Quilting Tip #5–Blasphemy!

Posted on by Mary Vaneecke

Another tip for the bobbin case:  If  you are having inexplicable problems with too-high bobbin tension, try carefully running a very fine straight silk pin under the thread guide of the bobbin case, from back to front.  Lint will frequently build up here and it is usually impossible to see without removing the guide and/or removing the bobbin from the case and looking inside.

Yes.  I admit that this is an unorthodox way to remove lint.  Bless me father, for I have sinned…  But it is the most surefire way to remove all the lint I can’t see.  I have never had a problem ruining a bobbin case this way, and I have used this method literally thousands of times.

Okay, you must be VERY careful not to scratch the metal of the bobbin case along the thread path.  (This is why you need a very fine pin.)  Start at the back of the thread guide, where there is a slight gap between the guide and the bobbin case.  Pull the pin underneath the guide along its length.  If you have been using a low-mid quality thread, you will have quite a lint ball, as in the photo.  You will have less if you have been using an extra long staple Egyptian cotton, for instance.

This series of photos shows you how to clear lint from your bobbin case.

Here the bobbin case is removed from the machine. We can suspect there is some serious lint inside based on what we see here.
Here the bobbin case is removed from the machine. We can suspect there is some serious lint inside based on what we see here.

 

Oh, yeah. There's a big clot of lint where the thread meets the metal. We didn't see that from the outside of the bobbin case, did we?
Oh, yeah. There’s a big clot of lint where the thread meets the metal. We didn’t see that from the outside of the bobbin case, did we?

 

Now here is the blasphemy: insert a fine IBC silk pin where there is a gap between the adjustable guide and the bobbin case.
Now here is the blasphemy: insert a fine IBC silk pin where there is a gap between the adjustable guide and the bobbin case.
Pull the pin along the guide. It will drag the lint with it. Sometimes you need to do this 2x to get all the lint.
Pull the pin along the guide. It will drag the lint with it. Sometimes you need to do this 2x to get all the lint.

 

Now the big clot is gone. You need to check the other nooks and crannies; blow, brush, or tap the remaining lint from the case and you are good to go.
Now the big clot is gone. You need to check the other nooks and crannies; blow, brush, or tap the remaining lint from the case and you are good to go.

Can you forgive me?

7 thoughts on “Quilting Tip #5–Blasphemy!”

  1. How about dental floss? Another thing to use is a bobbin genie…if you use/have them. Take an old one and slide it under the tension guide. I will use a cotton swab to clean the inside of the bobbin case.

    Reply

    1. I have tried that method and teach that technique, too. I just don’t seem to have the coordination for it! Thanks for sharing.

      Reply

  4. I use a piece or paper,thicker than regular paper. So far so good, but I’m glad to knw about using silk pins.

    Reply

  5. BLASPHEMY??YES INDEED. THE THOUGHT HORRIFIES SOME,—BUT IT MUST BE REMEMBERED, JESUS WAS CONVICTED OF BLASPHEMY,—SO ACTUALLY, YOU ARE IN PRETTY GOOD COMPANY.

    Reply

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