Can someone tell me what is a prewound bobbin and why u prefer it over the other? I know that it is probably already wound with thread...

I like to wind my own bobbins. Think of it as "pack my own parachute", then if there is a bobbin goof I have no one to blame but myself. H&*

I use plastic sided pre-wounds from metroemb. I like that you get so much more thread on them than doing myself and that means I have to change it less often! I do wind my own for FSL or anything that I need the same color on the back (and I use the empty prewounds for that purpose).

1 comment

by libpage1 17 Sep 2010

I like the pre-wounds from metroemb too. They are not that expensive and if you are in the middle of something, you don't have to take the time to wind more thread!!!

I wind my own. I've always thought it was fun!

I only use prewound in my Tin Lizzie quilting machine as the bobbin winder does not work too well. I would never use them in my Berninas as the machines wind bobbins really well and often have to match the top thread anyway - with FSL
The prewound bobbins are already wound with bobbin (thinner) thread when you buy them and come in a few different sizes and a lot of different colours. If you do order then make sure that you get the correct size for your machine. I do not find them cheap at all.

When I bought my 4-needle machine I got a large starter pack of goodies, including 2 gross of prewounds, the type with cardboard sides. They work great on that machine. Both my Designer and my Brother 190D don't particularly like them.

According to the description there is 110 m on a bobbin. €25 per box of 144 bobbins or 15,840 m, if I get my arithmetic right.
My large cones bobbin thread have 10,000 m at about € 9.
So in my case prewounds are roughly 1.8 times the price of self-wound, but they are so handy to have.

Cherry, I have a Brother and prefer the prewound bobbins. If I'm using my other sewing machine to do crafts and regular sewing then I wind my own. I've never had any trouble with the prewound except one time and found out it was the wrong type of bobbin, since then it is fine. I usually get mine locally for $6.95 a dz. My daughter also has a brother and we decided next time to order them from Longcreek Mills.com I don't think anyone can beat the prices. If you want to try the winding your own they have the 5000m for 5.00's and the smaller 1500m for 2.00. They charge for actual shipping nothing more, however in the check out they have to put something down as a shipping cost. They do not charge your card until they find out what the actual shipping will be. It is shipped USPS, which that in itself is cheaper than UPS and FedX. They are great to work with. BTW you can ask for multi colors when ordering a set or package instead of the solid one color it shows.

I've used pre-wound bobbins with good and bad results. Yes, they have more thread than winding your own. But, they are wound so close to the outer edge of the bobbin that at the beginning some of them will cause a rat's nest under my embroidery. I usually unwind (and throw away) a little bit of the beginning of each bobbin.

Cherry Sue, you are right - it is a bobbin that has been wound by a big machine in a thread factory - they can get them much tighter on the bobbin than our machine's can. But they are also - very filmsy packaging - at times that cause more trouble than they are worth - in the past - I loved them - when I stitched just regular embroidery work - I would always use a special little piece to keep them in the bobbin case properly - that came with my machine. Since I started stitching FSL (Freestanding Lace) I realized that I needed to wind my own bobbins - as I use the same embroidery thread and color in the top and bobbin - I like and prefer winding my own now - I bought bobbin thread so that I would have what the manufacture suggested with my machine and I have very few problems with my bobbin thread. *4U, Shirlene

I wind my own, I found the same as gramsbear. And the prewound cost a lot more. I bought a large cone of bobbin thread for 9.95 where I got my machine.

1 comment

by mommadooks 16 Sep 2010

I am not sure, just started one a while back. (new to embroidery) and I am keeping track of the number of bobbins I get from it. Should be a lot.

CherrySue, Actually I prefer to wind my own. I have gotten several packages from Viking, and I found that when I get close to the bottom, but still have quite a bit, the thread jams up and causes my project to get a ball of thread on the under side and have had to cut it out, putting a hole in material, and having to start over. It may just be me, but after several doing the same thing, I don't buy prewound anymore. Hugs, Judy. Just my opinion.