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Member since 1/2/09
Posts: 11
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Posted on: 1/7/09 6:44 PM ET
Hello, Everyone!

I'm new to sewing. When my daughter was a wee babe I was able to choose a fabric, lay out some of her simple bougten dresses, cut around them, sew them up the side and top, hem the bottom, and call it a dress. I loved doing it and in this way leared my way around a sewing maching in a very informal way (meaning I use terms such as: needle thingy, and that knobby thing on the side of my machine, et c. I once took my machine to the repair shop because the threader thing wouldn't work. The foot was down:$75 service charge.) So, I can use my machine in the most rudamentary way . . . and love it! I have never learned to follow a pattern, though.

Well, this is the year I learn to sew! I've been reading reviews to help me choose a pattern I'd like to work with and I'm excited to begin.

Today, though, while repairing a hem on a skirt, I loaded my bobbin. I finished the skirt and still had a ton of thread on my bobbin. This is a recurring problem for me: all that wasted thread. So my question is this: is there a rule of thumb or mathmatical equasion (please, no!) that I could use to determine how much thread to load my bobbin with? Eventhough it's not all that expensive, I don't want to waste. Any tips?
-- Edited on 1/7/09 6:46 PM --
  
Member since 8/14/05
Posts: 25292
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Posted on: 1/7/09 6:54 PM ET
In reply to Rebeccca
Rebecca, just put that bobbin in a bobbin box or whatever you can store it in, and you will soon have several colors of thread on bobbins ready for when you need that color again!Better to fil la bobbin than to have it run out mid-sew. I don't know that anyone has ever asked this before!I am glad you did - makes me see the bobbin in a whole new way. :)

I don't know what machine you have, but by all means buy plenty of needles, you should change your needle for each project you sew, and with a needle of the appropriate size.

Also, buy yourself lots of extra bobbins! :)

Happy sewing and WELCOME to PR!!
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"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." --Dalai Lama
https://eyeletsintheseams.blogspot.com

Pfaff 1222E, Elna eXcellence 720, Brother Innovis PS500, Brother SE400, Brother 1034D, Sunbeam irons ;)
  
Member since 1/2/09
Posts: 11
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Posted on: 1/7/09 7:07 PM ET
In reply to Mufffet
A new needle after every project??? I did not know that! Okay, I'm sure I'm due then since I've never changed it before!

Other tips always welcome and thanks for the info and welcome!
  
Member since 7/23/07
Posts: 7276
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Posted on: 1/7/09 7:16 PM ET
Welcome Rebecca. I have had service charges like yours for other machinery - sooo embarrassing and then the charge you money on top of it all!

That is a very good question about bobbins. I have thought about unwinding and dumping thread from some projects of unusual colours, but I usually find a place to use it again. If you still have a young one, kid's clothes are great for using up fun colours.

The needle issue is not so absolute. I have found that sturdy cottons and small projects do not always require a new needle, but if you are having any unexplainable problems, a new needle is one of the first things to try. If you are mostly hemming things and doing small chores like that, you won't need a new one every time. This is a frequently discussed topic here as some of us grew up with moms who never changed the needle unless it broke, so we never did, either. If you are sewing fancy fabrics, you do need specialty needles. For hemming jeans, nothing beats a really strong jeans quality needle and a "bump jumper" tool of some sort.

Happy sewing!
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http://bgballroom.wordpress.com to follow the progress on my next ballgown.
  
Member since 2/17/07
Posts: 2506
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Posted on: 1/7/09 7:54 PM ET
As far as changing needles, yes, you do need to every so often. But, what constitutes a "project?" One largeish garment, perhaps. I've had projects range from a cellphone holster to a gazebo roof. I do believe I used two needles on the gazebo...
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A sewing machine is just a welder for textiles.
  
Member since 2/22/07
Posts: 211
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Posted on: 1/7/09 8:01 PM ET
In reply to Rebeccca
Welcome Rebecca, you will love this site! coleen
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misscoleen
  
Member since 5/30/08
Posts: 472
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Posted on: 1/7/09 10:10 PM ET
In reply to Rebeccca
Welcome to our group. I put the bobbin in the thread box next to the same color spool. That way....I always am ready to sew. These folks have helped me learn to sew....buy a serger.....buy a new machine.....fix the old machine (back up now). I can now make dresses and follow a pattern. We cannot wait until your first pattern review. Pick an easy pattern....and start.
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I sew....I rip....I create.
Kenmore 19110, Brother 1034D, Innovis 900D, Juki Excite HZL G210
  
Member since 10/1/06
Posts: 4518
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Posted on: 1/7/09 10:25 PM ET
Hello and welcome. This is a great group. I love your story about your service call.

I suggest spending time in the tips and techniques area of the home page. Also Shannon Gifford has online sewing classes for very reasonable cost. I have taken online classes from her and I highly recommend them. You can save or print the lessons for future reference as you go through at your own pace.

Happy sewing
Kathy
  
Member since 7/23/07
Posts: 8464
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Posted on: 1/8/09 3:00 PM ET
Hi Rebecca,

I always ask myself this question too! Usually, basic colors (or one that come up frequently in my sewing such as brown, black, navy or fuschia), I blightly fill the whole bobbin.

Same goes for something with a lot of topstiching, suit, wide skirt. Big projects.

Otherwise, I usually guestimate. If the bobbin isn't used up, and I have no left-over fabric saved for a future project, I use it for basting or home dec projects such as pillow forms or whatever.
  
Member since 12/13/08
Posts: 24921
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Posted on: 1/8/09 5:16 PM ET
Welcome!

My MIL is fully convinced that the whole "change your needle with every new project" message is a scam to rip us off. :lol However, I will say that *for me,* my sewing became EXPONENTIALLY EASIER and the QUALITY of my work went way, way up after a trusted friend told me to do this (her advice was "every new project OR ten hours of sewing," in case you have trouble deciding how much is "a project." A pants hem is not a whole project, for instance. :lol).

Needles get dull and they can develop "burrs" on the eye or tip that will catch on the thread and fabric, causing problems with the stitches. I figure that a pack of needles is so cheap compared to the price of a machine and the material you use to sew with, it doesn't always make sense to be so "penny wise" in this situation.

As for the bobbin--I'll fill the bobbin if I need it for a whole garment, but if I know all I'm doing is hemming a couple of pairs of pants, I'll only put a little bit on there (maybe 1/8" deep? That's a guess.). You need enough so that it spools on there snugly and won't just unravel inside your machine.

Also, if your machine is not picky about thread, you may find you can use a basic color (white, black, grey, khaki, etc) in the bobbin thread for a lot of things. I've never done this myself, as my last machine would throw a fit if I even *thought* about using a different thread in the bobbin from the top--but lots of machines do just fine. This may be a case where you do want to be as frugal as possible--if you have a finnicky machine that will only sew with expensive thread like Guttermann or Mettler.

Also, not that you *would,* but just in case--you never want to load new thread OVER the old thread on a bobbin. (I don't actually know why, though!)
-- Edited on 1/8/09 5:18 PM --
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~Elizabeth in the prairie
More Plans than Sense
PR's Most Relentless Babbler 2024
  
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