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thread caught in the bobbin


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I don't know how it happens, but my bobbin thread sometimes gets caught up in the bobbin case holder(that little lever you hold to insert the bobbin case), which of course skews the tension.

I try to hold onto the thread, always pull my tail up to the top of of the quilt before starting. The bobbin is inserted correctly.What am I doing wrong?

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Is the thread in the bobbin correctly? When it unwinds it is going spinning clockwise... if i'm thinking right.

and I use a Q tip and clean my bobbin also blowing it out once in awhile with an air compressor.

Make sure the bobin area is clean.

All the things you know, but if I miss one, it skews the outcome somehow.

I have to add, the bobbin Jenie is a nice addition.. I put a drop of oil to hold it in place. My tension has never been so good.

Good luck,

Sue

www.suezquilts.com

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Mine does this sometimes. I haven't really paid attention to what brings it on, but I can tell that it's happened when I bring up my tails to start stitching and the needle acts like it's really cold and doesn't want to go up/down. I turn the hand wheel to get it up, pop out my bobbin case and then look under while turning the hand wheel back and forth ONLY ABOUT 1/8TH OF A TURN until I see the offending piece of thread hanging down and remove it.

I think it's something I do wrong when taking an extra/or last stitch to tie off and break/cut my thread.

It's not been a problem now that I know what to feel/look for. It was a big headache until then, back when I just "pushed" it through the stiff up/down thing and made it stitch anyway. Then I had crawl under and play investigator to find the thread. Then take my tweezers and unwind/pull out the offending piece. Oh yeah, that's AFTER I have crappy tension or thread breaks. Much easier to pay attention to the needle and take care of it right away and not put on my "Queen of denial" cap and hope it's just my imagination the needle up/down is acting sluggish.:P

I'm trying to get over learning everything the hard way. I'll keep you posted if I accomplish it. ;)

Hope that helps.

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Can I win today's stupid award? Since I've been using my George really hard recently, I decided to give him a WD40 bath today. All that went well, then I threaded him up again. Oops! I remembered that I hadn't applied the machine oil after the WD40. Pulled out the bobbin case, put in the drop of oil, then hit the pedal to 'circulate' the oil around the bobbin area. HELLO! The machine was completely threaded! When I stopped, I realized that I had been winding yards of thread around the little post that the bobbin would have been sitting on. Are you with me? When it happens on a stand up machine, I'm guessing you have better access to the bobbin area. When a George owner has to do surgery to remove little strands of thread caught down there, it involves crawling under the table with flashlight in mouth trying to use tweezers, dental tools, whatever will get the tightly wound thread OUT of there! :mad:

It's all better now but it's a lesson I won't soon forget!

Nancy in Tucson

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Nancy,

If you think there's a chance you'll be doing "surgery" on George in the future, you might want to invest in one of those headband LED flashlights - not too expensive at the local hardware store.

And re: "the hard way" - see tag line at bottom of this post.;)

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Nancy, BTDT!! Ugh! I feel your pain...:(

I used the point of a corsage pin to wriggle and get in there to break out that thread but it is a major PITA! Sometimes squirting in a blob of WD40 right on the spindle where the thread is wrapped around will help loosen it up a bit, too.

PS: Agree with Barb on the headlamp. This is a wonderful, very useful gadget to have on hand!!!

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