Kitebuilder.com

[foxturtleman]

I was just working on a project tonight. evrything was humming along nicely while I was stitching some outlines with black gutermann on the 250m roll. I switched to a roll of white guterman on a tiny roll, I think 100m, anyway I got maybe ten inches into a seam and checled my progress only to find that the stitches looked like crap. I had to pull them all and retension the machine before restitching. Has anyone else ever experienced this? It really seems wierd, that the same thread from the same company would behave so different;y in only a different color.

Chris

[Dorsal]

Y'know Chris, the last time I switched from the black to the white Dacron thread sold right here, it did the same thing. I've completely readjusted / retimed my machine since then, but have never retried the white thread to see if the problem went away.
I do remember at the time, the white thread seemed more slippery than the black thread. Maybe it's true.

[Progcraft]

I usually have to re-adjust my tension everytime I change colors. All my thread is Guttermanns.

P.
_________________
There is no box.
Children of the Wind Kite Festival
http://www.windykids.ca/

[Mountain Man]

well I get that once in a while ..... used to panic each time and try to reajust tension .....99% of the time now Peggy tought me not to panic .... all that usually happen is that the tread as come out of the bobin tension .... just take bobin out of case and put back in ! and .... and if it that did not cure then you take the spool out and retread the spool .... and every thing will be fine ..... so next time try it you will see !

Since she tought me that I never had to re adjust the tension! usually it happens if you hit a fold or something had and the tread gets pulled out of the way then the whole thing starts gooing bad cause the tread got loose

beleive me I use to really get frustraded at it ! now if I see it do that .....just pull the bobbin out and spool off and re tread everything and dont touch you tension ! .... well that is my 2 cents
_________________
Bernie
the Mountain Man
Paint the sky...
"Fly a Kite!"

[Progcraft]

I don't think my machine is as high quality as yours. I do need to adjust tension with different colors. The tension change is usually between 1/4 turn and 1/2 turn of the screw, and I've gotten good at judging tension just by pulling the thread with my fingers. There are occasions when somthing gets messed up , and re-threading both top and bottom fix it though.
Adjusting tension on my hoizontal bobbin is easier and less work then on a vert bobbin though

P.
_________________
There is no box.
Children of the Wind Kite Festival
http://www.windykids.ca/

[Fool]

I picked up a few extra bobbin cases at the local pfaff dealer. I marked them for different threads. When I need to switch I just pull out the case and replace it with another readjust the top tension. I also mark the tension number on the bobbin case with a decimal place so I know if the tension needs to be between a few numbers on the top tension. And I know how far between the two numbers. You can pick up bobbin cases in groups of 5 usually on ebay.

Does sewer's aide affect tension adjustment? I haven't used it yet but was thinking about starting to use it. I had a needle gum up when I was building my double star since I was double sided taping the seams to hold the groups of fabric together.

Also is silicone spray used for fly dressing essentially the same thing or similar?
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Chris Taylor
Dayton, OH

[KiteSquid]

I was told by a sewing machine mechanic that I really trust that thread of one color but from different dye lots can have different tension requirements.

So having to change tension from one color to the next is not out of the ordinary.
_________________
VR/
KiteSquid
AKA TakoIka
AKA Harold
King George VA


P.S. Yet another post by the Squid..... Doesent he ever shut up???

P.P.S. The wind is like the air, only pushier.

[woodpekr]

So have I just been lucky or something? Maybe it's the machine, I use a Pfaff 1222e.

I use Gutermann thread because of the wide range of colors available. I've switched from black to white to orange to gray to green to blue, all without readjusting the tension.

I must say though when I have white on the spool and black in the bobbin (or vice versa) the stitches aren't satisfactory and I've messed with the tension a bit then. Mixing other colors, bobbin and spool, seem to work better than the black & white mix.

I believe I do have my tension on the tight side if that makes a difference with all of this. When I change bobbins I always test the bobbin tension by holding the tail of the thread and letting the bobbin and bobbin holder hang over the other hand. I then give the hanging bobbin and holder a gentle pop and it barley lets out thread if at all. I give it another pop or two a bit harder each time so that I can see the bobbin case is playing the thread out properly. I know that this description is very subjective and quantifying a "pop" is not really practical. After lots of experimenting with tension I keep it as tight as I can get it and still produce a good looking stitch. Of course on another machine it may be a completely different story.
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Rich Durant
Portland, Oregon

[foxturtleman]

Thanks for the replies. Fool, I think you hit it on the head, that is exactly what I was thinking of doing, buying a few bobbin cases and tensioning them for specific purposes.
I have always used gutermann thread, I tried the nice bonded stuff steve sells, and my cheapo mackine will not work with it. So I went back to the gutermann. Normally I just say the heck with it and do all of my stitching with black. But this time I was color matching on some of the applique. I guess I'll just recheck tensions on a scrap before starting on any new color.

thanks,

Chris