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How Many Bobbins Will One Spool of Aurifil Thread Fill?

We Carry
by Sara Snuggerud in Sewing Tips

A recent blog post “Two Spools and a Pack of Bobbins” prompted the question, how many bobbins will one spool of Aurifil thread fill? Since there are numerous sizes of bobbins, we could not just pick one bobbin to test. We did them all! You can read and see the final results for each sewing machine’s bobbin below.

Knowing that Aurifil 50 weight thread has become, the most popular and loved by most devoted quilters, for quilt piecing, we selected this thread for the test. The blog post “Two Spools and a Pack of Bobbins” encourages quilters to purchase two spools of Aurifil 50 weight cotton thread at a time and wind one full spool on to a full set of bobbins. But how many bobbins will each machine need? Some of you will need to purchase more than one pack of bobbins depending on how many empties you have on hand.

While winding over 80 bobbins on different brands of machines, we discovered a variety of things most people do not think about when purchasing a new sewing machine.

Bobbin Size Does Matter
You will notice that one spool (1,300 meters) of Aurifil 50 weight thread fills any where between 11 and 21 bobbins. If you are not a fan of running out of bobbin thread and having to stop to reload bobbins, look for some of the newer sewing machines with larger bobbins.

Bobbin Winding Speed Also Matters
Some machines have super sonic winding speeds while others are quite pokey. No wonder people are not fans of winding bobbins, some sewing machines take forever! When buying your next sewing machine, ask your sales person to fill a bobbin and see if it fills faster or slower than your current sewing machine.

Bobbin Winders Can Be Adjusted to Fill to Their Fullest Potential
Did you know you can adjust the amount of thread a bobbin will hold. Even new sewing machines might need a slight tweak to maximize a bobbin filling to its fullest potential. In the three pictures of bobbin winders below, there is a screw or a torx screw to turn. This is where you can help a bobbin fill fuller if needed.

NOTE: This adjustment is very minimal. The screw will only need to be turned a hairs breath of a turn. The only way to find out if the adjustment was correct is to wind another bobbin. Be sure NOT to over fill a bobbin. If the bobbin does not spin freely in the bobbin case it is too full. If this happens, remove a couple yards of thread before using it.

Bobbin Savers – Standard Size vs Jumbo Size
Best. Invention. Ever. Bobbin Savers have saved bobbins every where from spilling and rolling away. They nicely store in drawers and containers without the bobbin thread becoming a total mess. They are sold in two sizes: one for standard size bobbins and a JUMBO size for the larger bobbins. At our store we keep the JUMBO Bobbin Savers in the back because they look so similar to the regular size and people sometimes pick up the wrong one.

Leave No Thread Tail
Don’t forget! Be sure to clip off any thread tail sticking out of a bobbin. Learn why at our blog “10 Things You Need to Know about Bobbins“.

How to Wind Viking and Pfaff Bobbins
Ever wonder how to best fill a bobbin so the bobbin sensor alarms when you really are down to your last 10″ – 12″ of bobbin thread? Follow this quick and easy tip shown on this video.

In Conclusion…
The Bernina 7 Series sewing machines has the largest bobbin in the sewing industry to date. That is over 108 meters per bobbin! This machine winds bobbins fast and those bobbins hold a ton of thread! Bobbin size does matter and bobbin winding speed really, really matters.

So how many bobbins will one spool of Aurifil thread fill?

Bernina CB Standard Bobbins
15 full bobbins (plus a half of a bobbin)
One bobbin saver

Bernina 8 Series Bobbins
14 full bobbins
3 packs of standard pack Bernina 8 Series bobbins
One JUMBO size Bobbin Saver

Bernina 7 Series Bobbins
11 full bobbins (plus one bobbin 3/4 full)
3 packs of Bernina 7 Series bobbins
One JUMBO size Bobbin Saver

Bernina artista Bobbins
20 full bobbins
One bobbin saver

Husqvarna Viking or Pfaff Regular Bobbins
21 full bobbins (and a partial bobbin)
3 packs of standard Husqvarna Viking green bobbins packages

Husqvarna Viking EPIC Bobbins
17 full bobbins
3 packs of Husqvarna Viking EPIC bobbins
One regular bobbin saver

Janome/Elna/Kenmore/Viking Emerald/Class 15 Generic Bobbins
17 full bobbins
One regular bobbin saver