Layers of Meaning

The Fine Art of Setting Bobbin Tension

->->A quick update: I just discovered that Alex has his own site (Sussex Sewing Machines). He restores old machine (my hero). On his site, he has a more recent illustrated guide to tension adjustment! <-<-

Alex Sussex, a kind sewing machine technician, who specializes in Singer Featherweights, has written a useful and humorous article on adjusting bobbin tension on the older machine. I know that most folks don't touch the tension, but all my sewing machines are 20-40 years old and they need the care and attention of adjusting the tension. Prior to finding this article, I just fooled around myself in the hopes of making an improvement. My next attempt will be far more scientific!

Alex begins with the a test to see if the upper thread tension is correct. "To test this simply raise your sewing foot and see if the thread pulls out easier than if it were lowered ready for sewing. To test if the thread is being held by the tension discs properly when ready for sewing, you need to pull the thread from where it comes out of the eye of the needle-with the foot lowered. The thread ON ALL MACHINES should be tight enough to bend the needle when pulled. If it does not then you need to investigate why it is not tight. The most common reason is a restriction between the tension discs themselves, caused by fluff, corrosion or trapped threads. a loose top thread leads to a bunching of thread UNDERNEATH the work (or looping on minor tension failure). Once you have done this put your numbered tension dial half way, for instance if you have a dial that goes from one to four put it on two, one to nine put in between the four and five, get the idea. on older machines with no tension dial numbers turn the dial clockwise until the thread bends the needle when pulled through as I have mentioned earlier. Then leave the top thread tension alone. Well, by now only the mad will still be with me the brave and the foolish have gone out for pizza, and we have not even got to the lower thread tension that we are going to discuss."

If you are not going to read the entire article, you can a least glean his closing wisdom on the correct thread to use to keep your machine happy: "if you mix your threads it is a lottery whether the tensions will work effectively. The worst culprits are the old wooden reels of cotton that can become hard, springy, weak and sticky they can really mess up your sewing machine, big time. Try and stick to the same threads, if in doubt about a thread, bin it, really all the grey hairs and profanities it can cause is just not worth it."