Bobbin Storage Solutions for your Sewing Room

Mar 2, 2025 by Debbie NC Stitches

Everyone who sews knows how easy it is to turn an organized sewing room into a disorganized mess. You know there is a matching bobbin for your spool of thread, but you can’t find it when you need it.

A bobbin is a small spool used for sewing machines. It holds the thread that forms the stitches on the underside of the fabric.

Some options are more successful than others. Below are some of my top solutions for organizing my bobbins.

Bobbin Boat (for Class 15 Bobbins)

The Bobbin Boat appeals to my sense of organization by color, and there is no risk of threads getting tangled. Place the loose thread on the bottom when storing them.

Thread colors are easily viewed but you can’t store the bobbins with their matching spool of thread. If you use a lot of white, grey, or black bobbins, this is a good way to store multiple bobbins of the same color.

5 bobbin rating

Bobbin Boats can be purchased individually or in a 3-pack. Bobbin Boat holds 10 bobbins. If you use size M bobbins, a larger Bobbin Boat is available.

Price for a 3-pack: $12 – $14 (which holds 30 bobbins)

Bobbin Clamp

Bobbin Clamps are designed to store your bobbin with the matching thread while keeping your bobbin threads neat.

The Bobbin Clamp uses tension to hold the thread in place. When the thread on the bobbin is gets low, the tension on the thread decreases and it may not stay in place.

4 bobbin rating

Price for 24 Bobin Clamps: ~$10

Bobbin Tower

My initial reaction to the silicon bobbin tower was this is a great solution. Once the bobbin is snapped into place, the loose threads are held in place. However, since the spools are stacked in a tower, the bobbin thread colors can be difficult to see.

4 bobbin rating

Price: for a 3.5” Bobbin Tower $12-$14

Plastic Spool Pins

Spool pins, allow you to store bobbins with the matching spool of thread. I like the organizational aspect of the thread and bobbin being stored together. One issue we had is that the spool pins do not prevent the bobbin thread from unwinding.

3 bobbin rating

Price: $10 for 30 Spool pins

Clear Acrylic Bobbin Boxes: The classic see-through case is convenient and I have several of them. But over time acrylic becomes brittle and can crack. The bobbins can easily unwind creating a tangled mess of bobbin threads in the box.

two bobbin rating

Price: $5 – $8 (25 bobbins/box)

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I have used all these systems in my sewing studio. The acrylic and plastic storage options have been around for years. Silicon bobbin storage options are newer and offer a noticeable improvement but each has its disadvantages.

All these bobbin systems are useful, even the older acrylic boxes can be worth your consideration. In my sewing studio, I use a number of different bobbin storage solutions, some are better for longer-term storage, while I use others for bobbins I use more frequently. Everyone will have a storage preference that is best suited to their needs, and the right choice may be a combination of options.