Bobbin question

[JillRN1995]

Today is my first time to use George, and I'm a bit nervous, so I'm taking everything slowly.   I believe that I have the top threaded correctly, and I inserted the bobbin as instructed in the manual until I heard the click.

 

FWIW, Top and bobbin threads are both Robison Anton 40 Wt cotton quilting thread, which is what I preferred on my DSM.  

 

I rotated the flywheel downward to try to pull the bobbin thread up to the surface, but it isn't catching.

 

Please advise me on how to proceed.

 

Thank you!

 

Jill

[Cagey]

Jill

 

Since the flywheel is on the back of George, it rotates upward.  Just get in the habit of press the needle up down button to bring you bobbin thread up.  I use it to lock my stitches at the beginning and end.  That way I get consistent 3 to 4 lock stitches.  I also suggest pulling out about two feet of bobbin thread to ensure it pulls smoothly and consistently.  I have found this to be a good technique to prevent having to rip out stitches because something was messed up after loading the bobbin.  Best of luck with your new toy.  Let us see your work.

 

Cagey

[JillRN1995]

Thank you Cagey for your help.  I pulled up the bobbin thread with the up/down button as you suggested and I got it to sew a fairly decent stitch.  I figured that it needed a little more tension on the top thread, so I tightened that, and then the stitches improved.  I heard a little popping sound, so I decided to put a new needle in the machine as the sound made me think that it might be a little dull.  I had the tension too tight to pull the thread, so I had to loosen it.  Unfortunately, it's been downhill from there!  The thread kept breaking, so I decided that I must have the needle in the wrong way.  I rotated it and I got it aligned with a pin, and then I got it to stitch again, but now I have tension issues, and occasional thread breakage every few inches.  It's time to take a break!!  I have no doubt that it's user error, but I'll eventually get the hang of it.   

 

I think that maybe I should go buy an easier thread to practice with.  I've heard good things about Superior So Fine.  Do you think that would be a good choice?

 

Jill

[barbm]

Jill, So Fine is a good choice and will be an easier start than your Robison-Anton shiny poly.  But both will work, once you get some practice under your belt.  Now, to work on your tension and thread breakage issues: I always ask myself, "What did I just change?" My guess is that your needle is possibly not all the way up in your needle bar, or is misaligned in some way.  You do have the grooved surface above the eye pointing to your left as you sit at your machine?

[JillRN1995]

Thank you Barb!  The So Fine is performing much better, and I double checked my needle and it appears to be in there like it's supposed to be.  I'm not having any more thread breakage, and my tension looks good.  I'll practice with the So Fine while I learn more about the machine, and then I'll give the Robison Anton another try. 

[judyday]

Good luck Jill. Hang in there. You will enjoy your George I'm sure.what's your location. Someone from the forum may be close to you.

[Cagey]

Jill

 

I found a dealer going out the thread business and bought all of his RA poly thread.  I like it a lot, and have had no problem with it since I got my tension set correctly.  You say you have had thread breakage every few inches.  You did not say if it was top or bottom thread.  I had the top thread break a lot even with the top tension supper lose.  After listening to George run on the phone, Amy had me run the thread through only two of the three holes on the thread bar just before the tension disk.  Ever since then, using whatever thread I desire I have had balanced threads and little top thread breakage.  You might give that a try, and see if it works for you.

 

Also, where do you get your RA thread?  I have to start replacing a few spools that are getting close to running out.  I have found Discount Embroidery Supply to have the lowest cost of 1100 yard spools; 1 -15 at $3.80, 16-30 at $3.65, and 31 or more spools at $3.55 each with free shipping.  I am waiting until I need a few more spools to place my order, so I am still searching for the lowest cost.  None of my local dealers carry poly RA thread.   They all carry rayon, and I have not heard good things about that thread type, so I am staying away from it.

 

Take care, and best of luck to you.  Remember to breath deeply, and most importantly have FUN.  

 

Cagey

[JillRN1995]

George and I are getting along much better now.   

 

Thanks for the tip on running the thread through only 2 of the 3 holes in the thread bar that is before the tension disk.  I'll keep that in my arsenal of things to try when I'm having tension trouble. 

 

I don't know that it made a difference or not, but, when I switched over from the RA cotton to the So Fine, I tied off the threads and pulled them through.  The thread bar that has 3 holes AFTER the tension disk had become un-threaded before my new thread got to that point.  I think that the thread was going through 2 of those holes with the RA cotton, but I wasn't sure, so I referred to the user's manual, and in there it said to pass it through only one hole, which I did with the So Fine.  My threads are pretty well balanced now.  The stitching on the back side looks a tiny bit too straight in places, but I'm not getting any loops from the upper thread, so I think that it's fine. 

 

I live in South Louisiana, and I found the 40 wt. Robison Anton "Signature"  cotton thread at AllBrands. They had a huge display of all types of RA thread in their Baton Rouge store when I was there about a month ago.  I don't know how long they are going to keep it though, because they had a display of a different brand of thread the previous time that I was there. 

 

I just did a little checking, and you can find 40 wt RA poly at redrockthreads.com.

 

I went to the Robison Anton website, and I couldn't find the Signature 40wt cotton that I recently bought at AllBrands, so I hope that it hasn't been discontinued because I really like that thread.

 

This forum is great by the way!  Everyone is so nice, and I got answers to my questions quickly yesterday.