Tartan

I don’t know why some people are so afraid to change their tensions. If you take a picture of the settings, you can return them all to the original settings afterwards. “If you weren’t supposed to change your tension, there wouldn’t be an adjustable tension dial.” Loved that bit!

Pagzz

I agree we should be braver however not all machines have numbers for the tension (thinking of my longarm which requires more than one complete turn sometimes) and bobbins don't have numbers

Susanna10

Fantastic help. Thank you,

Susanna

redbreast

Yep I am one of those afraid to mess with tension. I can never remember to turn up or down so always end of fouling up and fixing nothing. I bookmarked the page so can study it until December. Thank you!

ube quilting

Thank you Peckish for this informative video. The first time I saw a quilting class on a PBS station it was Alex and I was smitten from the start, always my favorite. No matter how much you think you know there is always one more tip to learn and utilize in our craft.

Lady Diana

It is always good to check to see if your stitches are balanced, but before adjusting tension, do check that your needle and thread weight match if you have loops on the bobbin side. For free motion 90/14 topstitch works great with 40 or 50 weight thread. If you have loops or eyelashes with free motion, it means your hands are moving faster than your machine...either slow down your hands or speed up your machine. If you think it is tension, stop and stich a straight line....if your tension is good , then it is your moving your hands too fast.

SusieQOH

Thank you!!
I don't know how this myth got started but I remember being taught never to touch the tension when I started sewing. I don't even think I asked why???