But this initial setting can change slightly if you use your sewing machine a lot for a few years. If you’ve exhausted all of the tips here, you may have a different sort of problem. Bottom Tension Adjustment We made a fortune from customers who had twiddled the tension knobs and couldn't get the tension right again. This post was written for DIYDanielle by Becky McGill-Wilkinson. Re-wind your bobbin and put it back in, making sure it’s loaded correctly. There’s no bobbin thread balancing it to hold it in place. When you think on a straight stitch, I want you to imagine a chain.. If you've got a well-made garment of similar thickness fabric, look to see what stitch length was used and start there. 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Posted on Last updated: October 31, 2019 Categories Sewing, Home » Understanding Sewing Machine Tension. If you are have rethreaded your machine, put a new needle in, reduced your stitching speed and are still experiencing problems. Higher numbers on the dial or knob mean higher tension. This demonstrates the problem with tension being too high. My hands and mind can't be still; neither can my kids. A setting of 5 was better. The bobbin tension is usually harder and more finicky to adjust as there’s no numbered dial. With proper tension, your sewing machine needle moves up and down, the bobbin thread is pulled up, and you get nice, neat, even stitches. Ideally, you should test your stitches on a piece of scrap fabric that’s the same as the fabric you’re using for your project. You set the tension at whatever provides a balanced stitch. (Bobbin cases are mostly in the $10-30 range). Upper tension should be about 4 for most fabrics, most stitches; normal range is from 3-5. View my full legal disclosures here.Please read the whole post so you don’t miss any important information! What is sewing machine tension? I used to own a shop which did sewing machines repairs. Usually mid-range. The top is the 9 setting (as you can see because that’s where the fabric is gathering). Your sewing machine has a knob or a dial for adjusting the tension of the top thread. Those lucky sewists among us can buy a sewing machine, take it out of the box, and sew to their hearts’ content without having to adjust any of the knobs and buttons on their machine. The bobbin thread is … If you see the top thread on the bottom of your fabric it means that either your top tension is too low or your bobbin tension is too high. Try loosening your bobbin tension by turning the tension screw in small, 1/4-turn increments. Here are some photos of how you get bad stitches by simply misthreading a sewing machine in good working order: http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/2252155... As far as stitch length: most home sewing newbies tend to use way too short a stitch length, which results in puckering (and also in hours of picking out mis-sewn stitching). As you might guess, when you flip the fabric back over to see the white thread, the white thread easily comes up with a second gentle tug. Can you see the loops of the bobbin thread showing through on the top side of your fabric? A mess on the underside means your top thread is the problem, and a mess on the top means your bobbin thread is the problem. If sewing a thicker fabric you change the stitch length but the tension remains the same no matter which fabric you are using. Sew another line of stitching on your sample to see if the tension is balanced. The calibration of tension on Singer sewing machines is quiet straight forward, but it does have to be performed in the correct order. You can access information and download a manual at the Singer Company website - http://www.singerco.com/sewing-resources. Most of the tension problems you have can probably be solved by adjusting the top tension; adjusting the bobbin tension is much harder. Best advice I can give you there is that if you think you need to reset the bobbin tension, you probably don't. You can also tag me on Instagram @doityourselfdanielle; I love seeing everything you make! Rethread your machine and try again before adjusting the tension. Needle size and type is also key to a good stitch. If you barely press your hands together, the string is easy to pull. So I'm either chasing them or my next project. in French crochet terms what is: three stitches in the air? They keep the thread from getting tangled and distribute the tension evenly from the spool to your fabric. Decrease the needle thread tension – turn the dial to a lower number. Too much tension and too little tension are both problems. If you press your palms together harder, the string is more difficult to pull, and the thread becomes taut as it leaves your palms. Keep adjusting the tension up or down as needed until your fabric is flat, you can’t see the bobbin threads on the top of your stitches, and you can’t see the top thread on the bottom of your stitches. If the tension is too low, you may be able to see the stitches in your seam when you’re wearing your garment, and they may be more prone to breaking. How do you think about the answers? Think about pressing the palms of your hands together and holding a piece of string between them. Make sure you adjust your bobbin case tension just a little at a time. Changing the settings on your machine can be intimidating, but I’m here to tell you that adjusting your sewing machine tension is not nearly as hard as it seems! So for instance, if the tension dial on your sewing machine is pointing to the number 7 on the dial, and you need to decrease it, you will only want to do it by ½ or 1. The 4 is in the middle and the 0 is at the bottom. © 2020 DIY Danielle® | Trellis Framework by Mediavine. Balanced Machine Stitches Machine stitches should look the same on both sides of the seam when you sew patchwork pieces together or when you machine quilt through the quilt's top, batting , … That’s not ideal in most cases. When you thread your top thread, you pull the thread between two mostly-flat metal pieces call tension discs. She’s been sewing everything from ecofriendly items to kids products to clothing since, as it has become a passion. Visit her shop to buy patterns or her sewing eBooks. If you’re not paying attention, you may not realize your tension is wrong until after you’re finished sewing and you put on your garment, only to realize your threads are breaking or that you can see more thread than usual along the seams. If you close your fist loosely around the bobbin and pull the thread, it comes out easily. See – the needle thread can be seen on the wrong side of the fabric.