How To Tighten Bobbin Tension
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Are you looking at how to tighten bobbin tension?
Many people don’t know that one of the issues your machine can have is that the bottom tension can get loose. I struggled for so long to understand how to alter this issue and it is actually so simple.
The bottom tension often causes the bottom thread to be loose, too tight and may feel difficult to sew.
I was always told to not touch the bottom tension, before that I didn’t even know it was a thing! If you too have been told you should never adjust this then hopefully by the end of this you will have the confidence to do it yourself.
How To Tighten Bobbin Tension
In some cases you may need to play around with the bottom and tension to match, this can often be the solution to a common problem.
Learning how to tighten bobbin tension can be really beneficial to working with different fabrics on your machine.
The top tension being loosened can then create loops on the back, tighter top tension can cause the thread to break.
To adjust this loosen the bottom tension along with the top tension. Play around and adjust, put back in and test. This can be most beneficial for thin fabrics or thicker fabrics.
Step One
Take out your bobbin case from the bottom of the machine and take out the bobbin.
Many bobbin cases are the same and work the same, it is rare your bobbin case will be different to the one shown in this tutorial.
Step Two
Hold the bobbin case with the little lever pointing to the left.
Take a small flat head screwdriver and turn the pin on the pin on the side.
The flat head will fit perfectly in the slot.
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Step Three
Slowly turn the screwdriver clockwise to tighten. It doesn’t require much of a turn as it is small and the small action can make a huge difference.
To loosen the tension turn anti-clockwise, again only slightly to create a big difference.
To check if you have gone the right way you will see a gap between the main body of the bobbin case and the side overlapping piece.
Tip: When turning the screw think of it as a clock, turn in 10-15 minutes increments.
Put back in your machine and test on scrap fabric.
Keep trying as a trial and error scheme to work out at what point it will work. This will also help give you confidence in repairing more parts of your machine in the future.
If it is tight it will hug the rounded shape of the bobbin case, if it is more lose it will have a slight gap.
To check this look at this flat as if you are looking up the middle tube. You will then see the edge piece and its position.
You can also check when you place your bobbin back in the case and pull the thread through. It will feel easy to get it through if it is loose and harder if it is tight.
That is everything on how to tighten bobbin tension.If you have any further questions leave me a comment and I will help where I can. If you have any helpful tips feel free to share.
