"Tension Headaches"

It’s a common complaint and one of the most well documented issues for a new longarmer such as myself. 

 

I'm talking about mastering thread tension on your long arm quilting machine.  A problem that can be so very frustrating, and yes I am speaking from experience.  I did have issues with tension, however I'm happy to report that my issues have now been resolved.

This is my story………

The first bobbin I used was a pre-wound bobbin that came with my machine…..perfect! However most of us who are making an effort to keep our running costs manageable, choose to wind our own bobbins as the pre-wound bobbins from the thread manufacturers can be expensive.  I used the HQ Bobbin Winder to fill some bobbins when the pre-wound bobbin ran out. This was the beginning of my “Tension Headache”.

After working through the recommended fixes and generally troubleshooting the problem, I was left stumped. For the life of me, I could not work out why each bobbin change had such a huge effect on the top tension. I followed the instructions to the letter in respect to setting bobbin tension, I was using the bobbins that came with the machine so they should have been OK.  Well you would have thought so anyway!

I received a pre-filled bobbin inside my bobbin case that I assume was filled at the factory to test the bobbin winder, I decided to have a go with that one. It fit into the bobbin case but I found it was a little harder to click the bobbin case into place on the machine.  When I tried to raise the bobbin thread and free spool it out, it was very difficult to pull out.  And of course this would have a roll on effect to the top tension, as you would have to set the top tension very high for the machine to sew.

It was at this stage I decided to check the bobbins. I placed all my bobbins next to each other and was very surprised to see there were significant differences in height/width. Not all size M bobbins are created equal!!!  The cause of my “Tension Headache” were the bobbins themselves. 

Even the smallest difference in height will have an effect on how well the bobbin free spools when placed in the machine, however its important to make note that when setting the tension on the bobbin case itself, the difference in height of the bobbins made no difference. They all passed the sit up on your hand test.

I understand there can be some changes in shape caused by a too tight tension setting on the bobbin winder, but I can assure you this was not the case.

Luckily I had purchased some extra bobbins with my machine from my dealer which work perfectly. So I am very happy to report that my “Tension Headache” has been resolved.  

Happy Quilting!