We talked about threading the sewing machine last week, but let’s touch on another thing that needs threading today. You see, when a sewing machine sews, there are two threads involved, an upper thread and a lower thread. We worked with that upper thread last week. So now we need to look at the lower thread.
Your sewing machine will likely come with a plastic or metal round piece called a bobbin. This is what you will load thread onto for that bottom thread line. You do not wind this by hand, instead you will use the machine to load the bobbin for you. On the top right of the machine, there is typically a small metal protrusion. Place the bobbin on this and push down until it locks in place.
We’re going to start with our thread spool in the same place as for regular threading of the machine. We’ll pull it to the left and go around the first bump out, just like usual. But instead of going down, we are going to go back to the right, towards our bobbin. Some machines have a hook this will need to pass under, some will have a wheel, some may not have anything.
When you get enough thread to reach the bobbin, pull out a bit more. We are going to first manually wind the thread around the empty bobbin a few times in a clockwise direction. Then depending on your machine, you may have to push the bobbin and holder to the right or otherwise indicate that you are winding a bobbin instead of using the machine as normal. Once in place, press down on the foot pedal to start winding the thread onto the bobbin. The bobbin will automatically stop once it has been fully wound.
And that’s it! You have a bobbin full of thread to use in your project. We’ll talk about how to put it into the machine and get started sewing very soon. Make sure you rethread your machine properly and move the bobbin winder back to its place.