Why Does my Sewing Machine Clump the Bobbin Thread?
 

I can be sewing along and then hear this "clunking" noise to find a large clump of thread is left on the underside of my fabric from the bobbin.:( What can be causing this, I have re-inserted the bobbin many times.

Tension would be the first thing I would check, both bobbin and top. After that I would make sure the timing is good, if you're hitting the bobbin case with your needle instead of going through the hole in the case you may need to have it looked at.

Are you sure it's a bobbin problem and not that the thread has come out of the uptake lever?? That's what it usually is with my machine. There's a glop of thread on the underside of the fabric, and the thread has jumped out of the lever.

Make sure the bobbin thread goes into the little slit in the bobbin case too. Sometimes I mess up . Check your manual, which way the thread goes in from the bobbin into the case. Good luck.

What machine do you have? I am wondering if the thread spool is catching the thread every once in awhile. It sounds like a thread path problem to me -- most likely upper thread, but could be lint in the bobbin area or possibly an irregularly-wound bobbin.

I had that happen when I was embroidering. I discovered that if I clean it every time I change the bobbin it runs much smoother.

is it just at the beginning of your sewing line? if so, i'd say it's that you are not holding/securing the top and bobbin threads before the first stitch.

I was thinking tension as well initially but QuiltnNan has a good point also. You may also want to check that there's not a bunch of lint, tiny piece of thread, tip of a broken needle UNDER your bobbin case. You'd be amazed at what havoc those things can create!

I'm having the same problem, pseudoquilter. I sew about 2 feet on a straight seam, then hear the "clunk" and see a lot of threads in the bobbin area. I cleaned all the gunk around the bobbin area and rewound another bobbin. What I have done since has been working. Hopefully, it keeps on working or I think I will be looking for a new machine. Mine is pretty old. Maybe it's just a Michigan problem. LOL

Cybermom2, I think it is a Michigan problem because my machine just started doing this about a week ago!

I have checked the tension (hopefully I know what I am doing). My machine is a Brother XL-3500i. This is the most frustrating part of sewing is when that dang machine messes up.

Try a new needle!!

CLumping may be a sign of a dirty hook or bobbin area. Good idea to clean it all out, oil the hook, rethread everything, and start on a sample piece incase you have any extra oil. Good luck.

Usually, when this happens to me it turns out to be an upper thread issue, not a bobbin issue. Especially given all the attention you have given the underside of your machine. Try putting contrasting thread top and bottom. Change your needle, make sure there isn't a piece of thread or lint stuck in the tension discs, rethread the machine and try again. Good luck! I hate tension issues, they are one of the most frustrating things.

I own various vintage sewing machines, mostly Singer's, but each machine is different. Since this problem seems to be rampant only in Michigan I don't know if a Wisconsinite with Singer experience can help ( :) ) but here goes.

(These are some tips I wrote our for our married son when I gave him a sewing machine recently.)

1. Thread path: Make sure your tension disk's are clear. Use a length of unwaxed dental floss and 'floss' out between the disks when the presser foot is in the 'up' position.

2. When threading your machine, make sure the presser foot is in the "up" position. While in the 'up' position your tension disks are released and you can get the thread in the disks properly.

3. Consult your manual, make sure you are threading correctly and that your thread is staying in ALL guides.

4. Needle: Make sure the flat side of your needle is inserted in the proper direction. Consult your manual for proper direction.

5. Needle: Replace your needle. The slightest burr or wear or bluntness on your needle can cause headaches.

6. Look inside your bobbin case with a strong flashlight.
a. Do you see dust bunnies? Clean them out - DO NOT use compressed air to blow out dust bunnies.
b. Do you see pieces of thread stuck in there? Clean them out.

7. Re-wind your bobbin. Do NOT wind a new color thread on top of an old color. More problems are caused by this than you would realize.

8. Put your bobbin back in the bobbin carrier. Did you put the bobbin in the carrier correctly? Should the bobbin thread be unwinding clockwise or counterclock wise? Check your manual to verify which direction is correct.

9. Pull your bobbin thread through the bobbin spring so the thread is exiting the bobbin carrier correctly and put the bobbin in place.

10. Holding the tail of the upper thread, lower your needle enough to bring up the bobbin thread. Slide the bobbin plate closed.

11. Pair up upper and lower threads until you have about a 2" tail of thread.

12. Position your material.

13. Lower the presser foot.

14. Commence sewing BUT hold on to the 2" thread tails until you have a few stitches in your material.

Mom3 said most of this while I was posting mine...My experience, and the training I've received, says that normally if the thread problem is visible on the bottom of the fabric, it's a problem with the top tension and if the thread problem shows on the top, it's a bottom tension problem. Most common correction is to simply rethread the top thread. It could be that there is lint in the tension discs which throws the tension off, the thread has slipped off the "track", etc. There's a dental floss that has a lot of texture in it...made for dentures, I think, and it provides some extra texture to help clean the discs, just run a length of it through the top thread track and run it back and forth a few times to clean the discs.

