how do i thread the bobbin?

[southeastastra]

haven't used a machine for years and can't remember, googling confuses me

Oh gosh - I did this yesterday but I had instructions!

The big reel of thread went on a pin thing that sticks out of the back of the machine. From there the thread went over to the left and under a little wheel thing. Then through the hole in the bobbin and the bobbin went onto another little sticky out thing which slotted into place on the top right of the machine. Foot on pedal for ten seconds, cut off the little bit of thread sticking out from the bobbin. Then foot back on pedal to keep winding from the big thread reel until bobbin is full.

If your machine is anything like mine you need to undo the wheel at the right of the machine so that it doesn't move the needle up and down. You then need to put the bobbin on the pin on the top and thread the tread for bobbin winding. Then you just press the pedal and it should go. If the thread comes undone, you may need to start it off by winding it on the bobbin the other way round. it's hard to explani. Have you not got the instructions any more? It should say in there.

the machine is very very old (60s by the looks of it). i think i have to do it by hand as i can't get the wheel to do anything to turn the bobbin spindle thing. managed to load it that way though.

now i have to figure out where the bits go in the bobbin bit

wind it up and clap clap clap!

oh stupid me i just press the thing down

it's this one

Well done! Dd1 and I are now making our third skirt of the weekend - haven't made anything since my student days when I used to cut up charity shop 50s and 60s dresses and hand sew them to turn them into skirts!

i'm trying to take up some curtains, will be too dark by the time i've mastered this machine though.

can't get the bobbin thread to come up through the hole now.

well that was a disaster.

Golly - I think I used to have a machine exactly the same!!

So do I take it that you've now got thread on the bobbin?

You need to make sure that when it goes into the machine that it will unwind anticlockwise (I'm sure )

To get the bobbin thread up you'll need to thread up the upper thread, hold onto the thread once through the needle, handturn the wheel once so the needle goes down then up and then pull gently on the needle thread and it should pull up the bobbin thread

I hope that this doesn't sound like I'm teaching you to suck eggs

not at all! this was the first time i'd touched a machine since 1983.

i had to unpick the whole lot though. looked nice at the front but the back was all gathered and thick.

that sounds like a tension problem