Bobbins

A bobbin is the small spool that holds the bottom thread in your embroidery machine. As the top thread passes through the fabric, it interlocks with the bobbin thread on the back side of the design — creating the lockstitch that holds your embroidery together. Prewound bobbins eliminate the 5-10 minutes per bobbin you’d spend winding from a thread cone, with precision-wound consistent tension that hand-winding rarely matches. For production shops running multiple machines, prewound bobbins pay for themselves quickly in operator time savings alone.

The #1 question when buying bobbins is Style L vs Style M. Style L is the most common commercial bobbin size — fits virtually every commercial multi-needle machine including Tajima, Brother, Barudan, Melco, Ricoma, SWF, Happy, Baby Lock, and Janome MB. Style M is a smaller bobbin used in specific commercial machines. The two sizes are not interchangeable — check your machine’s manual to confirm which you need before ordering.

Color guidance: Use white bobbin thread for most embroidery on light to medium garments. Use black bobbin thread for embroidery on dark garments (black t-shirts, dark uniforms, navy jackets) to prevent the bobbin thread from showing through the design as a white halo. Pair with our DBxK5 embroidery needles, Exquisite 1000m polyester thread, and the right embroidery backing for a complete production setup.