Let's look inside our machine's tension device. (This is the inside of my vintage Necchi machine, which has a casing that swings open on hinges for easy access, but not all machines have their tension device visible.)
We're looking at the tension dial, but look a little closer. Your machine's tension device is made of two metal discs that press together with a spring. The higher the number, the tighter they press together.
Your thread passes between the tension discs when you thread your machine, and it needs to be fully engaged and perfectly in place to work correctly.
The trick to perfect placement? RAISE the presser foot before your thread your machine!
When your presser foot is UP the tension discs separate, allowing you to get the thread in between just right! Our favorite trick is to hold the thread like dental floss to really bring it in correctly.
If your stitches look wonky, uneven, or just plain crummy, try re-threading your machine with the foot up, making sure the thread gets nestled right between those tension discs. You'll probably see an improvement!
Check out all our Friday Fun Facts in the archive here!
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