# How does the bobbin thread in a sewing maching get around the spindle/axle? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 19, 2024, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-bobbin-thread-in-a-sewing-maching-get-around-the-spindle-axle/997753 "2024-02-19T07:20:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-bobbin-thread-in-a-sewing-maching-get-around-the-spindle-axle/997753/1 "2024-02-19T07:20:46Z")
I’ve watched 4 animations and slow motion videos, and no one addresses this. I know I must be the problem, so to speak, in that obviously the machines work, but the explanations made by the videos are poor. One of the animations literally has the thread go through the axle, as far as I could tell. Does anyone know of a video that shows the whole thing so that it solves this “contradiction”? ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-bobbin-thread-in-a-sewing-maching-get-around-the-spindle-axle/997753/2 "2024-02-19T08:08:43Z")
Watch [this video](https://youtu.be/8lwI4TSKM3Y): Tim Hunkin is one of my favourite people on the planet and he does his usual amazing job of showing how common mechanisms work. If you want to go to the exact spot he answers your question go to about 8 minutes into the video, but it’s worth watching the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-bobbin-thread-in-a-sewing-maching-get-around-the-spindle-axle/997753/3 "2024-02-19T08:09:31Z")
Underneath the needle plate is a mechanism that catches the loop of thread emerging from the needle, enlarges that loop and draws it around a small spool from which a different thread is emerging. That spool is not on an axle, it spins inside a cavity, thus the thread loop from the needle is able to be pulled all the way around/over it. The machine then tightens the top thread, pulling the stitch tight. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-bobbin-thread-in-a-sewing-maching-get-around-the-spindle-axle/997753/4 "2024-02-19T08:13:16Z")
There is a hook thingy that grabs a loop of thread from the needle, but the bobbin thread does not go around anything, it just gradually unspools. So perhaps I did not understand the question? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-bobbin-thread-in-a-sewing-maching-get-around-the-spindle-axle/997753/5 "2024-02-19T08:23:16Z")
I think the thing that’s confounding the OP is how the loop of thread from the bobbin, via the needle, gets around the spool (the small reel of thread under the needle plate), if the spool is running on an axle. The answer is: it’s not. The spool is running free inside a hole, with enough clearance all around it that the loop of thread can pass right over it and be pulled tight again. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-bobbin-thread-in-a-sewing-maching-get-around-the-spindle-axle/997753/6 "2024-02-19T08:30:35Z")
So if I understand correctly, the upper thread (needle) gets passed completely over the bobbin (lower thread source)? OK, that explains how the stitching works as it does. I’ve never really been able to figure that out, just kind of took it on faith that people who actually understand mechanical things figured out how to make it work. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-bobbin-thread-in-a-sewing-maching-get-around-the-spindle-axle/997753/7 "2024-02-19T08:35:07Z")
That’s right - the loop of thread from the needle is enlarged and the bobbin, trailing its own separate thread, jumps through that loop. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-bobbin-thread-in-a-sewing-maching-get-around-the-spindle-axle/997753/8 "2024-02-19T08:37:53Z")
Thank you for explaining that so well. I mean that. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-bobbin-thread-in-a-sewing-maching-get-around-the-spindle-axle/997753/9 "2024-02-19T09:49:30Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I think the thing that’s confounding the OP is how the loop of thread from the bobbin, via the needle, gets around the spool (the small reel of thread under the needle plate), if the spool is running on an axle. You have those turned around - the _bobbin_ is the reel under the needle plate, the _spool_ is the reel whose thread goes through the needle. ---
**Author:** ![Danger\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Danger\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danger_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-bobbin-thread-in-a-sewing-maching-get-around-the-spindle-axle/997753/10 "2024-02-19T10:05:43Z")
So what makes the bobbin spin, if it’s not on an axle? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-bobbin-thread-in-a-sewing-maching-get-around-the-spindle-axle/997753/11 "2024-02-19T10:07:48Z")
The thread gets caught by a hook and yanked. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-bobbin-thread-in-a-sewing-maching-get-around-the-spindle-axle/997753/12 "2024-02-19T10:35:34Z")
That’s the terminology taught to me by my mother, a seamstress. It may be UK-specific or perhaps specific to the factory where she learned the trade. Googling it a bit, I don’t think they are actually hard and fast definitions; some people seem to call the small thing under the plate a bobbin, or a spool, or a bobbin spool. > **[Singer Metal Spools Bobbins 66k Drop In Type -3 Pk](https://www.singermachines.co.uk/sewingmachineparts/bobbins/singer-spool-bobbin-metal-66k.html)** > > Metal bobbins for older type Singer machines, usally the machine will have a metal bobbin case and the bobbin is inserted from the top. Free UK delivery on all orders over £30 ---
**Author:** ![Danger\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Danger\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danger_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-bobbin-thread-in-a-sewing-maching-get-around-the-spindle-axle/997753/13 "2024-02-19T10:37:09Z")
Ah, now I get it. I had to watch the video several times. So the bobbin just lays there and is completely free, not attached to anything, and there is a separate rotating part next to the bobbin. That one has a hook that stretches past the bobbin and makes sure the hoop goes all the way around the bobbin. So it’s like the completely free bobbin falls through the hoop, only that it’s the hoop that moves and not the bobbin. And that’s the trick. You need one unattached part, or it’s impossible to make it work. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-bobbin-thread-in-a-sewing-maching-get-around-the-spindle-axle/997753/14 "2024-02-19T10:48:18Z")
Probably lots of variation in time and region and manufacturer. I was going by what my Singer labels them (brand new Heavy Duty machine FTW) and what I was taught. ---
**Author:** ![jjakucyk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3d9bf3/32.png) [@jjakucyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjakucyk)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2024, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-bobbin-thread-in-a-sewing-maching-get-around-the-spindle-axle/997753/15 "2024-02-19T22:34:05Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Watch [this video](https://youtu.be/8lwI4TSKM3Y): > > Tim Hunkin is one of my favourite people on the planet and he does his usual amazing job of showing how common mechanisms work. Hear, hear! ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-bobbin-thread-in-a-sewing-maching-get-around-the-spindle-axle/997753/16 "2024-02-20T01:11:06Z")
There’s also a [Veritasium](https://youtu.be/RQYuyHNLPTQ?si=lB4muU0lpwcBYQV8) video that tells you more than you ever wanted to know about how sewing machines work. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-bobbin-thread-in-a-sewing-maching-get-around-the-spindle-axle/997753/17 "2024-02-20T01:55:06Z")
Beat me to it. 🙂 In that video, I learned some archeologists found a sewing needle made 50,000 years ago, by a now extinct species of early humans called the Denisovans. Amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2024, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-bobbin-thread-in-a-sewing-maching-get-around-the-spindle-axle/997753/18 "2024-02-21T23:17:35Z")
After learning more about how this works, I’m even more impressed that people like Howe & Singer dreamed this up, and made it work reliable – 200 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![vbob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vbob/32/4439_2.png) [@vbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vbob)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2024, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-bobbin-thread-in-a-sewing-maching-get-around-the-spindle-axle/997753/19 "2024-02-21T23:30:02Z")
We’ve been clever at complicated gizmos for hundreds if not thousands of years - but we kept making them smaller and now they’re too tiny to see or understand… ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-bobbin-thread-in-a-sewing-maching-get-around-the-spindle-axle/997753/20 "2024-02-22T01:26:37Z")
The Veritasium video is what made me ask this. I watched the key part repeatedly and all I can see is thread going through where the axle must be. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-bobbin-thread-in-a-sewing-maching-get-around-the-spindle-axle/997753.md?page=2)