How to Wind Your Sewing Machine Bobbin

Welcome to Learning with the Girlfriends, where we provide tutorials on learning how to sew and teach you all the basics of sewing for beginners, including winding the bobbin. In this blog post, you will learn how to correctly wind the bobbin on your sewing machine with a step-by-step guide, teaching every beginning sewer how to wind a bobbin.

HOW TO WIND THE BOBBIN

1. Locate the spool pin, which is a cylindrical piece that holds the thread while you wind the bobbin and is commonly located on the top or side of the sewing machine. 
2. Begin loosening your thread to prepare to transfer your thread from the spool once it's secured to the spool pin.
3. Slide your spool of thread on the spool pin.
   
   
   
   
4. Insert the end of your thread through the thread guide. Most machines have a piece with a small hole near the spool to guide the thread but skip this step if your sewing machine does not have a thread guide. Most machines will also have numbers/arrows printed to help guide you.
   
   
   
   
5. Identify your sewing machine's tension disk, a small metal knob piece that will move the thread as it's wound around the bobbin.
   
   
   
   
6. Without letting go of the thread, wrap the thread around the tension disk, only going around halfway.
   
   
   
   
7. Locate your bobbin winder, a cylindrical metal piece about the size of the hole in the center of your bobbin, and should be near a round plastic piece.
   
   
   
   
8. Take your thread (already on the machine and in the tension disk) and thread the end of it through the hole in the top of the bobbin, going from the inside to the outside.
   
   
   
   
9. Pull enough thread through that you can hold it and click the bobbin in place on the metal bobbin pin with the thread up towards the top.
   
   
   
   
10. Lock your bobbin winder by pushing the bobbin winder toward the plastic disk until you hear a click.
    
    
    
    
11. Hold the end of the thread you looped around the bobbin to ensure it doesn’t get caught.
    
    
    
    
12. Push the foot pedal at a speed that is comfortable to you as your bobbin fills with thread.
13. Fill up your bobbin with thread until you reach the edges of the bobbin sides, with your thread flush with the outside edge.
    
    
    
    
14. Cut the thread between your bobbin and the spool.
15. Push the bobbin winder back into place until you hear a click. (*Some machines may automatically do this once the bobbin is full.)
16. Remove the bobbin from the winder as your bobbin is now full of thread and ready to use.

Watch our video below to see all these steps in action!

Now that you've got your bobbin threaded, it's now time to insert the bobbin into the sewing machine! You can find our blog post all about how to insert the bobbin here.