recycling crafts

Welcome, sewing enthusiasts! If you’re a beginner or just need a refresher on how to wind and insert a sewing machine bobbin, you’re in the right place. We understand that threading a sewing machine can be intimidating for those new to the craft, so we’ve broken down the process into simple, easy-to-follow steps. With a bit of patience and practice, you’ll soon be able to master this essential skill like a pro

Instructions

You’ll need:

• Sewing machine
• Empty bobbin
• Thread spool
• Scissors

1. Choose the right bobbin. Ensure you’re using the correct bobbin for your specific sewing machine. Consult your machine’s manual if you’re unsure.
2. Place the thread spool on the spool pin. Set your thread spool onto the spool pin, usually found on the top right of the machine. If necessary, secure it with a spool cap.
3. Wind the thread around the thread guide. Pull the thread from the spool and guide it through the upper threading path, which typically includes one or more thread guides.
4. Wrap the thread around the bobbin winder tension disc. Find the bobbin winder tension disc on the top of the machine and wrap the thread around it to ensure even winding.
5. Thread the bobbin. Take the empty bobbin and thread the end of the thread through the small hole from the inside to the outside. Hold onto the thread end.
6. Place the bobbin on the bobbin winder spindle. Push the bobbin onto the bobbin winder spindle, usually located near the tension disc. Ensure it’s securely in place.
7. Engage the bobbin winder. Slide the bobbin winder spindle to the right or push it down, depending on your machine, to engage the bobbin winder. You’ll know it’s engaged when it clicks into place.
8. Begin winding. Hold the end of the thread and press the foot pedal or start button to begin winding the bobbin. After a few turns, stop and trim the excess thread close to the bobbin hole.
9. Continue winding. Continue winding the bobbin until it’s full or until you have enough thread for your project. The bobbin should wind evenly and stop automatically when it’s full.
10. Disengage the bobbin winder and remove the bobbin. When the bobbin is fully wound, disengage the bobbin winder and remove the bobbin from the spindle. Trim any excess thread.
11. Insert the bobbin into the bobbin case. Open the bobbin cover on your sewing machine, and insert the bobbin according to your machine’s specific instructions. This usually involves dropping it in and pulling the thread through a slit or tension guide.
12. Close the bobbin cover. Ensure the bobbin is secure and the thread tail is properly threaded. Close the bobbin cover, and you’re ready to sew!

Tips:

1. Use high-quality thread to avoid thread breakage and ensure smooth sewing.
2. Keep a few pre-wound bobbins in different colors to save time when switching between projects.
3. Clean your bobbin case regularly to prevent lint buildup and maintain optimal performance.
4. Practice winding and inserting the bobbin a few times to build muscle memory and increase confidence.

As a lot of you guys know, we’ve been running our Cricut & Me course for a few years now and we’ve had more and more requests to add a course about using a Silhouette cutting machine. We aren’t quite ready to release that course just yet, but we have started ordering in a number of the Silhouette Cameo 4 machines for when we’re ready to launch.

This post is going to be a quick review of the Silhouette Cameo 4. For those of you who have only worked with Cricut machines in the past, you’re in for a treat. We’ve done loads of research for this article, and we’d like to give a quick shout-out to Cut, Cut, Craft!’s Silhouette Cameo 4 review, which really helped fill in a lot of the missing details for us.

So what can you use this machine for?

• making holiday and greeting cards
• cutting through thicker materials like acrylic, wood, and leather
• making outdoor vinyl signs
• 3-d papercrafts
• making your own custom stickers or t-shirts
• and a lot more!

Basically, you can think of it like a Cricut Maker but even more powerful and that can cut much longer spools of vinyl. The biggest improvement we’ve seen from Silhouette is really the cutting power and tools that work with the Cameo 4. Silhouette Studio software is still as good as ever, and they keep improving it everytime I update it.

There’s also two larger versions of the Silhouette Cameo 4, one that comes in 15 inches, and another that’s 20 inches for working with really wide materials. We’re just getting in the regular Cameo 4’s, but if you buy one of the other ones yourself the course will work for you too.

They’ve released a bunch of new tools for working with materials like felt or fabric (a Rotary Blade) and they have adapters so you can still use the Silhouette Cameo 3 tools with the new machine.

The design have a built-in holder for vinyl rolls, but there is a bit less storage than there used to be. For me, I’m happy to trade less storage for all of the improvements they’ve added, but I know a lot of crafters are pretty upset, especially those who are working in a smaller space.

The biggest change if you’re moving over into the Silhouette world is going to be the tutorials and community support available. Silhouette does have a great community, but if you’re used to sites that only have Cricut tutorials it might take a bit to get a hang of it. Once you get used to their software though, I think you’ll probably make the switch, which is something we’re considering ourselves here, to just have one Silhouette course (if you come up with a catchy name, please let me know!).

Silhouette has really great starter kits for the Cameo 4, which I highly recommend getting if they’re in stock. It’s always a lot easier to pick up a new craft if you have a first project to work on.

All in all, we give the Silhouette Cameo 4 5 out of 5 stars! It does have some downsides, but we really like the changes Silhouette has made and think the Cameo 4 will be a machine that will last for a really long time. You know that we typically like to reuse and recycle before purchasing new things here, but we’re making an exception for the Cameo 4 because it allows you to use so many scrap materials and repurpose them into really neat crafts.

If there are any Silhouette tutorials or example projects you want us to feature, please leave a comment, thanks guys!