1. Industrial sewing machines

Before starting to sew, you must wind the bobbin, insert it and thread the machine. You may also need to replace the needle according to your material and adjust the thread tension and stitch length.

All industrial straight stitch or zigzag sewing machines are operated in a similar way, and they are often even easier to use than machines meant for home sewing. On the following pages you will learn the basic principles of how to thread, wind a bobbin and replace the needle of an industrial sewing machine. For more detailed threading charts for each machine, refer to the equipment description. Remember that you can always refer back to this material as your studies progress.

Lifting the pressure foot and cutting the thread
  • Automatic with pedal OR knee lift, in which case the thread cutting is usually manual.
Digital settings
  • Control panel OR no digital control options.
Winding a bobbin
  • The bobbin winder pin can be found either on the top of the machine or on the right side.
  • There are small differences in the size of the bobbins, do not switch bobbins between different machine types.
  • The bobbin rotates clockwise.
  • The place for the bobbin case is either on the left (straight stitch machines) or on the front (zigzag).
Needles
  • Each machine has its own set of needles, see the model number.
  • The long groove in the needle points in a different direction in a zigzag machine than in a straight stitch machine.
Threading
  • Although there are small variations in the threading, the basic principle is the same.
  • Detailed instructional images for threading / winding a bobbin can be found in the device-specific manuals.