How to Fix Bird Nesting or Thread Bunching in Machine Embroidery

Imagine you’re embroidering a beautiful design on your machine, and everything is going smoothly. But then your machine suddenly stops, and it happens because the hoop is stuck, and there’s a big tangled thread holding it together.

What happened?

This is a common machine embroidery problem called thread bunching or Bird nesting & it is the most annoying and problematic thing you’ve ever experienced during embroidery.

So, let’s discuss the causes and learn how to fix bird nesting or thread bunching in machine embroidery.

Bird nesting is an embroidery machine thread bunching that occurs underneath between the fabric and the needle plate during the embroidery, this tangled thread looks like a nest of a bird.

That’s why it is call a bird nest.

The causes of thread bunching depends on many things, most of them are related to thread tension, improper insertion & fabric hooping.

Let’s see what they are.

This is one of the most common issues that causes bird nest bobbin thread because if the thread of your bobbin is too loose, the extra thread of your bobbin can be unwound, which directly causes the bobbin bird nesting under the needle plate

Sometimes tiny threads and dust get stuck inside your embroidery machine, which can cause bird nesting and improper embroidery

Using an old thread with spools and lint can lead to the bird nesting.

Always use high-quality thread for your embroidery project because it greatly affects the quality of embroidery stitches

Improper hooping make it more difficult for the top and bobbin threads to "catch" and run together smoothly, which ultimately leads to bird nesting.

Sometimes, the needle misses out on the thread path, which causes tension to the upper thread, and that thread can get caught in the down hook during embroidery.

As a result, your hook starts creating choking issues and can cause bird nesting.

Yes! We know that bird nesting can be frustrating! But fear not; there are ways to fix and prevent it from happening again.

Here are some steps you can take:

• Correct tension: Always check the proper tension of your embroidery machine.
• The knobs: Check the knob's tightness and remove it first if it is too loose and fix it with a screwdriver.
• The density: Thread bunching can also occur due to false stitch density. If the stitch's density is tight, your thread can be pulled out of the needle.
• Needle selection: If you want to embroider elastic fabric, always set your machine to high density with a large eye needle. This will prevent your embroidery design from bird nesting.

First, to remove bird nesting from embroidery, analyze the project and cut the stitches behind the fabric's actual stitches.

If the project looks fine with a bird nest on the back, there is no need to remove it, as cutting it entirely may cause stitches to fall out.

Bird nesting is irregular bunches of thread that appear under the needle plate on the back of the embroidery. Usually, it happens because of uneven tension of the bobbin.

On the other hand,

Puckering occurs when the fabric around the embroidery bunches up irregularly, which typically occurs because of the movement of the fabric during embroidery.

Bird nesting is the most annoying and problematic thing you’ve ever experienced during machine embroidery. However, immediate troubleshooting and fixing embroidery machine problems can reduce the chances of thread bunching & bird nesting in machine embroidery.