Help! I can't get the tension right.

[Steve's Wife]

I'm a novice sewer, and I've never really known how to adjust the tension on my machine. Can someone give me some guidance or tips, or point me to a good resource? Thanks!

[rubelin]

First off, set your tension to zero and your stitch length at normal to long (so you can see the stitches easily). Then stitch a little on a scrap (preferrably something medium weight and woven, like sheeting). Then slowly start tightening the tension a little bit at a time, stitching a few inches, tightening again, until you get the stitches right. You want the top thread and the bottom thread to both be smooth, with no loops.

If you can't get that right using only the top tension, then you might have to play with your bobbin tension. There will be a tiny screw on the bobbin case and you basically do the same thing that you did with the top tension (leave the top set at a medium setting, or whatever your manual recommends for basic sewing)

It is very rare to have to touch the bobbin tension for a newer machine, so you might want to report back here if you can't get it right only adjusting the top tension before you start messing with the bobbin