Breaking needles solution
The Bernina thread spool holder extension.
Have you ever broken a needle and not known why? It’s sharp, you’re not sewing through anything out of the ordinary but you’re starting to go through needles. When you’ve gone through the list of things to check, such as: it’s a good quality needle, cleaning out the lint around the bobbin area, making sure the throat plate and bobbin case have no burrs or sharp edges, the foot’s on securely, you’re using good quality threads and they are threaded correctly, and you’re thinking about getting the machine serviced, try a different thread set up.
I started breaking delicate needles one week and discovered that although I was using a wonderful fine, cross wound thread on a cone, it didn’t like being on either the standard horizontal or vertical thread spool holders that are on the machine. So I bought an extended thread spool holder that raises the thread up into the air and then it’s threaded back down through the machine. I now use my new set up for all types of spools and it has worked brilliantly ever since.
I’d never really had a problem with breaking delicate needles before and even after the machine was serviced, it still broke a needle. The only thing I was doing differently was using a new type of thread and spool. Before I invested in the spool holder for my machine, I rigged a up a cheap version using a safety pin through the edge of a straw that was placed over the vertical spool holder on the machine. The thread cone on a spool holder on the tabletop. That worked well too. I know you can buy cheap spool holders but I decided to make one up myself for my second machine. It just adds a little bit more of my personality into my sewing room!
New thread spool with a wider base on it.
Cheaper home made version of a cone spool holder. It works!
As so many new threads on the market use these more elaborate spools, you may find you need to tweak your machine set up.
Happy quilting,
Fiona
Fiona Schiffl 
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