By what criteria do you decide if a machine has a good straigh stitch?
 

I've read on this and other forums that my X sewing machine has a beautiful straight stitch.
Another person will say that brand Y has a so-so SS and so on.

I just asked this of my wife and she really couldn't explain what it is that makes a good stitch to her.

So by what measure or criteria do you decide if a straight stitch is good or not?

Joe

For me, a nice SS is even stitches, in a straight line, so that when you open the seam or press it to the side it lays straight and even......My FW or 301 do it really well

Any SS only machine should have a "true" straight stitch and should do what it does with top quality. A machine that has a movement in the needlebar (any zig zag machine and other stitches) will always have slight movement in it's stitching. SS machines usually have an encased needle bar that's locked in, so there is no swing. Personally, I don't think it matters. I get the same results with a SS or multi-stitch machine.

Maybe they mean the tension is adjusted correctly and the material feeds through pretty straight? I totally agree with Candace. I've seen some real nice straight stitch machines. A good argument for a ss machine - think about it 99% of the time you are sewing straight stitches. Recently a woman bought a machine from me - the straight stitch machine was cheaper than taking her high end Viking/bernina/Janome (I forget) to be cleaned ONE time.

If you stitch on a couple of machines and compare the stitching, you might be able to see which is nicer.

Straight, even, good lock, untemperamental tension.

any machine (with the exception of the Touch and Sew probably) will sew a beautiful stitch...when the tension is set correctly. It is generally the top tension that needs to be adjusted, we change it because we are sewing on different fabrics. Denim might use a different tension than chiffon. Just saying :)

on my true SS machines, with correct tension, the stitches have less diagonal to them. The length can be adjusted, and-the feed dogs feed straight so that you don't have any slight meandering. On my Morse multi-stitch machines, there is more of a diagonal to the stitch. And due to the larger openings in the throat plate and foot, it is easier to get a slight wavering of the stitch.
I am talking nuances here- but since I am currently piecing a 100% silk quilt that WANTS to wiggle, I will be quilting it on my 15-30.

Muv nailed it.

A good straight stitch is not really a straight line. On a lock stitch machine there are two threads wrapping around each other. The amount of distortion produced from this wrap depends on several things: the tread, the fabric, the needle, and the tension.
Jenny over at sew classic has described this beautifully. Look at this on her site: http://blog.sew-classic.com/2008/10/...-about-it.aspx
or http://tinyurl.com/6286of

Cathy