winding bobbin by hand or by drill

[bruce johnson]

Ed,

I am going to add another factor in here. I look at which way the drain water swirls. No, seriously, I don't think it makes much difference with thread. It matters how you load the bobbin and the direction it unwinds in the case. If it is the wrong way, swap the bobbin end for end. Kind of like the great "toilet paper unwinding over the top or from the bottom" debate one of those inane newspaper advice columnists supported themselves with a few years back.

That said, I usually wind my bobbins the way it was wound on the spool. I lay my bobbin supply spools in a drawer and unwind them clockwise (viewed from the bottom of the spool) from the side letting them spin in the drawer, and onto the bobbin clockwise. My logic with the lay of ropes, and unwinding or winding hose and barbwire tells me that should be right. In real life, bobbin winders on machines unwind from the top, and so will feed coils onto the bobbin. If it is the direction to tighten the thread twist or unwind it, I am not sure. Obviously not a huge concern of the sewing industry, because they all do it. When I cut the bobbin thread from the main spool, I usually get about 6-10" that springs off. I just figure that as my tag end. My two cents worth.