Practical Sewing Tips & Techniques with Nicki LaFoille

Tension Troubleshooting
Cheat Sheet
Instructor: Nicki LaFoille

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 Practical Sewing Tips & Techniques with Nicki LaFoille

1. When testing tension issues, thread your needle

and bobbin with contrasting thread for a better
visual.

2. When testing thread tension, use a new universal

needle with the type of thread and fabric you
most often sew with.

3. Before touching the tension dial, check first:

a. Is your machine threaded correctly?

b. Is your bobbin filled and inserted correctly?

When using polyester thread, if you wind your
bobbin super-fast, the tension will be tighter
on it and when it relaxes in your seam it’ll cause
puckers. So wind with a medium, consistent
speed.

i. Clean your machine. If there’s lint in your

tension discs, under the throat plate or
around the bobbin, it’ll increase tension on
your thread.

ii. Are you using the right needle for your thread?
Some needle types have differently sized eyes.
A smaller eye will increase tension on thicker
thread and a larger eye will not place as much
tension on the thread. A thicker thread, such
as a topstitch thread, may require a topstitch
needle, which has a larger eye to keep the
tension even.

iii. Is your needle dull?

4. Adjust needle tension in half increments, and

then test. If you get all the way to the max one
way or another on the dial, you may want to
adjust the bobbin tension to even that out
a little so your needle tension sits more in
the medium range. Some machine manuals
don’t give instructions for you to do it yourself

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 Practical Sewing Tips & Techniques with Nicki LaFoille

because they’re such delicate adjustments. But

if your manual allows it, you want to do your
adjustments with your bobbin over a bowl so if
the screw falls out you don’t lose it because it
is tiny. Make your adjustments in small quarter-
turn increments, and then test.

5. If these things are still not working out for you,

you may have a damaged part. If you’ve ever
dropped your metal bobbin case on the floor it
might have thrown something out of whack, and
in that case, a trip to the sewing machine doctor
may be in order.

6. Ensure you have the correct bobbin in your

machine. If your bobbin is too tall for your case,
the thread will jam up.

7. Even if your tension is balanced, both tensions

may be too tight, resulting in a puckered seam,
or a lot of thread breakage. If both are too loose,
the seam will open up between the fabric layers,
often called grin-through.

8. When changing fabric types, you’ll most likely

need to do a temporary tension adjustment. A
lightweight fabric requires tighter tension than
thicker materials, so that the thread lays tightly
enough to the thin fabric. Heavier weight and
thicker fabric require looser tension to allow
for enough room between the threads for the
thicker fabrics.

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 Practical Sewing Tips & Techniques with Nicki LaFoille

My Notes

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