Those who want to know how to adjust tension on Brother sewing machine only need to manipulate the dial. This article will discuss what to do to loosen or tighten the tension in particular. Furthermore, you’ll know other helpful things regarding tension adjustment and how it affects the sewing machine.
Are you also interested in troubleshooting your sewing machine? For example, why is my sewing machine skipping stitches? The wrong tension can affect the function of your sewing machine, so reading guides like this is necessary.
How To Adjust Tension On Brother Sewing Machine Correctly
- Locate the tension dial on your Brother sewing machine
- If you can see the upper thread underneath the fabric, you need to tighten the thread tension
- If you can see the lower thread at the top side of the fabric, you need to loosen the thread tension
- Turn the tension dial to the right to tighten the thread tension or to the left to loosen the thread tension
- You can also check the numbers on the thread tension dial since going to the higher number tightens the thread tension, and turning the dial towards the lower number will loosen the thread tension
What Should The Tension Be Set At On A Brother Sewing Machine?
According to Brother, the proper tension on the sewing machine depends on the thread and fabric you’re using for the project. Therefore, you want to test sewing on a fabric scrap to determine the adjustments you’ll need for the tension. Another helpful tip is to note the tension settings for the various materials you’ve used, so you can check your notes about the tension adjustment each time you’re doing a specific project.
Do you also know how to thread a Brother sewing machine? Setting your sewing machine correctly is crucial to avoid issues in tension. You won’t be able to adjust the tension of your Brother sewing machine if it’s not threaded correctly.
How Do You Adjust The Stitch On A Brother Sewing Machine?
Besides the tension dial that allows you to adjust the thread tension on a Brother sewing machine, the brand has various units equipped with stitch width dial, stitch length dial, pattern selection dial, and settings for stretch stitches. Here are the ways you can use each dial when working your stitches:
How to select the stitch width on a Brother sewing machine
- Turn the handwheel counterclockwise to raise the needle
- Select the stitch width you want and turn the dial towards it
How to select the stitch length on a Brother sewing machine
- Turn the handwheel counterclockwise to raise the needle
- Select the stitch length you want and turn the dial towards it
- Higher numbers will mean the stitch will be longer
- When sewing a button, select 0
- Select F-1 range for buttonholes closed zigzag stitches, and decorative stitches
- You can always test the stitch length on a scrap material when you’re new to working on the fabric and thread you currently have
How to select a stitch on a Brother sewing machine
- Locate the pattern selection dial on the Brother sewing machine
- Turn the handwheel counterclockwise to raise the needle
- Turn the dial towards the stitch you want
- You can adjust the dial in either direction
- Modify the stitch width and stitch length to your liking
How to select a stretch stitch on a Brother sewing machine
Some Brother sewing machines have stretch stitches. For these units, you can set the length dial to the SS, SS1, or SS2 to have the pattern you need for the stretch stitch.
- Turn the handwheel counterclockwise to raise the needle
- Move the stitch length dial to the SS markings
- Select the stretch stitch needed for the project via the pattern selection dial
How Do I Correct The Tension On My Sewing Machine?
The top tension on the sewing machine is too loose
- Turn the tension knob towards the increasing number
- Test on scrap fabric and experiment until the stitches are even on both sides
The top tension on the sewing machine is too tight
- Turn the tension knob towards the decreasing number
- Test on scrap fabric and experiment until the stitches are even on both sides
Can you adjust the lower thread tension?
if modifying the upper thread tension still won’t suffice to achieve even stitches, it’s time to change the bobbin tension. Nonetheless, it’s often unnecessary to modify the bobbin tension for most threads, and only lighter and heavier threads warrant adjustment. And to modify the bobbin tension, refer to the manual of the specific sewing machine you have.
You’ll usually tighten or loosen the bobbin case screw for adjustment. Just don’t use it too much to avoid affecting its grip. But what if the tension adjustment doesn’t do anything on the sewing machine?
Perhaps it’s time to learn how to replace the tension assembly of the sewing machine to solve this issue.
Conclusion
Was this article helpful? To recap how to adjust tension on Brother sewing machine, you only need to turn the dial to a higher or lower number to tighten or loosen the tension. You want the stitches to be even on both sides.
Again, it will be best to note your tension adjustments for each project so you can use them the next time you’re using the same thread or fabric.