Dear Quilt Doctor:
I can see my bobbin thread on the top of my piecing. What am I doing wrong?
Lillie Johnson
Albertville, WI
Dear Lillie,
Every quilter strives for professional results in their quilting. Knowing what affects your tension on your sewing machine is critical for achieving this.
The easiest solution, and one that I teach in my classes, is to simply rethread your machine. Make sure your presser foot is up when you’re threading. That will ensure that the thread goes through the proper tension disks. I’m always amazed at how often this little trick works to clear a problem!
As a general rule, stitches should appear on both sides of the fabric without loops, knots, or broken threads. Oftentimes, tension problems occur when your fabrics are different weights or if you’re using decorative threads or a special needle.
If knots appears on the top of your fabric, your upper tension might be too tight and you should adjust it to a lower number to loosen it. If loops appear on the underside, the upper tension is too loose. Adjust the dial to a higher number to tighten it.
If your bobbin thread is knotting up on the underside, try removing the bobbin and then reloading it. Make sure you’ve gone through all the slots. And also make sure that you’ve wound the bobbin correctly. I’m not a big fan of messing around with the bobbin tension … actually, I’m afraid of it! Your manual should have some hints if you feel you need to adjust. One thing to remember: It only takes a tiny turn of the screw on the bobbin case to make a big difference in tension.
Are you doing regular maintenance on your machine? Be sure to brush it out and change the needle at the start of each project … or if you’ve been sewing for a while without doing this. A clean machine really helps!
You need to know your sewing machine … refer to the troubleshooting guide in your owner’s manual for solutions. If you still find you’re having trouble, I’m guessing a trip to the sewing machine hospital is probably the next prescription!
All my best ~
QD
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