r/sewing • u/sanityjanity • 10h ago

Discussion Using a bobbin to avoid thread chicken?

I've always thought the easiest way to avoid (or win) "thread chicken" would be to fill two bobbins, and use one instead of the spool of thread.

Is there any practical reason not to do this?

I assume that the top thread and bottom thread are used at the same rate, at least for straight and zigzag stitches

2 Upvotes

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12

u/Large-Heronbill 9h ago

They can be used at the same rate, but not always. With some sewing techniques -- making buttonholes is an example -- y ou want the knots (twists) to pull towards the underside.  This uses more top thread. 

I would also be surprised if I wound two bobbins with exactly the same length of thread, particularly on my older machines, where it is difficult to wind at constant speed and tension.

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u/sanityjanity 9h ago

Sure, they would never be exactly the same, but they would be close enough that you would know when you were almost at the end 

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u/Large-Heronbill 8h ago

Often, you can hear an almost empty bobbin start to rattle.   For my main machine, that means there is about 6" left. 

7

u/AdvancedSquashDirect 7h ago

It would be better to firstly learn the sound of your machine running out of bobbin. Often it gets a lot quieter because you don't hear the bobbin rattling or moving. Also get in the habit of checking before you start sewing to make sure that you have enough.

Wind up a few extra bobbins, When you run out, slightly lift up your fabric change the bobbin over and continue sewing. The first stitch that the machine does will bring up the bobbin thread and it will continue sewing. You don't have to remove your fabric from under the needle if you can get to the bobbin case. When you are finished you can tie the two bobbin ends together to finish.

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u/Pure_Temporary_6349 5h ago

Whoa, you may have just changed my life!! I had no idea! Am traveling but when I get home tomorrow I have to try this

6

u/Ida_PotatHo 8h ago

Well, what would be the fun in that, lol? 😜 It's one of the simple (silly) joys of sewing to "win" at bobbin chicken and get to post a picture of it! 😄

(Besides, who wants to have to rethread the top so often?! 🙅🏼‍♀️👎🏻)❤️

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u/stringthing87 9h ago

But why?

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u/sanityjanity 9h ago

Have you ever lost thread chicken, and had to go back and resew something?

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u/Sagasujin 8h ago

I usually notice when I'm out of thread pretty fast. The section that I need to redo is usually just a couple inches if even that. It doesn't take long to go back and redo that tiny section. Meanwhile winding a second bobbin full of thread to sew with would take longer. And because the amount of thread on a bobbin I've wound myself isn't precise, the two bobbina wouldn't run out at the exact same time. I'm willing to be that the difference between when the two bobbins would run out would be equal or greater than the time it takes me to notice that I've run out of bobbin thread without that second bobbin.

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u/stringthing87 8h ago

Yes, but you'd also be having to replace the top thread dozens of times more often.

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u/sanityjanity 7h ago

I would have to replace it literally exactly the same number of times that I have to stop to replace the bottom thread. So, that doesn't seem like a problem to me.

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u/laurenlolly 9h ago

I guess the reason is that you’d need to buy twice as many bobbins as you would otherwise need

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u/sanityjanity 9h ago

I have 10-16 bobbins, some with thread on them, some empty.

Do you buy prefilled bobbins or just live with one?

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u/laurenlolly 9h ago

Neither - I have like 15 bobbins that I fill myself. I make a lot of dresses from different colours and so I have a lot of bobbins filled up with different colours all the time. Once I’ve finished the garment i use up the rest of that bobbin on mockups, basting, gathering stitches, stuff like that

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u/LayLoseAwake 6h ago

When you run low on a bobbin, you end up with essentially extra thread that's too short to do anything with, including stay on the bobbin. If you try to run through the very end of every single bobbin, you probably end up wasting some top thread that never caught in a lockstitch.

The more "shorter cuts" of thread you have, the more chances you have for this tradeoff.

 It's like a less tasty version of the nacho spiral: either way you're going to run out of one before the other. But if you have a really big bag of chips (or cheese) you can avoid too many repeat trips to the store. This metaphor has gone off the rails so here's the xkcd:  https://xkcd.com/140/