Editing Bobbin (section)

==Sewing and lacemaking==

===Sewing===
{{multiple image
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 | image1 = Hua Nan sewing machine - 06.jpg
 | alt1 = Bobbin & bobbin case (obverse)
 | image2 = Hua Nan sewing machine - 07.jpg
 | alt2 = Bobbin & bobbin case (reverse)
 | footer = Bobbin (right) and bobbin case for a [[bobbin driver|shuttle hook]] sewing machine, introduced by [[Singer Manufacturing Company|Singer]] for the [[Singer Improved Family|"Improved Family"]] model in 1895
}}
The [[lockstitch]] sewing machine, invented and developed in the 18th and 19th centuries,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Elias Howe: Inventor of the Lock Stitch Sewing Machine |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/elias-howe-profile-1991903 |access-date=2024-10-11 |website=ThoughtCo |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Godley |first=Andrew |title=Singer in Britain: The Diffusion of Sewing Machine Technology and its Impact on the Clothing Industry in the United Kingdom, 1860–1905 |journal=Textile History |date=1996 |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=59–76 |doi=10.1179/004049696793711725 |issn=0040-4969}}</ref> forms a stitch with two threads: one passed through a needle and another from a bobbin. Each thread stays on the same side of the material being sewn, interlacing with the other thread at each needle hole thanks to the machine's movement.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Reader's Digest |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004337862__com_180181 |access-date=2024-10-11 |website=Lexikon des gesamten Buchwesens Online|doi=10.1163/9789004337862__com_180181 }}</ref> Tension of the bobbin thread is maintained with a ''bobbin case'', a metal enclosure with a [[leaf spring]] which keeps the thread taut. The bobbin case has to be free-floating (not attached to an axle) in order to allow the top thread to pass around the bobbin completely and hook the bobbin thread. 

Bobbins vary in shape and size, depending on the style of [[bobbin driver]] in the machine for which they are intended to be used. Long, narrow bobbins are used in early transverse shuttle and [[vibrating shuttle]] machines. These earlier movements were rendered obsolete by the invention of the [[rotary hook]] and the shuttle hook, which run faster and quieter with less air resistance. These shorter, wider bobbins are familiar to modern sewers, as the rotary/shuttle hook remains in use on modern machines essentially unchanged.

===Lacemaking===
[[Bobbin lace]] requires the winding of yarn onto a temporary storage spindle made of wood (or, in earlier times, bone) often turned on a [[lathe]]. Many lace designs require dozens of bobbins at any one time.

Both traditional and contemporary bobbins may be decorated with designs, inscriptions, or pewter or wire inlays. Often, bobbins are 'spangled' to provide additional weight to keep the thread in tension. A hole is drilled near the base to enable glass beads and other ornaments to be attached by a loop of wire. These [[Sequin|spangles]] provide a means of self-expression in the decoration of a tool of the [[handicraft|craft]]. 

Antique and unique bobbins, sometimes spangled, are highly sought-after by antiques collectors.<ref>{{cite book|author=Earnshaw, Pat|year=1984|title=A Dictionary of Lace | page = |  location = | publisher=Shire Publications| isbn=0-85263-700-4 | url = | quote = }}{{full|date = January 2022}}</ref>{{page needed|date = January 2022}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.antiquebuyersnyc.com/category/bobbins/    |title= Category Archives: Bobbins |author= <!--Not stated-->|date=December 29, 2022|website=Antique Buyers New York City |publisher=|access-date=2024-09-09|quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://curiocabinetantiques.com/collections/lace-bobbins?srsltid=AfmBOorG8H5kog6xLyJ3wFe2WFTKi1aFO_6j2oiPg7WRT-40k0WzxYhX |title= Antique Lace Bobbins|author= <!--Not stated-->|date=|website=Curio Cabinet Antiques |publisher=|access-date=2024-09-09|quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.antiquers.com/threads/lace-lesson-lace-bobbins.76481/  |title= Lace Lesson - Lace Bobbins |author= <!--Not stated-->|date=|website=Antiquers |publisher=|access-date=2024-09-09|quote=}}</ref>