iadhikari

Hi everyone,
I have an equipment/sewing hybrid question. I hope it's okay to post it on this board.
I have a table for my Featherweights. I have to say that I actually don't like it. The surface is too low, and my machines don't sit flush into the table, which makes me crazy. Each one fits just a little differently, but never flush with the surface of the table.
So I had an idea. I could set the machine on the table and make a bolster pillow to put in front to keep my wrists straight and allow me to rest my arms while I sew. Then I had the idea to make the pillow out of muslin and then sew some pieced and quilted "pillowcases" for it. Variety and satisfyingly quick, small projects, all in one!
Today I tried it out (just the muslin-covered pillow), and I love it except for one small problem -- the fabric seems to drag just a bit because it's not on a smooth, hard surface before it reaches the machine.
So, should I make the pillowcases out of something other than cotton, something satiny and slippery? Or should I stick the machine back in the table and accept that the machine is too low and doesn't fit perfectly?
Obsessively-compulsively yours,
Ila
p.s. I won't even begin my rant about why three Featherweights should sound so completely different... or why the least expensive and most beat-up sounds the quietest and smoothest.

MFord

You might just raise the table. You can use pieces of board under the legs or bricks, or whatever feels stable to you. I have one of those tables too (although not FW size) and it is awfully short.

Macybaby

I'd try vinyl and see how that work. I would not use satin as it's too prone to snag if a pin goes over it.

BTW - usually the reason the most beat up one is quietest - it's the only one that is really broken in. I remember 35 years ago, the Sewing repair guy telling me that most people never sew enough to actually get their machines broken in, and the best used ones were those that were well used.

Now, this was a time before electronics and all that - so machines now days don't have that issue - they don't get broke in, they just get worn out.

Rodney

I'm in the raise the table or make a table that's the correct height and where the machine sits flush camp. I love a large work surface and rarely use a portable machine for just that reason. If the room is available I'd start with a large wooden desk with a lot of storage and cut a hole in it.
Rodney

SunlitenSmiles

I use two sets of bed risers under the legs of my 301 table.....BTW my machine sits flush into the cutout

In the late 1950's when the machine and table were new and I was 2 1/2 inches taller I did not need the risers but now a combination of sit up straight or suffer later and several eye glass prescription changes I need the risers....Why the machines do not sit flush into the cutout is a problem I do not understand....has someone messed with the leather covered steel spring bars?

aronel

I'd raise the table, also. Simple and easy.

iadhikari

I don't know if anyone messed with the bars. However, there's no leather on them. I don't know why that would make the machine sit too high, though. And actually, the right side of the machine sits flush. It's the bed extension that doesn't. It either sits 1/4" above the table, or in the case of my 1936 FW, catches on the edge of the wood and won't lower all the way.
I'm going to try messing with the metal brackets to see if I can get the machine to fit in properly.
Thanks to everyone for your ideas! I really appreciate it. There aren't a lot of people that are interested in 70-year-old machines, and even fewer that know as much about them as you all do.
Ila

iadhikari

Update: I took the feet/cushions off one of my Featherweights and it sits perfectly flush in the table. I'm going to try that with the other two, although I'm pretty sure I did try it with at least one of them.
Ila

ArchaicArcane

The 222 does sit higher than the table... is that perhaps part of the problem? Is one of the machines a 222?

iadhikari

No, I don't have a 222. If only! I don't have that kind of money, sadly. I have no idea why one 1938 fits perfectly, the other almost perfectly, and the 1936 catches on the edge.
The mysteries of life!
Ila