Start from the normal setting marked on your machine, which is around 4 on most domestic dials. That position is chosen for a mid weight woven fabric sewn with general purpose polyester thread, which covers the majority of sewing.
Then adjust from evidence, not from a chart. Sew a test line on a doubled scrap of the actual fabric, with contrasting thread top and bobbin, and look at both sides. Balanced means neither colour shows through on the other face.
Move in half numbers. A whole number is a large jump on most machines, and moving too far too fast is why people end up lost and reset everything.
Rough directions, once a test line has told you the stitch is unbalanced. Fine and slippery fabric usually wants slightly less than normal. Heavy denim and canvas with thick thread usually want slightly more. Decorative and satin stitching wants slightly less, so the bobbin thread pulls the lock to the underside.
Check the cheap things before you move the dial at all. A blunt needle, a needle fitted backwards, lint in the discs and thread that is not seated between them all produce symptoms that look exactly like a tension setting fault. The dial cannot fix any of them.
Record what works. A note in the front of the machine manual, listing fabric, thread and the number, saves repeating the same test every few months.
And return to normal between projects, so every job starts from the same known point.
Questions people actually ask
My machine has no numbers.
Some dials are unmarked and some computerised machines set tension automatically. Mark your normal position with a dot of correction fluid so you can return to it.
Is 4 right for every machine?
No. It is a common default rather than a standard. Your manual states the normal position, and that is the one to trust.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11