PSA: Pfaff sewing machines need special bobbins?!

[sistawendy]

I just nipped into my local fabric store to pick up some needles so I can finish my mending & alterations. Then I remembered that I'd left my box of wound bobbins at the old place so hey, why not get some new ones? The lady who ran the place told me that for my Pfaff 1122 I'd have to go to the sewing machine store to get ones that fit.

This makes a certain amount of sense. I've had a problem since I got that machine (in '07?) with threads breaking occasionally and randomly, and changing the tension didn't seem to help. This could have been the problem all along.

I've driven myself crazy for the last hour trying to find out which of the laughably few common types of bobbins my machine takes. It seems to be a state secret somewhere, one that hasn't aroused the curiosity of the Wikileaks folks. Either that, or my machine doesn't use any of the common types, which would make no sense at all because it is the absolute bottom of Pfaff's line.

Comments

[gwywnnydd.livejournal.com]

Unless your Pfaff is pickier than my Pfaff, then no, you don't have to get the brand-specific bobbins. You *do* have to make sure that the bobbins you get are flat sided, rather than the ergonomic curve. I'm still using bobbins that I stole from my mother, that she had been using in her Singer (a tank which is older than I am, and only needs to filter up to the top of the priority list for repairs to go back in service).
If you'd like, I could maybe swing by in the next couple of days and take a look, to confirm.

[sistawendy.livejournal.com]

The funny thing is, the bobbins that came with the machine aren't flat.

No need for you to schlep all the way to Redmond for bobbins. I'll talk to the dealer in Bellevue. It's just (?) 40 blocks down the street from me.

[mahariel.livejournal.com]

I've never tried anything but the specific bobbins that the woman at Quality Sewing & Vacuum recommended for my Pfaff, which I buy at their locations. I've always spent the extra on the metal bobbins too, because, hey, shiny!

[sistawendy.livejournal.com]

Y'know, the clear plastic ones have the virtue of letting you see how much thread you've got left without touching anything on the machine. (The 1122 has a clear lid on the bobbin compartment.)

[mahariel.livejournal.com]

Lucky you - mine's all solid.