Singer treadle 66.....1925
Hello,
Newbie here. I started FMQ in 1998 when I realised if I wanted to get those quilts on the beds they would take forever to get there if I quilted by hand.
I also am not a fan of marking and for a long while only made traditional quilts with white backgrounds so I could see the line.
I did stipple a lot of my quilts but wanted something more challenging
I discovered different all over edge to edge FMQ that can be done on Domestic machines thanks to Leah Day.
My Bernina 1031 following a service, does a good job once I sorted the thread and needle combination. I am still trying to keep my rhythm steady ALL the time for regular stitches. There is a tendency to panic when in a corner resulting some toe hookers.
However,
I have a Singer treadle 66 vintage 1925 that I in herited from my favourite Aunt. It is in beautiful condition. She has resided in my living room, purely for good looks and personality. The cabinet has six lovely decorative drawers, lots of spare parts none of which I have tried. It was serviced in 1997 but now needs a dusting, clean and oil. I will post a picture later.
I quilted in the ditch on this following the service on a Prairie braid quilt I made for my late Father. The stitch was absolutely beautiful.
Imagine my surprise when browsing through the posts here I was amazed to find it is possible to FMQ on these old machines.
I opened her up and had a play. The stitch was still perfect and we managed a small cot size sample making slightly wavy lines. Not sure that my legs knew what was happening but like riding a bike it all came back to me.
More experimenting to FMQ......
I found my Elna Lotus darning foot fits my treadle but doesn't leave a lot of free motion. Fits rather snugly to the foot plate.
I released the pressure bar......not sure this is right as I found no difference.
Cannot drop the feed dogs or if I can I don't know how.
I covered these with my Supreme slider, didn't tape it down and sewed through it!!
Rescued it cos it was too expensive to abuse like that and am reluctant to use sticky tape.
I have been watching you tube and have seen there are some better side attached low shank hopper/darning feet that seem to work well.
Sew.....I would appreciate any advice as to how to make this happen.
What type of darning/hopper foot should I look for?
Do I need to screw the stitch length to zero?
I was going well with the slider.....but the bottom tension was off at times.
Using King Tut thread it broke a couple of times FMQ but was okay with regular stitching.
What needle should I use?
There are cover plates but finding one is another challenge.
I do need to clean and oil her properly as per Muv videos......which are very well done.
Belt needs to be tightened a tad, ( I did replace this when I first got her) and the bobbin winder needs to be sorted.
She has an electric conversion but I have never used this and am thinking of having it removed.
Looking forward to hearing from those with expertise and more in the know than myself.