I know not to start a pattern where a start/stop would be difficult to hide. However, I use the bobbin until it runs out. I've always heard that it's better to wind the bobbin tighter rather than looser. Don't know if it's actually for better machine performance or it's so you get more thread on the bobbin.

I also use ebay bobbins. I got 100. A couple were not balanced so I pitched them.

Snooze2978

I wind my own on the bobbin winder that came with my Innova. I found if I don't have the thread going thru the disks, the bobbin will be squishy as you call it. If that happens I just put that bobbin where the spool would go and re-wind it onto another bobbin. Bobbins can go bad on you if you let them fall to the floor as they can get out of round. Test them from time to time by rolling them on a even and/or level table to see if the roll smoothly. The rattling sound usually is just a sign that its just about out. I can hear mind on my quilt machine so I know its just about out and to watch for it so I can stop the machine in time. I have robotics on my machine as well as a thread break sensor when the bobbin empties or top thread breaks but I like to catch it as early as possible.

Macybaby

My winder has a laser light to shut off, and if the sunlight it bright coming in the window it will override the laser. So now if it's in the sunlight, I put my hand in the way so it will shut off. Mine is adjustable, I can move the laser in or out to control how full the bobbin gets, or adjust it for bigger or smaller bobbins.

I routinely wind the unused thread onto bobbins for my regular machine and use them in piecing where it does not matter. Sometime I'll use the M bobbin as the top thread on the machine too.

I wind my not squishy, but I'm careful that it's not actually light. I got them too tight when I started and that gave me problems. My machine will also sound a bit rattly as I'm getting close to the end of the thread. I don't worry about it, and some times it's still 1/4 full so that is quite a bit of thread. I oil my bobbin race between each bobbin and sometimes I think it's also making noise because it's ready for more oil.

Dolphyngyrl

Squishy bobbins can cause tension issues. I just eyeball when i think its full on the hq bobbin winder. The squishy one i would just wind on another bobbin

Rhonda K

Here is the book for #2 which should be similar to your machine.

https://babylock.com/machines/104/tiara-ii

Do you have a local dealer that can help you? Perhaps they can even order a manual for you. If not, email the company and perhaps they will email the pdf file to you. Good luck!

quiltedsunshine

The black thumb screw on the part that you put the bobbin on, is the adjustment. Loosen the screw and slide the whole assembly towards the tensioner. Then tighten the screw.

Tiggersmom

On my Gammill I had to use the M brass bobbins, the silver ones didn't work. Tried them and gave them away. I know others that use them on their Gammill but they just didn't work on mine.
I wind my bobbins 'firm' I think squishy might mess with the tension.
You will get use to the noise an almost empty bobbin makes. It is a good indicator of when to change or 'pay attention' to your machine.
The last time I bought brass bobbins they were $3 each but that was years ago. I bought them on line, did my research and got the best price I could find.


ps: I just sold my Gammill yesterday but this was the experience I had for 14 years.

cathyvv

I have a HQ 16 on a frame. With that in mind,

1) my bobbin winds to full and stops. There is no adjustment to the bobbin winder that makes the winding stop earlier - at least I haven't found one. Stop button works well.

2) It is very full when it stops on its own, but not overfull. It should never extend beyond the edges of the bobbin.

3) Not sure what squishy means, but if it worked well you're ok. I wind the bobbin on a medium speed, which gives a firmly wound bobbin. When I wound them slower, the bobbin filled so loosely that I couldn't use it. Never have wound a bobbin at top speed, so can't say what the results would be.

4) Rattling when you near the end of the bobbin is normal. As you discovered, it warns you that you are about to run out of bobbin thread. That's a good thing!

5) Leftover thread on the bobbin: Try putting the bobbin on your dsm thread holder and use the leftover bobbin thread to piece another quilt or for the binding. I have even wound it onto an "L" size bobbin to use when piecing or binding.

6) Unless you are using pre-wound or cardboard bobbins, you can wind new thread on a bobbin when it is empty. As always, price of thread depends on the particular thread you want to use.

Have lots of fun quilting!