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Merry Bobbins

Within the Kenmore family of sewing machines you'll find a few different types of bobbins with their case and shuttle. I don't know much about the early ones with their sizes, but I will talk about the importance of clearance in the bobbin case.

If you want to look up different bobbins this link is a google search for bobbin sizes.

In general the sizes we see nowadays are A, L and M. A is also known as Class 15. This little guy is what has been on most of the machines I have owned for my life time.

And it is the same size that is in the Kenmores I have been working on. Something that one may not know from their history with sewing machines is that the little slit in the side of the bobbin case is actually quite important when using a zig zag machine.

The needle goes down into that slit when the lock stitch is in progress. In older straight stitch machines, this wasn't so much of a concern, and the needle could be set aside from the bobbin case. But in the vertical bobbin machines with the bobbin case adapter for the shuttle, this hole is the difference between a good needle and a bad. This advice is not necessary when working with horizontal bobbin machines that no longer utilize the bobbin case.

They largely look identical and will function identically
In general you want the slit to be at least as wide as the largest stitch width you have on your machine. Check your machine. If you are hearing a thunking sound with each stitch and your needles seem to be going back or pulling your fabric after only a little sewing, it may very well be your bobbin case.

The proof is in the slit width. The one on the left works best with the machines I'm using

The last little bit of advice I want to talk about with bobbins and bobbins cases is the tension you can set on the bobbin case for a vertical bobbin machine. There is a little piece of metal attached to the bobbin case with a screw. That is the tensioner for the bobbin thread. You can adjust the screw to adjust the tension. It is important to adjust the tension once in a while, and whenever you change bobbin thread types.

Thankfully adjusting the screw is really simple, tighter is more tension, looser is less. And a handy way of knowing if you have the right tension is to load your bobbin and thread it through the bobbin case, and then hold it by the thread and let gravity do the work. It should drop only about an inch to an inch and a half before stopping. And tada! you have the right tension.

Really check out this blog by Martha for more examples and information. Or this website Enchinda Club! really good references.
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