Why bobbin thread bunches up

How can I fix my tension? A: Looping on the underside, or back of the fabric, means the top tension is too loose compared to the bobbin tension, so the bobbin thread is pulling too much top thread underneath. By tightening the top tension, the loops will stop, but the added tension may cause breakage, especially with sensitive threads. In this case, it might be necessary to loosen both the bobbin tension AND the top tension.

By loosening both the top and bobbin tensions, both sides of the tug-of-war become equal, allowing a good stitch without breaking or looping. View All. So Fine! Scissors Superior Snippers. Stabilizers Dissolve. Superior Blog View Our Blog. Search Site. To loosen or tighten the bobbin tension, turn the large screw in small, quarter turn increments.

When using a very smooth, fine bobbin thread the preset tension may not be tight enough to apply adequate pressure on the thread. When the thread falls off, I use a pen to gently lift up the thread and place it back on the lever.

Take my advice folks and learn from my mistakes. The next time your sewing machine thread bunches up refer to this checklist. Hopefully, these tips will help you troubleshoot and fix the issue quickly so you can keep the creative juices flowing and keep on sewing!

If you are a sewing beginner, perhaps you tackled your sewing project too soon. This FREE ebook will help guide you on your way to sewing success! Fabric and Crochet Easter Bib Tutorial. I was almost finished a project, and started experiencing bunching of thread under my fabric.

I promptly Googled "sewing machine - thread collecting under fabric", found your web page and now know that there is such a thing as "birdnesting". You learn something new every day, ha, ha. I've been sewing for decades, and never had to re-adjust the thread tension during a project - but it appears that this is something that does happen.

My machine is working like a charm now. I am so glad that this little article helped you - that's exactly why I created it. My thread kept bunching up and I couldn't figure out why. So, I did my research and started keeping track of all the possible solutions. I figured I should share it with the world so that others could benefit.

Thank you for this. I went through your steps and turns out the thread had come out of the arm that goes up and down. Thank you, you saved from a trip to a repair shop! On vintage machines, I see a lot of people forget to oil the stitch adjuster parts and feed dog parts. Just as important as making sure your bobbin is in right it's easy to put the bobbin in wrong is making sure the feed dogs move smoothly.

When feed dogs do not move right, a bobbin area birds nest will happen. Another great tip before adjusting bobbin tension is to use waxed dental floss to clean the bobbin tension parts. Thanks so much for those wonderful tips! I'll be sure to add them when I do an update on this post. Thank you so much! I do try very hard to put together a good tutorial. It is my goal to help as best as I can and if this tutorial does that then I am very happy. I use a small scrap of fabric to start sewing on before and after the seam, continuously.

This also saves thread. I believe it's called a spider. Does this look familiar? Your support is appreciated! See my full Disclosure Policy for details. I know because it happened to me.

When this happens to you, you will want to cry. Well, at least I did. As mentioned at the start, thread bunching when sewing is unfortunately a problem that many beginners have to deal with. Hopefully, you now know how to solve this problem and make sure it no longer happens. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. I understand that BERNINA will process my comments as well as my first and last name for publication and direct marketing purposes and link these to information collected by BERNINA for direct marketing purposes or information derived from the comments such as captions, tags.

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I understand that my inquiries may be answered by email. It is truly a well-researched content. It just slides from gray to red, or red to gray. I think I just blocked all cookies, which I did not intend to do. This is a terrible design. Grey means blocking the cookies, or you can accept all of them by clicking on the red button. Thank you for your feedback, I will forward it to our team! Hi I have just bought the B and everything was fine for the first garment but now when I top stitch or understitch the machine needle will do a sudden stutter part way through and then I will get a tangled mess underneath or really loose stitching.

This is my first electronic and most of my clothing I make is topstitched so very worrying. Does the needle size fit to the fabric? Maybe you have to adjust the size. Hi Been teaching years with Berninas and know about right needle for right fabric. This is a new machine. Next couple I have. Moved the needle over two to the left or right and after a short time I am sewing slowly the needle jumps as you can see from the picture to the side with a glug, and then thread jams underneath.

Was topstiching edge a zip and it jumped to the middle of the foot and broke a needle just now. Had to switch the machine off. Also noticed that if I stop in the middle of a seam, the needle goes back into the stitch just made and then goes forward, rather than going forward to form a new stitch.

The machine is unusable as it is. I would propose to visit your deler and check the machine, because he can find out the reason, why this happens! Thank you so much! My thread started bunching midway through a piece of work and I thought something must have broken…. As you so rightly comment…. You can easily resolve them on your own at home.

If they keep occurring then it is more likely that your sewing machine needs to be checked by a professional. To avoid these mishaps, have your sewing machine serviced regularly even if they are working well. Do not wait until they fail completely since you could have avoided it. A simple habit as cleaning and regularly oiling your sewing machine could go a long way in saving you time and money.

You may not think of this when buying your machine but the manual is a life saver. Keep the user manual well because you will certainly need it at some point. Another great tip is to buy a sewing machine that is not too complicated. Do not buy it because you like how it looks or your friend has it. Get one based on its performance and how easy you can troubleshoot common problems as they occur. Sometimes your sewing machine is just too old and you keep holding on to it. It could be it was handed down to you by your grandmother and it has sentimental values.

It could be a high time to give it a rest and get a new one.