What do you do when you have a lot of bobbins with bits of thread?
#41
Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: God's Country, Tx
Posts: 201
Usually it's colored thread that is left on my not used up bobbins. I pull it off and stick in a ziploc bag. When the mood strikes to be crafty, I layer the thread between water solvable web and sew it all together. Then I cut shapes out of it. Great for decorating totes and other projects.
#45
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 368
I use that thread to handsew down my binding. It is also really convenient to carry with me when I take handwork to a get together. I put them in a baggie with several needles on a piece of folded fabric and a small pair of scissors to carry with my quilt so I don't lose them. Quite frankly I only use several thread colors to piece--white, cream, tan or gray and occasionally black. Since my Pfaff tells me when the bobbin is almost empty I don't mind using the those bobbins. My Janome does not have that feature. Boy do I hate to realize I've been merrily buzzing along without thread.
#47
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Dallas area, Texas, USA
Posts: 3,042
I usually use neutral colors for both piecing and quilting, so I rarely have this problem these days. When it comes up I try to use them for basting, but extra bobbins are on my back-up list of things to buy when I just "have to" use a coupon for something.
Sometimes over the years I have bought old sewing accessories at garage sales and such, and it's funny how often I have found that old bobbins will have several colors of thread wound on top of each other. There would be no way to get at any color but the last one wound, so why did they do that? I guess it just felt frugal somehow. They weren't throwing good thread away, but they were making it impossible to put a full load of new thread on the bobbin. It would have driven me nuts. These were metal bobbins, so there is no way to see what colors might be on there if you're looking for one. Exposing the layers of thread is like an archeological dig through someone's sewing history.
Sometimes over the years I have bought old sewing accessories at garage sales and such, and it's funny how often I have found that old bobbins will have several colors of thread wound on top of each other. There would be no way to get at any color but the last one wound, so why did they do that? I guess it just felt frugal somehow. They weren't throwing good thread away, but they were making it impossible to put a full load of new thread on the bobbin. It would have driven me nuts. These were metal bobbins, so there is no way to see what colors might be on there if you're looking for one. Exposing the layers of thread is like an archeological dig through someone's sewing history.
#49
YUP, I use up whatever is already wound (unless it will show thru on white or light fabrics)....my brain will simply not let me throw it away....do the same with top thread for piecing....have lots of poly leftover from making clothes and just can't toss it.
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