THREAD TE NSION REVERSE S EWING / CUTTIN G THE THREAD
Havin g selec ted the c orrec t needl e and thr ead com binat ion for t he fabr ic bein g used, i t
may be ne cessa ry to adj ust the t ensio n of the se wing ma chine t o ensur e a well ba lance d
stitc h.
A well-b alanc ed stit ch is pro duced w hen the t op and un der thr ead app ear the s ame on th e
fabri c.
Your mach ine has a n adjus table t op tens ion dia l. This c ontro l exert s tensi on on the t op
and und er thre ad as the y pass th rough t he mach ine to fo rm a stit ch.
Too much te nsion w ill pro duce a ti ght sti tch whi ch will c ause pu ckere d seams .
Too littl e tensi on will p roduc e a loose s titch .
When an e ven amo unt of te nsion i s exert ed on bot h threa ds, a smo oth eve n stitc h, know n
as a well -bala nced st itch, i s produ ced.
Notic e the mac hine te nsion d ial is ma rked fr om 1 thro ugh 9, an d that th e setti ngs of 3, 4
and 5 are f urthe r disti nguis hed by a sm all squ are. The s ettin gs of 3, 4 an d 5 repre sent
the gen eral ra nge at wh ich mos t of your s ewing w ill be do ne.
How Doe s Tension W ork?
To help und ersta nd the eff ect of te nsion o n fabri c and thr ead, tr y this si mple te st.
Take 2 piec es of a med ium wei ght wov en fabr ic in a sol id, lig ht colo r about 6 ” long.
Place a 2 020 siz e 14 need le in the m achin e.
Threa d the top o f the mac hine wi th an all -purp ose thr ead (da rker co lor), a nd plac e the
same ty pe of thr ead (li ghter c olor) i n the bob bin.
Set the m achin e for Sti tch #3, o ne of the S traig ht Stit ch sele ction s.
Seam th e two pie ces of fa bric to gethe r start ing wit h the top t ensio n contr ol at 1. As yo u
conti nue to se w, slowl y turn th e tensi on dial f rom 1 thr ough 9.
Sew ano ther ro w, turni ng the di al back t o 1. You shou ld see a ba lance d stitc h on each r ow
about m idway b etwee n the sta rt and fi nish.
The diff erent c olore d threa ds will h elp you s ee the ef fect th at tens ion has o n the top a nd
botto m threa ds.
Tension Te st
To verify t hat the m achin e is thre aded pr operl y in the te nsion d iscs, d o this si mple
check :
1.Wit h the pre sser fo ot rais ed and th e needl e unthr eaded , pull th e threa d. You shou ld
detec t only a sl ight re sista nce and l ittle o r no defl ectio n of the ne edle.
2.Now l ower th e press er foot a nd agai n pull th e threa d towar d the bac k of the
machi ne. This t ime you s hould d etect a c onsid erabl e amoun t of resi stanc e and muc h
more de flect ion of th e needl e. If you d o not det ect the r esist ance, t his mea ns you ha ve
not thr eaded t he uppe r machi ne tens ion cor rectl y and nee d to reth read it .
Rever se sewi ng is usu ally do ne at the b eginn ing and e nd of a sea m. The pur pose is t o lock
the thr eads at b oth end s of the se am so tha t the sea m does no t unrav el.
Set the m achin e for str aight s titch s ewing , depen ding on t he fabr ic you ar e sewin g.
Place t he fabr ic unde r the pre sser fo ot, jus t insid e the top r aw edge s of the fa bric.
Lower t he pres ser foo t and sew a bout 3 st itche s.
NOTE: Th e lengt h of the st itch wh en sewi ng in rev erse is p re-se t, rega rdles s of the
selec ted sti tch.
Stop se wing, t hen pre ss and ho ld the Re verse L ever, lo cated o n the fro nt of the m achin e.
Hold it w hile yo u sew 3 sti tches i n rever se.
Relea se the le ver and s ew forw ard aga in, unt il you co me to the o pposi te end of t he fabr ic.
Press a nd hold t he Reve rse Lev er to sew i n rever se agai n for abo ut 3 stit ches.
Relea se the le ver to se w forwa rd agai n to the en d of the fa bric.
Lift th e press er foot l ifter, t hen rem ove the w ork fro m the mac hine.
To cut the th read ta ils, ho ld the fa bric in y our lef t hand. B ring it u p from be hind th e
machi ne, the n place t he thre ad tail s into th e threa d trimm er on the s ide of th e machi ne.
Pull do wn unti l the thr eads ar e trimm ed.

fabric

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Too Much Tension Too Little Tension Well Balanced S titching