Bobbin work?
 

Hi all,
I know there will be several people who can steer me in the right direction on my question...

I've seen descriptions on various threads about using the thread for "Bobbin Work".
What exactly is this, and what kinds of "gotcha's" do I need to know about? Can I do it on my longarm, or is it strictly for the DSM?

Thanks in advance, everyone!

My understanding of bobbin work is that you can sew with threads too thick to put thru the eye of the needle by putting them in the bobbin and sewing with the piece face down. I used to do some of it with my old New Home with the drop in bobbin. I"m not sure how well it would work on my machines now as they don't have the drop in bobbin and don't look like the bobbin casings would accept a very thick thread.

I don't know anything about the bobbin set up on a long arm, you often do have to loosen the tension on the bobbin to allow the thicker threads to pass thru. You'd have to experiment.

You absolutely can do bobbin work in your longarm, provided of course your longarm isn't fussy about threads and you have the patience to adjust the tensions as needed.
I have a very good friend who does it on her Innova all the time using fabulous threads like Superior Razzle Dazzle or Valdani 12 wt cotton normally used for hand embroidery or felted wool applique. My friend will usually quilt out the line from the top with a monofilament in the top and normal thread in the bobbin, so she has some sort of guide to follow when she flips the quilt over to do the bobbin work. When doing bobbin work on the longarm you have to have the quilt back facing up so your fancy threads are on the top.
I haven't tried it myself but want to soon.

Bobbin work is done with threads that are too thick or uneven to go through the needle, or to stretchy or delicate to go through the upper tension. I wouldn't try it on a longarm - depending on the thread, I would worry that it couldn't handle the higher stitch speeds of the longarm. You would also have to significantly adjust the tension of the bobbin case.

What thread and what project are you considering? With bobbin work, your fancy thread ends up on the back, which is the opposite of how I think of longarming. If you could give more details of what you are considering, people might be able to give better advice.


Edit: felinefanatic posted while I was typing my reply. I believe her that it can be done, but I would be cautious... I really think of it as a domestic machine technique.

yikes that seems like a lot of work wouldn't you have to load the quilt twice then? i don't long arm quilt, but i guess it could be worth it as it is a very nice technique i have seen some bobbin work on display at my brother dealer and it's beautiful.

Thanks for the posts, everyone!

Feline fanatic, your description is very good, with the comment about doing the design on the top initially to give guidelines kind of what I was expecting. Thanks for the comment!

Jennifer23, I didn't really have anything in particular in mind, as another post here on QB sent me off checking out some specialty threads, which then led me to bobbin work, which then had me posting the question.

My DSM is a Viking, and I discovered there is a "specialty thread bobbin case" for my machine, so I'm definitely going to check that out.
In addition, awhile back, I had an opportunity to buy some extra bobbin cases for my longarm (which is also a Viking), so I will probably use one of those as my "bobbin-work" case, and mark it with a Sharpie or something if I can get the tension loose enough for it to work.

Now, another question somewhat related... and Jennifer23, your comment got me thinking of this as well....
Could a specialty thread be so thick/large/special that you cannot put it through the tension disc's? And how would you thread it then?

mandyrose, I occassionally load my quilt twice if I'm doing some really intricate work on the borders. First load gets the top and bottom borders, and main part of the quilt, then I'll take it off, and turn it so the side borders are now the top and bottom. I get a more consistent design that way.

So, that part is the least of my worries.

Wow, a specialty thread bobbin case. That would be great. I'm not sure what you are asking about tension disks. Bobbin work avoids putting the thick thread thru the upper threading (needle and tension disks). If it's too big to go thru the bobbin case, you can always couch it on.