Litttle Genie bobbin washers
 

Has anyone used these with a Bernina? I have a 710 with front loading bobbin? I am not sure if it is worth trying.

If you're talking about a new, big Bernina 710, I wouldn't use a bobbin Genie. There should be a back-lash washer in that bobbin case already. If you got the B710 when they first came out, you'll probably want to replace the bobbin case. They came out with a better bobbin case about 3 years later.

If you're talking about an old, mechanical Bernina 710, you could probably use one in that. Although, I'm not even sure if there is an old, mechanical Bernina 710 -- the way Bernina keeps repeating model numbers, it's hard to know.

I tried them and they didn't work for me.

The technician who regularly services my BERNINA machines told me to never use them because they throw off the bobbin balance and that they are not necessary in any way. I had inadvertently left one in when I took my 1130 in for servicing. I never have any bobbin problems.

I have used them since Sharon Schamber talked about using them. I have never had a problem. Funny the Bernina tech and Brother tech told me they were fine to use, they eliminate static. That is their purpose.

What is a bobbin washer? I didn't know that bobbins got dirty.

Lol! Washer as in nuts and bolts, not as in clothes and dishes. They are little teflon circles that go under your bobbin to reduce friction so they spin more freely.

How funny. Thanks for the information.

Now that I understand what is being talked about, I can't imagine putting something in the bobbin hole that would offset the bobbin, even a little bit. The reason I say this is because of my experience with generic bobbins that I got for my Bernina machine. The non-Bernina bobbins are just a hair wider than real brand-named Bernina bobbins and boy just that hair difference really messes up the sewing on it. I started having trouble with my machine and it drove me nuts. It would have a problem sometimes but not others. I finally took it to the dealer to have it fixed and right away he pointed out that I had the wrong bobbin in the machine. He could tell right off the bat because the fake ones had 7 holes in the bobbin, where the real bobbins had only six holes. He also showed me that the fake bobbins stuck up out of the bobbin case just a hair higher. If you weren't looking closely at it, you would never notice. So I got rid of all of the fake bobbins and never had a problem with them again.

When I clean my machine of lint and oil it, I put a drop (the tiniest of drops) wherever metal touches metal. This seems to make the machine sew more smoothly.

Oh, and all of those fake bobbins that I have, I use in my travel hand sewing purse. That way I can have the color I need and it doesn't take up as much room as a spool of thread. I now have a lot of colors of pre-wound bobbins for hand sewing. Yep, a whole lot of colors.

The real Bernina bobbins have 7 holes and the Singer 15 Class bobbins (that look so much like the Bernina bobbin) have 10 holes. The Bernina bobbin's center shaft is tighter than the Singer 15 Class'. You can use a Bernina bobbin in place of a Singer 15 Class, (on some other brand machine) but it won't fit on the bobbin winder. You can also use a Singer 15 Class bobbin in a Bernina, but it will clatter around a bit, which might make your stitch a bit sloppy.

The Bobbin Genie is something you can use in place of a back-lash washer. A lot of machines have a thin metal one already in the bobbin case. What it does is prevent the bobbin from flipping around the opposite direction and causing a snag. Think about when you're sewing really fast and stop all of a sudden. The take-up has just jerked the thread, and the bobbin kept going. So, if you were to pull the bobbin thread, it would be turning the opposite way of how it was when you put it in.

Thank you for the feedback. I received some with something else I had ordered. I have the big 710 and it works perfect. I Think I'll leave it alone. Thanks again.