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After winding your bobbin, the thread should be tight and evenly distributed. However, it should not be so tight that it stretches your thread.
If you need more help, read this post: How to Wind a Bobbin.
There are a lot of things that can cause your bobbin to not wind evenly. Here are nine things you might be doing wrong.
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You Are Not Holding the End of Your Thread When You Begin Winding
Some bobbins have a small slit where you can secure the end of your thread before you start winding. If your bobbin does not have this, you must hold the tail of your thread before you start winding. After a few rotations, you can let go and trim the thread. Never leave a long starting thread tail on your bobbin because it can snag in your bobbin case or confuse you when you’re trying to thread your bobbin.
You Have Thread Wrapped Around Your Bobbin Winding Pin
Thread sometimes gets wrapped around your bobbin winding pin. It can happen without you noticing and cause your bobbin to wind unevenly. Use a flashlight to look inside your sewing machine around the bobbin winding pin. If you see thread, use some sewing tweezers to carefully remove it. Try not to cut the thread, unless you must, so that it does not fall inside your machine. Once the thread is removed, your bobbins should wind better.
Your Thread Is Not Wrapped Securely Around the Tension Disc
Before winding your bobbin, you must pull your thread through the tension discs and thread guides. This helps ensure your bobbin will wind evenly. Some people like to wrap their thread around the tension discs two times to encourage more even bobbin winding. You can give it a try. Every sewing machine is a little different. Refer to your user manual for specific instructions on how to set up your machine to wind your bobbin.
You Are Not Guiding Your Thread Up and Down as It Winds
Newer sewing machines are designed to guide your thread up and down on your bobbin for you. However, you can use your finger or a pencil to guide your thread as it winds. Just be careful to keep your fingers clear of the gears.
You Did Not Fully Engage Your Bobbin Winder
If your bobbin does not wind quickly and smoothly when you press on your foot pedal, your bobbin winder might not be fully engaged. This can cause uneven winding. Make sure you push your bobbin pin all the way over or loosen your bobbin wheel completely to engage your bobbin winding mechanism. If it is off even a little bit, you will have problems.
You Are Not Using the Correct Bobbin
All sewing machine bobbins look similar, but there is a slight variation in their size from brand to brand. Make sure that you only use bobbins designed specifically for your sewing machine. If you use the wrong size, your bobbin might not wind evenly, and you’ll have problems with uneven stitches when you’re sewing.
Your Bobbin Has a Defect
Defective metal bobbins are rare, but they do happen. The metal sometimes has a burr that was not completely sanded during manufacturing. This can snag your thread or cause your bobbin to wind unevenly. If you come across a defective bobbin, throw it out and wind a new one.
Plastic bobbins are much more likely to come defective because they easily warp shape with heat, and they can get damaged more easily than metal. If your plastic bobbin does not quite fit on your bobbin winding pin, throw it out and use a new one.
Your Rubber Ring Is Worn on Your Bobbin Winder
There is a rubber ring at the bottom of your bobbin winding pin. It can get worn over time and cause your bobbin to wind unevenly or not at all. If your sewing machine is old, you might need to replace the rubber ring so that your bobbin winder works correctly. If you don’t know how to do this, a sewing machine repair technician can do it for you.
Your Bobbin Winder Gears Are Broken
Some sewing machines are more durable than others. You can break the gears inside your bobbin winding mechanism if you’re not careful. This is a costly part to repair. An alternative is to buy a standalone bobbin winding machine.
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Very very helpful tips. Thank you.
Occasionally happens- now I know! Thanks for the tips
Jenny
Do not use the winder built into sewing/embroidery machines. They are meant as “hold me overs” until you buy a dedicated winder (anywhere between $20-50). The ones built into machines are not designed to wind evenly without the aid of a chopstick to guide it up and down. A dedicated winder is angled in a way that the thread is guided by buoyancy, it wants to go up, but is brought down by the motion, so it goes up and down evenly every time.
thanks, Inwill try some of these.
Great tips, thank you. I have a 1954 Singer and it always seems to wind heavier on the left side which limits the amount of thread I can wind, and causes more thread breaking during sewing. It doesn’t seem to be caused by any of the reasons you’ve mentioned. If you have any ideas I would be so happy to hear them!
I have the same problem with my Gemsy machine
bobbin winding tension disk breaks the thread
It’s not the bobbin but the winding tension disk which is first guide thread goes through. I wrap thread around once and no matter what thread I use, it jams up there and ends up breaking the thread, even broke the needle one time. I used WD40 thinking it might have gotten clogged somehow.