Understanding the Benefits of Bobbin Winders
ZJ HumbachDescription
Having to stop in the middle of a sewing project to wind a bobbin can be frustrating. ZJ Humbach shares a way that she likes to avoid that by using a bobbin winder to wind several bobbins ahead of time.
Bobbin Winders Explained
There are several different brands and styles of bobbin winders available at many fabric and craft stores today. ZJ shares her favorite one to use and explains why she likes to have one that can be plugged in as well as runs on batteries. She then shows how easy they are to open up and use. On most bobbin winders it will be fairly easy to see where the thread is placed as well as where the bobbin is placed.
ZJ shows that the correct thread path from the thread to the bobbin is usually clearly marked on the bobbin winder. Once you have everything in place and threaded you can simply push a button and wind the bobbin. ZJ explains that she like to sit and wind five to ten bobbins before starting a large project to eliminate the need to unthread the machine while sewing to wind an empty bobbin.
Winding a Bobbin
ZJ shows that a bobbin wound using a bobbin winder looks just as good as a pre wound bobbin, and also looks just as good as a bobbin wound on a machine. She also explains why she likes to use the bobbin winder as opposed to winding a bobbin on her machine or through the needle, as there is a small change you could damage parts of a sewing machine by bending the needle.
While bobbin winders can be used to wind general sewing thread onto a bobbin, it you are doing a technique known as bobbin work where you use a thicker thread, yarn or ribbon in the bobbin you will still want to wind that bobbin by hand.
I think every seamstress in the world hates to wind bobbins. It's just one of those little annoyances, that you're sewing along, and your bobbin and runs out, and you're right in the middle of a long seam and, doggonit, you gotta stop and wind a bobbin. So you have to unthread or take your project out, unthread, thread the machine for bobbin winding. It's a pain. So I'd like to introduce you to a portable bobbin winder that I found is just as wonderful as can be.
It's small. I keep it packed up in the box when I traveled, because in here, they've got it nicely packaged. They've got a little portable power pack that you can plug into the wall if you don't wanna use batteries or if your batteries die, which is usually the case in my household, or we don't have batteries, so I like having the power pack. I really like being able to use the little bobbin winder because I can do it while I'm watching TV or be away from the machine, and I have a bobbin winding fest and I wind as many bobbins as I can before I start a quilt. I'll usually wind maybe a good five to 10 bobbins.
And a lot of times, because I primarily quilt or sew with pale gray or dark gray thread, I will wind a whole bunch of them and keep them in my bobbin case so that they're ready to go and I don't have to wind bobbins as often. So let me show you how this little gem works, it's very easy. You've got a little felt pad at the bottom for your thread. I guess I should mention that the batteries go in on the back. It takes two AA batteries.
The directions for winding it are right here, so it's pretty easy. You're going to come underneath the little thread guide. You're going to go through the tension wheel and you wanna make sure that you are in there. You can actually kinda, I like to say, floss the thread to make sure you're fully seated in there, otherwise you won't have the right tension for your bobbin. Go ahead and clip your thread, and what you want to do, and this is what I tell everybody is, when you wind a bobbin, make sure you thread the thread through the little hole in the top of the bobbin.
And that's probably the most difficult part of this whole operation, is getting the thread into that hole, but you want to get it in there, then you can just simply put the bobbin, seat it down, and make sure that the thread stop is here. This will determine how full the bobbin gets, and press the button. Nice. Oops. To stop it, I just move the little thread back.
I usually will trim off the tail at the top to make sure it doesn't get caught in there. And there you go, you've got a nicely wound bobbin. I was just having a discussion with a colleague, and she said that she likes to wind her bobbins through the needle in her machine. And yes, you can do that, yes, it does show how to do it in most owner's manual, but one thing that I find is when you're doing that, you are putting extra pressure on that needle, and there is a bit of pull. If you watch your needle, you can actually see it bending.
And while it's microscopic, it can be enough that it will throw, you'll start hearing a little tink, tink, tink against your bobbin case because the needle is slightly bent. It can cause skipped stitches and other problems. So personally, I don't like to wind a bobbin that way. And for as inexpensive as this is, I think it's worth it to save your needles and the frustration. But I think if you give this a try, you'll find that you really have fallen in love with it.
And I've always had very well wound, very accurately wound bobbins with this little case. In fact, if you look at a pre wound bobbin compared to one wound on here, it's just a wonderful job. And then when I get done winding my bobbins, I put them in an old medicine dispenser, and it's a great way to keep them for traveling to class. So I hope that you'll pick one up and be as happy with it as I've been.
My wife bought me one of these. Seems ever brand is the same. I think it is the quality of the materials in the different brands is what makes each brand unique. Anyway my wife saw a Spimplicty brand one for $15.99 on sale at Walmart a few months ago. I love it. I am a big man with big hands and this device was easy even for me to use. It will save a lot of needless wear and tear on my machine as well as being super convenient as ZJ said. I am just mentioning additional benefits to one of these wonderful machines. Thank you for making and presenting this very informative video.
When I 1st saw a bobbin winder, I was in my constant frugal mode, it was a snap decision I didn't need one. When I finally tried one all I can say is wow! I love mine & use it for every project. You don't need to quit your project to wind bobbins. I also use it to wind embroidery thread for my crazy quilt projects as a take-along thread.
I'm getting the Berninna 770QE with Embroidery Module . Will this fit my xtra large bobbin. BTW My new machine will stop automatically when the bobbin runs out.
what is the cost?
The SideWinder does NOT work with Viking bobbins, despite the description. I had to return mine.
The bobbin winder is a wonderful tool! Husband bought it as a gift. Use it all the time.
Perfect Little Gadget Since I am a collector of Singer Sewing Items this was one of my favorite item to have when testing machines. Excellent for your sewing room or travel.
Joslyn, Both of my pfaffs have bobbins that can be wound using the sidewinder. But for me this brings up the fact that industrial machines have a bobbin winder on the side so it will wind while sewing. Love the industrial mchines.( - ;
Hi. Will the sidewinder work with the specialized Pfaff bobbins? Thanks.