JJ CeleryMar 7

To my non-sewing friends I thought I'd explain.

A thread chicken is a "game" sewists play when they can see the thread is running out, but they keep going regardless hoping to finish before the thread does run out.

Modern sewing machines use thread on top and the bottom. The bottom thread is wound from the main spool onto a tiny plastic spool called a bobbin.

The bobbin is in a casing under the sewing machine foot, so not visible while you're sewing.

https://mastodon.ie/@jjcelery/116189242628972318

JJ Celery (@[email protected])

Attached: 1 image You wouldn't take me for a person who enjoys extreme sports but I just played - and won - bobbin chicken on a buttonhole :d20: #sewing

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Show threadJJ CeleryMar 7

Therefore playing bobbin chicken is a more extreme version of thread chicken: you won't know if you won or not until you're finished sewing the seam and check underneath. You can't usually tell you ran out while you're sewing.

Now onto buttonholes. Some machines have buttonholes done in several steps, but mine has a one-step buttonhole. This makes it faster and more consistent, but also makes it impossible to resume making one if you ran out of either main or bobbin thread.

#sewing

Show threadJJ CeleryMar 7

No, if you fuck up a buttonhole you have to start over. You must undo all the stitches, and then hope you didn't damage the fabric, and try again.

The buttonholes are made out of tiny stitches that are very very close together and it's A ROYAL PAIN IN THE ARSE to undo them. It's min 20 mins of work. You should do everything to never have to do that.

So playing chicken on a bobbin thread you can't see run out, on a stitch that will take you forever to fix?

Brave or very, very stupid.

#sewing

Show threadyour auntifa liza 🇵🇷 🦛 🦦Mar 7
@jjcelery i’ve lost that bobbin chicken game so many times, i start out with a fresh bobbin every time i use buttonholes. i also reinforce with a woven even if the main fabric is a knit. am just too much of a klutz. been surprised by how great twill tape is great for that. but tbh buttonholes give me agita.
Show threadJJ CeleryMar 7

@blogdiva I normally would have wound an new bobbin myself, but honestly this project has been so trying that I just went "ah fuck it" and went ahead regardless. Sheer foolishness.

I'm definitely not gonna make it a habit 😂 And yes, always fuse, and I also go for a woven fusible for buttonholes and openings on knits - big fan of the extra stability.

Show threadIris Young (he/they/she) (PhD)Mar 7
@jjcelery @blogdiva I'm mostly self-taught and I have no clue what a fuse is in sewing. What does this mean?
Show threadJJ CeleryMar 7

@iris @blogdiva fusible interfacing is special fabric-like product that has heat-activated glue on it. You fuse it to your main fabric using an iron, and sometimes extra steam.

It changes fabric properties by making the fabric stiffer, or preventing it from stretching in one or more directions, or giving it more "body".

There's a great little intro guide in Seamwork magazine that have some photos of effect of interfacing on swatches of fabric:

https://www.seamwork.com/fabric-guides/how-to-choose-the-best-interfacing-for-your-sewing-project

How to Choose the Best Interfacing for Your Sewing Project

The ultimate guide to choosing the right type and weight of interfacing.

Seamwork
Show threadIris Young (he/they/she) (PhD)
@jjcelery @blogdiva ah, that makes perfect sense, thank you.
Mar 7 at 9:59pmWeb