I use an older model singer to quilt with. In the last few months I've been expanding my sewing and have needed more bobbins. Bought the singer brand, they catch and tug on the thread causing puckers. I know singer has went down hill in the last few years the machine arent the quality that they used to be, but they cant even get a bobbin right. So I went to joanns and bought another brand only to find that they too do the same thing. I can tell when I take them out of the package that they are lighter wieght and don't feel as smooth as my older bobbins. Any one else have this problem. Right now I have 3 bobbins that will not catch in my machine. So when I change color I take an old bobbin and wind the thread to a new bobbin so I can use the old bobbin. Very time consuming and frustrating. I've even tried smoothing out the new bobbins with fine sand paper. Cleaned and oiled machine thinking that was the problem. I tried plactic bobbins. Yesterday I just wanted to take a hammer to the darn machine. I have a new embroidery machine but I dont like using it for basic sewing. You know putting alot of milage on it may cause shop time and money. Up for suggestions. Thanks so much for any help.

I would suggest that you try Superior Threads pre-wound bobbins. I only use the bobbins that go with my machine for specialty threads, which is rarely.

I'd check your local second hand stores, Goodwill or Sally Ann to get some of the older style bobbins. It's amazing what shows up in these places. Older machines and all the related stuff regularly show up at the local second hand store in Guelph, Ontario. Many people just don't stitch any more and anything related to sewing seems to end up being donated when seniors down-size or move to nursing homes. Have fun hunting.

Check with Billy (lostn51)

I don't know if this would help, but I really like the Magic Genie bobbin inserts. It's just a like piece of teflon you drop into the bobbin case to prevent friction. They were invented by Sharon Schamber. I got mine online but if you live in a larger centre they are probably in the stores.

Singer has many different sizes of bobbins. You may have the wrong size. Not all fit in all machines. The 2 sizes that come to mind are 15's and 66's. Jo-Anns sells both. Good luck on finding the right ones.

With all the Singers I have, I have never run into this problem..

I agree, it's probably a size problem, even thi they look the same size they may not be. I had the same problem, I thought they were out of round! finally figured out that they're just a hair bigger.

What model Singer do you have?

my old singer uses metal bobbins only.

My Singer is also very particular about bobbins. It's not just how big around they are, either. They are slightly curved--like a yo-you not flat like most bobbins & they are tinted a slight purple color. They will work in my Elna but my Elna bobbins nor plastic prewounds will work in the Singer. A dealer told me they prefer the cardboard prewounds and tear off the top side. I use my Elna for quilting most of the time so I never got around to testing the cardboard prewounds. I do know that the Singer dealers carried the correct size bobbins for my machine--Quantum Futura CE-200. I don't know if the new models use the same bobbins as mine however. The machine looks similar but I didn't take out the bobbin to compare.

Why would you not want to use the new emb. machine. I use mine for everything, have had it three years already and not problems. Mine is a Janome 10001 and does both emb. and regular stitching, all the fancy stitches etc. Why frustrate yourself with the machine that won't do what you want it to.

I don't use my embroidery for all my sewing. I like to work on quilting or sewing when my Embroidery machine is doing it's own thing. I know a lot of people that do no use their embroidery machines for regular sewing...

I also have old Singer that takes a very specific metal bobbin. I can occasionally find them online , but prefer to get them at my local Sew and Vac. They are very good about getting it right, and no issue if for any reason it does not work.

I used mine for all my sewing at first but the extremely small neck was extremely frustrating when dealing with anything larger than 12". My paper piecing kept smacking into the side and skewing & the needle plate has a lip on it that causes a speed bump when piecing. I bought the Elna for quilting and use the Singer for embroidery while I'm quilting. It is also my "spare" machine if the Elna has to go to the hospital & I have withdrawal before it gets well enough to come home. Only happened once.

ok, first of all, you need to find your model number of your singer sewing machine---you really cannot buy bobbins for Singer machines without this---there are so many different kinds and the ones at JoAnns are generic
Now you can google: singer sewing machine #____ bobbins and companies that carry them will come up or you can try www.sewingmachinesplus.com/singerbobbins and find your model number and click on it---if you cannot find it on the list, then contact them via email---they are very nice people

Thank you all for your responses. Yesterday was a busy day for me I was making purses and swithching bobbins so I didn't read the responses till this morning. My singer is a dandy, its actually the one that I used when I was in a high school sewing class. When the remodeled several years ago they were throwing them away and a friend of mine was part of the construction crew and grabbed one. Its nothing fancy, Singer Graduate II model 724. I just love her even though shes not perfect. I was so tempted yesterday to replace her but I cooled down and just made due.

It sounds like you have a much better emb. machine than mine. I just like to play on the safe side with such an expensive purchase. I've a singer futura. Theres also other reasons, Its not in a recessed table, the throat is way to small for quilting, I just find it overall harder to use when doing basic sewing. If I should need a fancy stitch or embroidery is the only time I use it. To me its like putting on a three piece suit to go slop the hogs.

