TAJIMA Owners - Needle position

Simple answer - Canting the needle to the left or right may effect the timing and look of the stitches. Canting the needle to the right causes the rotary hook to catch the thread early, canting the needle to the left causes it to catch the thread late. I suggest you stick with the set up and recommendations of the manufacturer.

Long answer - If you are curious, this is how I understand it works.

The needle goes down to its lowest point, (172-180 degrees depending on the brand of machine). The needle then starts it upward journey. As the needle rises it throws a loop of thread from the back of the needle. The tip of the rotary hook catches that loop of thread and that starts the knotting process.

Depending on the brand of machine the timing mark on your machine may be 195 -201 degrees. That is the point where the tip of the rotary hook is behind the lower 1/3 of the scarf of the needle. The scarf is that gap on the backside of the needle just above the eye. The distance between the needle and the tip of the rotary hook is about the thickness of a piece of paper. If the distance is as thick as a credit card it is too far away.

When you rotate or cant the needle to the left, the loop of thread is thrown in that direction and the tip of the rotary hook catches the loop of thread a little late. Canting the needle to the right throws the loop of thread to the right and causes the hook to catch the loop early.

Depending on the setup of your machine this can cause the backside of the stitches to be a little off. If your machine is tensioned right you will see 1/3 upper thread, 1/3 bobbin, and 1/3 upper thread. If your machine is not set up for it, canting the needle can move the bobbin thread to the left or right on the back side of the design.