Now that i’ve bought my first needle.....

[Lachica]

Are you using the same needle for both? If the little blue bobbles on the canvas are fabric ( I thought they were the top thread) then I'd suggest either your needle is blunt, pushing threads instead of piercing, or too big.  I don't have any experience of sewing faux leather but I'd have guessed a 100. I've sewn heavy duty canvas, stitching transparent vinyl to it to repair a boat awning. I bought special needles for this & used a heavy duty thread. It was very successful, I don't remember needing to adjust tension on my old Pfaff.

[Gavin e]

Same needle for both and it’s brand new.  I think a size 121?  Whatever that means….

I’ll have a look in the sewing box to see where I’ve hidden the other needles, because this packet did look rather chunky.  I’m sure I bought a selection of sizes!

[BrendaP]

The tension is not far out with the leatheret but with the canvas the top needs tightening.

Each fabric will have its own tension requirement and it's nearly always the top that you adjust, especially if you are not sure of what you are doing.

A balanced tension looks the same on both sides.  If the bottom thread is pulling tighter and/or allowing the top thread to show then tighten that top thread.  If the top thread is tight and pulling the lower one up then loosen the top tension.

[Hummingbird]

Thank you for those answers.  Both have helped me to understand the way the machine works much more.....  but i cant get my head around what the needle is doing to create a stitch.

@Gavin e if you have time, there are some good videos and animations on line showing how a sewing machine creates a stitch if that helps.....YouTube and elsewhere

[Gavin e]

Just to be sure I'm understanding the terminology correctly.... as far as i see it i have two adjustable dials on the machine - a small dial near the top of the machine that the thread goes through first, then a larger dial beneath this with the little springy wire thing.
Am i correct in thinking these are the 'top' and 'bottom ' tensions and that i am not adjusting or touching the bobbin  tension as 'bottom' tension???

[Lachica]

Bottom tension refers to the bobbin tension. It's adjusted with a screw on the bobbin case & shouldn't need to be touched. Don't touch this unless you fully understand what you're doing. Without seeing a photo it's difficult to know which is which of the top dials, often one is for stitch length and one for stitch width but if your thread is feeding through then I'd guess that's the upper thread tension.

[Gavin e]

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Having read everything above I'm now assuming the bottom of these is the adjustment dial for upper tension? And therefore the upper one is just there to confuse me..   

[Lilian]

@Gavin e the dial with numbers is your upper tension, it works by closing the gap of the two disks that take the thread.

Edit: the upper one is a guide for the thread and as far as I know there is no adjustment on that.