you buy them in packets. what they do is prevent the thread from falling loose under the spool getting caught and then breaking from too much tension. but thats not the only cause of breakage. Are you using embroidery needles> they have a thin groove for the thicker thread.

the other solution is to only buy threads that have that little platform base like Isacord. or to have your thread arranged horizontally rather than vertically. Hope this helps.

Thanks, I guess I will try to find some. Yes, I am using an embroidery needle. The other problem I seem to have is everything goes well till it starts outlining the pattern and for some reason the outline is bigger. Hope I explained that right.

your fabric may not be hooped tight enough. try that.

Make sure that the bobbin is threaded counter clockwise. I find that when the second layer of stitching starts and it is more difficult to sew thru the fabric, the tension makes the thread break more. It is very annoying!!!HOpe it helps. Melanie

If the outline is not matching, it's often a stabiliser problem. Try another layer. Don't pull the fabrid too tight in the hop - when you take the fabric out of the hoop, it'll spring back to it's original size and the embroidery with pucker. I find Schmetz universal needles the best. I also like to put all the larger bobbins on a seperate stand next to the machine.