Mine was doing the same thing......it was the top spool of thread. Somehow it got twisted around the little pole it sits on and wasn't/could't distribute the thread evenly. Check you top spool to make sure.

I had this same exact issue yesterday. I took the bobbin out twice and still had the problem. I then decided I would rethread the needle a lo and behold the thread had jumped out of the uptake lever! Rethreaded the machine and I was back in business!!!

Personally, I think it's interesting when the thread does a 'lasso' around the needle. Hard to see but sure screws up sewing.

Sounds like you've gotten plenty of suggestions and the ones I had were all taken. But I wanted to let you know that I feel your pain I've had this issue several times and it seems theres a variety of things that can cause it. Good luck!

My diamond was doing this also. It was so frustrating and expensive when I embroidery. Everyone gave good answers. It may be the thread is coming off the spool too loose. I put the felt pad under my spool and the plastic top on it to keep it from spinning. If you are using large cones, put it on a stand behing the machine so it has more space to straighten out the loops as it comes off the spool Good Luck

It could be a build up of lint. Give your machine a good brush out and make sure the upper thread is sitting in the take up lever properly and not missing because it is too loose.

No Michigan cannot claim this one all to themselves, all though, I wish they could. I have had the same issues, and I live in Kentucky and have found at different times different situations is the causing issues; many of which have been mentioned on this post.

Sometimes there is a piece of lint in the bobbin case (just where the thread comes out of it) and that REALLY can cause problems. I try to clean out the bobbin case and that whole area before each project.

I just had this problem. I rethreaded the machine, checked the bobbin, neither worked, then I remembered I had adjusted the tension recently. Readjusted it one number at a time, was able to keep a beautiful even stitch while totalling eliminating the bird nest problem. Of course, I had thought the machine would need to go in for service, and every other wretched scenario my tortured brain could conjure, including multiple $$. It was such a simple fix and she is humming away once again.

If this happens to me I re-thread the top and bottom.

Mine was clunking and leaving a bird's nest also. I took out the bobbin reinserted it, cleaned the bobbin area, rethreaded the machine, cleaned out the top part of the machine. Problem solved. Don't know which part was the one that worked but I find it's always a good idea to do all four.

Thank you everyone for the problem solving--I knew this forum would have the answers. Now I need to get out my owner's manual for my machine since I still call certain parts "that thingy" or "gizmo" and correct the problem.

Paper princess is correct - it happens on my Husqvarna when the thread jumps out of the upper uptake lever. The machine even sounds slightly different, and I can tell much quicker now. Luckily its easy to cut the birds nest of thread out under the fabric piece and start over.

Try re threading your machine. If the problem is below the fabric the solution is above the fabric and vice versa. I have this happen to me from time to time and then I just rethread it and then take any pieces of thread out from under the throat plate and that normally fixes things.

You may want to check and see if you have a bent needle. Sometimes that will happen the first clump and then hit the wrong place and so it will continue to happen. If that and the above methods don't work, you may need to have the machine serviced. Good Luck.

i have both a Topaz 20 and a Singer heavy duty and it happens on both. It usually is the thread coming out of the uptake lever on the front. Sometimes it doesn't come out but wraps around another time and becomes tighter.

I have a Futura which has a plastic bobbin. When the needle goes down in the wrong place. ( whether I am pulling on the sewing or the machine is racing faster than my hoop.) It nicks the edge of the bobbin . Then when the thread is pulled around the bobbin the thread catches on the nick and pulls it back. Then the next stitch catches both threads and so on till you have what is called a "bird's nest." the problem always gets worse unless you can sand the rough spot off or you get a new bobbin. Oh what I would give for a complete metal bobbin. Hope this helps.

This recently happened to me as well and the thread had caught on the top of the machine. I thought I was going along great until the dreaded "thumping" noise.

One thing I always do when having a problem is retread my machine , and also make sure bobbin is inserted correctly

Mine does this when my bobbin gets low but also when I get too many fuzz bunnies in the bobbin area.

I have never used them but I've seen them advertised - the Bobbin Genie. Maybe someone else on the board can tell you whether they would work.

I have found that pulling up my bobbin thread at the beginning of the stitching and hold the bobbing thread and upper thread together keeps that from happening most of the time. I used to think it was an "old wives tale". But, I started doing it and it works for me.

Remember when there is a problem with the underside of your stitches it is usually the upper thread and not the bobbin PaperPrincess is most likely right in what she said. Check all threading and make sure nothing has changed.

When this happened on my Brother machine, it was a threading problem on the top.
This just recently happened with my Elna and it was my bobbin case... which was a surprise to me. I ended up taking it all apart and found that the bobbin case had turned just slightly so it wasn't seating properly. I don't know how it happened, or why, but I got it seated correctly and it's been working fine since.