Good idea, I've always just bought the ones that look like they are the same. I don't have a manual to go with it, maybe I should try to find that to...oh gosh heres where the A.D.D. starts kicking in! LOL

It may be as simple as turning the bobbin over so the thread comes from the opposite direction. I find my old Singers (1930's) are not as fussy as the new machines. Also sanding the edge will leave non-visible burrs; I would caution against that. I always get the "Singer" brand and have never had a problem. My new Vikings have bobbins that can only go in in one direction, eliminating those problems. Also clean your bobbin area, it may have something in there you can't see.

Ive never heard of these, I dont get out much I spend to much time on here, and I live in the sticks. I'm wiling to give anything a try at this point. I even thought about buying another machine , I own 3, but I stepped back and realized that with another machine may come another problem so work with what you have. Then my next thought was to buy one of those Side winders to do the unwinding. ugg.....

Also, if you get the serial # off it, you can get a copy of the manual off the internet. Go to singersewingmachine.com and you will find a huge list of machines. I got my manual from a place in Michigan; forgot the name of it at the moment, but there are lots of places.

With a 1941 Singer that I use constantly, I had the same problem. I got on Ebay, found a sewing machine guy that was really knowedgeable, and ordered 24 bobbins after explaining the problem and giving him my serial number. They work like the originals. Unfortunately, this was a couple of years ago so I don't know who he was....

I had the same problem with my Elna Quilters Friend, the bobbin the shop owner sold me clutched the thread, I lined it up with an old one and it was a hair's breath wider. With three sewing machines I mark the bobbin boxes so I get the right one.
I bought a bobbin winder and love it, don't have to stop and rethread the machine all the time.

Carol J.

I have 2 Brother's and they use different bobbins. If I put the wrong one in the machine it'll cause a big mess.

Sometimes in the older machines the lightweight bobbins ([plastic) act up because they are not heavy enough to handle the tension, I buy vintage bobbins appropriate to my machines which are metal. Also make sure that you are feeding the thread off in the proper direction per machine instructions as this can make a big difference. Just search on ebay for the bobbins.:-)

Lots of good advice, so I won't add anything.

Go to a reputable Singer dealer, or try a sewing machine repair business. There are so many different kinds of bobbins that wr ALMOST the same - and may look that way to the naked eye. The dealer should be able to get you the original, correctly fitting bobbin.

Having had the same problem I went out and bought some of the Magic Bobbin Washers. ( www.freemotionsliders.com) They are made by the same company that makes the free motion slider sheets. They are made of teflon.

Lea,
I have stopped buying the new bobbins for my old machines as some of them just aren't made well. I've been fortunate to find ebay auctions for original Singer bobbins. I frequently use 3 Singer treadles: A 201k and it uses the class 66 bobbins and a 237 and 15-90, the last 2 both use class 15 bobbins. Some of the new Singer featherweight bobbins are horrible, they're not quite round and had one get stuck in my bobbin case.
So for me the answer is only original bobbins.
(sorry this was so long).
Sharon W. in Texas

I have two old Singer machines, almost exactly alike. The one I am presently using, up north, was giving me trouble, the thread constantly breaking, when I would change color I found that it was working fine, this continued back and forth until I realized that when the thread was breaking it was because the bobbin was not wound properly. It took me days to figure that out. I use metal and have at least three different type of plastics and they all work in both my machines (from the '60s) if properly wound. Just something to check. I purchased a set of 6 prewound bobbins and cannot get the thread loose on any of them to be able to use them.

If you have a sewing machine repair shop, go to them with model etc of machine. They probably have older bobbins that will work.
I have a drawer full of old bobbins that have accummulated over the years.

Well I bought another used machine, and guess what its a singer, lets hope it can use some of my bobbins. Its a mid arm on a frame! I'm getting scared about using it.

I too have purchased new bobbins and noticed that they will not work. My DH notice that when he rolled the bobbins they would roll uneven; a sign that they aren't made correctly. I went to a local sewing machine store and purchased a package of 6; only one didn't work. You may want to try a local store, but best is to hunt for original bobbins.

I would ask my local repair shop. They will be glad to help, and probably will give you the advice for nothing

I recently got my machine back from the repair guy that comes in to Joann's to fix machines. He accidently left a bobbin in my machine. It is thicker than the cheap bobbins and holds more thread and has about 8 holes around both sides of the bobbin. I had the same problem you have with bobbins until I used his bobbin. My thread does not jump out of the bobbin case with this new bobbin. I'm on the hunt for this new found bobbin the repair guy left in my machine.

That machine uses the Class 66 bobbins and if you go to Walmart get the Singer brand metal bobbins 4/.97 and they work!! I have a 66 that is finicky as they come and these are the only bobbins other than the ones that came with the machine in 1921 that it will use. I have miked them out and they are verbatim to the ones made then.

I normally stock these bobbins in my shop and I have never had any complaints.

Billy

Unfortunately, I think a lot of the stuff is made in the same place these days. Probably wont get any better or cheaper until we all stop buying it and they have to think of a better way to corner the market.

I finally asked at a local thrift store why I never see any sewing machine attachments, bobbins, etc.---she said "we throw them out ". figured no one could use them !they must still do it because I rarely see bobbins.

I have an old Singer and have gotten bobbins and other items for it from the Sewing Shop in Arizona. They have a wide-range of Singer items and service and prices are excellent. They can be reached at: http://www.sewingshop.com/