If your thread keeps breaking, your stitches skip, or your tension won't settle, the fix is often simpler than it seems. We've created two free guides: one for home machines and another for longarm machines, for quick reference on recommended bobbin thread, tension settings, and needle size.
Home Machine: The Topstitch Needle and Your Top Tension Dial
For home machines, we recommend using a Topstitch needle for sewing, quilting, piecing, and more. It features a large eye and a deep groove that help protect the thread, reducing shredding and thread breaks.
Adjusting tension on a home machine is as simple as turning the tension dial or the touchscreen tension settings. Our Home Machine guide provides a number for our threads, matched to its needle size. Treat it as a starting point, test-stitch on a scrap, and nudge the dial until the top and bobbin threads meet cleanly in the middle.
Longarm Machine: Longarm Needles and Bobbin Tension by TOWA Gauge
Longarm machines use industrial needles that are larger than those on home machines. They use their own size notation, such as #16, #18, or #19. The higher the number, the larger the eye.
Adjusting tension on a longarm machine involves loosening the tensioners and reducing the number of contact points. Most longarm machines have a post with 3-4 holes that threads can loop through. If you frequently experience the top thread breaking, reduce how many times the top thread wraps around the post; thread through one or two holes instead of three or four. If you want to adjust your bobbin tension and prefer a numerical value, the TOWA bobbin gauge provides a corresponding value based on bobbin tension. Our Longarm Machine guide includes a TOWA bobbin gauge number as a starting point.
About YLI's Topstitch Needles
The right needle makes all the difference in quilting. Our titanium-coated Topstitch needles feature an extra-large eye and a deeper groove that protects thread from friction, preventing breakage and skipped stitches. The titanium nitride coating keeps them sharper up to 8 times longer than regular needles, so you can quilt longer without changing needles.
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