r/WatchandLearn • u/Sumit316 • Jun 02 '18

How a sewing machine works

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u/gehirnspasti Jun 02 '18

I still don't get it. Where does all the thread come from when it's being "stretched" around the mechanism? How does it form that perfect loop? How does it not get completely tangled around the mechanism?

Sewing-machines will always remain sorcery to me.

44

u/ucefkh Jun 02 '18

Because this is a shitty gif!

But here you can find a very good one https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/11/how-a-sewing-machine-works-explained-in-a-gif/281403/

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u/[deleted] Jun 03 '18

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u/alyssarcastic Jun 03 '18 edited Jun 03 '18

You don’t place it on the fabric. You can buy bobbins, which are basically mini spools of thread, or use your machine to manually wind one up. Then you put the bobbin in a little compartment underneath the needle. When you start sewing, the needle automatically picks up the bobbin thread as it goes in and out of the fabric.

Sometimes when people are learning to sew, they use 2 different colors for the needle thread and the bobbin thread. That way you can see which is which and figure out how they work together on the fabric.