February 12, 2016
sewblest
Debbie SewBlest
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If you stitch
freestanding applique or
reversible applique like I do, you have plenty of bobbins of matching colored thread laying around. You don't want to unwind the thread and throw it away, but what do you do with all of those bobbins? Use them!
I used to be able to place bobbins on my thread pin and stitch just as if it was a spool but, after upgrading machines, the thread pin was too large and the bobbins would not fit. My husband was more than happy to create an adapter for me that I call my Sweetheart Bobbin Spool.
He took a one-inch wooden dowel and cut it 4.5" long. He drilled a hole in the bottom that was slightly larger, in both diameter and length, than the thread pin. That way, it sits on the machine much like a regular spool of thread.
He then found a nail with a head that was large enough to keep the spool from pulling through. He drilled a hole in the other end of the "spool" that was 1.25" deep. It should be about the same diameter of the nail.
The idea is to have the nail work as a stopper; easy to remove but snug enough to support the bobbin while allowing it to spin freely.
He smoothed all surfaces, then rubbed them with a bees wax compound.
Place the adapter on your spool pin and thread your machine like normal. It works great, there is no wasted thread, and plenty of empty bobbins when you need them!
Tip:
If you don't want to embroider with bobbin thread, use it when you baste in the hoop or for applique tack-down stitches.
Debbie SewBlest