Sewing Machine Parts

Your Ultimate Guide To Sewing Machine Bobbins

Sewing machine bobbins are an integral part of the sewing experience. Not only do they hold your thread while you are stitching, a seamless connection between the bobbin and the rest of your machine is essential for its overall functionality.

There are many things that beginners should know about bobbins. To ensure crafters can start using bobbins without much trouble, Spotlight creates this handy bobbin guide for beginners.

Can I Use Any Bobbin On My Machine?

No, each machine is designed with a specific type of bobbin in mind. While bobbins may look similar, there are differences where material and design are concerned. So, always check which bobbin is recommended for your sewing machine before adding it to your sewing machine.

Can I Just Use A Bobbin That Was Wound By The Manufacturer?

Beginners are tempted to start sewing as soon as they get their sewing machine, which often comes with the bobbins installed already. While there is nothing wrong with that perse, you can never know for sure that your bobbin has been wound evenly.

To ensure your bobbin is wound evenly, always start with an empty bobbin and do the winding process yourself. Doing this also gives you some much needed practice and helps you get familiar with the overall construction and inner workings of your sewing machine.

If you intend to work on a larger project, it can also be useful to find two bobbins to keep going. If you should run out of thread, then you can simply add another bobbin and continue with your project.

How Often Should I Clean The Bobbin Case Of My Sewing Machine?

Crafters should clean their bobbin case after each project. If you do not clean out your bobbin case, it could cause premature damage to your machine and a bunch of problems while you are sewing. So, cleaning your bobbin case can prevent all those issues easily.

What Are The Different Types Of Bobbins I Can Use?

It is difficult to go into too much detail about the different types of bobbins, especially when you consider bobbins are available in a whopping sixty styles. However, you can divide bobbins into three general types, which should make it easier to select the right bobbin type for your machine.

A-Style: The A-style bobbin is one of the smaller bobbins available today, but it is also one of the most common. This kind of bobbin is also available in various materials, this includes plastic and metal.

While it is the most common type of bobbin, never assume that your sewing machine uses this type of bobbin. The manual of your sewing machine should tell you which type of bobbin to use.

L-Style: An L-style bobbin is available in materials such as plastic, aluminium and magna-glide core. The bobbin looks almost identical to the A-style bobbin, although it is generally accepted that the L-style bobbin is lighter.

A lighter bobbin provides one advantage, more specifically that the bobbin is a lot quicker to wind. Of course, this advantage is usually not enough for crafters to choose a sewing machine with this type of bobbin, as most winding processes are relatively quick.

M-Style: The final type of bobbin you can encounter is the M-style bobbin. This is the largest bobbin in existence and a popular choice for sewing machine brands such as Babylock. Of course, as they are larger, they can be a little more expensive than the other two types in this overview.

What Are The Different Types Of Bobbin Cases?

Bobbins are not the only accessories that can vary for your sewing machine, bobbin cases can to. In general, you will encounter either a front-loading or a top-loading bobbin case.

The top-loading bobbin case is one of the most common and used by most sewing machine manufacturers. You will find this type of bobbin case right underneath the presser foot of your machine, so you must pull the presser foot up to remove the lid and change the bobbin.

If you have a front-loading bobbin case, you will find this case in the front of your machine. It is usually hidden behind your flatbed attachment. So, beginners may have to consult their manual to find their bobbin case for the first time.

Get Your Bobbins And Accompanying Accessories At Spotlight

Crafters can count on Spotlight for their bobbins and associated accessories. No matter what kind of sewing machine you have, you can always find the right parts in the Spotlight catalogue. All of Spotlight's sewing machine parts are available at the sharpest prices too, so you can enjoy big discounts for your future crafting projects.

Be sure to check out all the other sewing categories in the Spotlight catalogue too, as Spotlight offers great deals on sewing supplies!