OT - sewing machine mechanism

They did:

Scroll down until you find Annie's National Two Spool, built in the

1920's...

BTW, I just LOVE her machine table...

Of course, Annie still has to find spools the right size. IIRC, she's had to hand wind thread onto her spools at times. Eeek!

Back to Anita's question; it has to do with the way a stitch is formed in modern (home) sewing machines. The top thread needs to go completely around the bobbin for the interlocking stitch to form. (Early machines used a chain stitch -- I'll get to that later). Bigger bobbins seem like they'd be nice (I have a double sized one on my longarm), but they have their own sets of problems. The bigger bobbin means a bigger loop needs to be made to get around the bobbin. A bigger loop means either a whomping big check spring or other mechanism to keep a constant tension and not get a big mess. I know in the longarms, the double-sized machines are notorious for being more persnickety about tension. (Methinks this is why no darning foot was ever made for Annie's machine. I would NOT want to use a bobbin bigger than a double-size for free motion!)

Chain stitch machines have no bobbin at all -- they just use one spool or cone. (See

about a third of the way down to see how a chainstitch machine works. Scroll down a little farther to see how a rotary bobbin works) The down side of a chainstitch machine is that the sewing can be pulled out easily, just like opening the sack of dog food that's been sewn shut. (Unless, of course, you sew over the sewing or tie a knot in the threads.)

I get it! Thanks!

-- Anita --

Cool!

That is a very unique table!

-- Anita --

Well, if you don't want to wind bobbins, you could always have a serger... If you decide to do that, be aware that some new swear words come with the package...

Helen Howes Our Lady Of The Biscuits...

LOL! That's the truth!!! KJ