Every year about this
time people look back at what did or did not happen for this time in their own
lives. As you all know this has been the strangest, most unusual, and
unforgettable (we wish we could forget it) year of most of our lives. There was,
among other things, fear, anxiety, and a lot of craziness. Each of us have been experiencing life as we have never had before. One of the adjectives for this
past year is “chaos“ which covers an awful lot of territory.
To reduce the chaos in
your embroidery life, let’s look at ‘tension’ cause and effect.
An often-overlooked
maintenance issue is checking your machine’s tension. You can download the
testing exercises at the end of this blog.
Sewing and embroidery have little in common. Yes, very little by comparison. Here are the two different tensions. Knowing this can be helpful to troubleshoot embroidery.
(Unknown origin, I have had this for many years.)
Remember that your needle
stays still while the hoop does the traveling to create your design.
Essentially this means that the needle is being stationary but with all the
action happening around that needle you can bet that the needle is experiencing
some level of vibration.
If it has been a while
since you checked your tension, please find a few minutes to do so on the fabric
types that you use most often. The six separate lines are for you to use different thread manufacturers, types, and weights.
(This is a Freebie, but stay tuned, there is another one!!)
These configurations show what you should be seeing. Tension governs the look of your project. Registration between colors/sections of your design and puckering are just two of the issues that are events that can occur.
This image courtesy of Falcon Embroidery
Always make adjustments to your upper tension AND check the outcome of that modification. It can be multiple changes to correct tension. Patience is really important.
If worse comes to worst, the small screw on your bobbin case can be altered. HOWEVER, keep in mind that too much adjustment can be fatal to your case. This adjustment is best done by a technician. If that is not possible, adjust by a few degrees at a time. A quarter turn is absolutely too much, keep it minor for best results.
This image courtesy of Falcon Embroidery
We have had to manage households that were bursting at the seams, regardless of size. Here is my Freebie to give a nod to those who kept the home working.
Tension tests -
TensionTes 3x2 2k 6 colors The Avid Embroiderer.zip (20.1KB)
I wish you happy holidays and keeping yourself and your loved ones safe. Remember who you are keeping safe from the virus.