Keep Your Bobbins Under Wraps
May 18, 2009 | By
One of my biggest pet peeves are wound bobbins with loose thread tails. Whenever a bobbin falls on the floor, it's bound to go rolling across the length of my studio - unwinding as it goes. These loose tails are also frustrating inside my sewing box, where they get tangled together into a knotted mess. My local hardware store had the perfect solution, which I am happy to share with you!
In the plumbing department, there are many types of flexible tubing, and I recently paid a visit to this aisle to pick up some 5/8" OD x 1/2" ID clear vinyl tubing.
If you try this yourself, make sure the tubing you get is fairly sturdy, but easy enough to cut with a pair of scissors. You don't want the tubing to be so thick that you can't unroll it, but you don't want it to be so thin that it won't stay wrapped around the bobbin.
By cutting off lengths of this tube approximately 3/8" long and cutting a slit down the side, I created a little plastic sleeve for each of my bobbins. These fit very snugly around the bobbin, and keep the thread tails from coming loose. I cut my bobbin sleeves so that they fit underneath both flanges of the bobbin. They don't have to be perfect; as long as they are short enough to tuck inside the bobbin, your sleeves will stay put.
Now these bobbins can roll around my studio & sewing box as much as they like, and my bobbins will stay neatly wound. My tubing came in a 20 foot length, so if I lose a bobbin sleeve, I can easily cut off a new piece and make a new one. In fact, I've cut an entire jarful of these little sleeves, which should last a long time. If you belong to a quilt guild or sewing circle, pass along this tip to your members and share your tubing with everyone!
Photo Credit: Ebony Love
Ebony is an avid quilter & crafter in the greater Chicago area, and you can see her work via her online portal at LoveBug Studios.
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