Get out some stripped fabric or even binder paper...something with lines to follow.
Fabric...you can leave the thread/bobbin in....for binder paper remove them.
We taught our girl scouts with paper. News paper, binder paper, pages from an old phone book, etc. At teacher supply stores you can buy the sewing practice papers...but you don't need them.
Find the 1/4" on your machine...even if you have a 1/4" foot...take a piece of painters tape and place it so the left side is right on the 1/4" mark from where you have the needle. If you take a sheet of quad rule paper (graph paper)...you put the needle in a line...and 1/4" over is the next line. A ruled index card has 1/4" spaces between lines and will also work.
Once you have the 1/4" marked...with no thread or bobbin in the machine (or if your machine has to have them, leave them in)... practice sewing on the lines. Remember you don't have to be a speed demon, just because the machine will go that fast...go at a pace you are comfortable with. Once you feel really comfortable with straight lines and where you like your hands placed...you then do circles, wavy lines, etc...stitch around coloring book pages.
I am right handed...I lay my left hand (palm down, thumb out...think "L" shaped) about 1/2 to 1" to the left of the presser foot (yes, that puts my thumb in front of the foot...this is all the distance I stitch before I reposition my hand). My right hand (palm down) is about 2" in front of the presser foot...this lets me adjust the pieces as they feed through. You don't push or pull...let the feed dogs do their job and you just gently guide the pieces to where the right edge is against the painter's tape mark for the 1/4" . If you have a 1/4" foot..still check the 1/4" from the needle...and adjust to make sure it's only 1/4" or slightly less.
I hope this helps.
Originally Posted by
schnurke
I am a newbie, with a 1979 Singer 7110, making basic square patch pillow covers and quilts. I have a mentor who is very talented but has never taught anyone to do this before. She also has limited time. I feel uncomfortable with the way that I am sewing my square patches together. I know this is pretty dang easy to do compared to other things you could do with a machine, but like I said, I'm new
My mentor says I am doing a good enough job, but I know that I could do better and expect that it could feel more natural to me.
I don't get how to guide without pushing or pulling or put perhaps too much pressure down with the left hand. And I am curious to find out what some of you people do with your right hands. I have picked up, at another forum, that people do these things differently.
I never took sewing in junior or high school, I'm afraid.
I just feel uncomfortable at the machine and am looking for tips on what my hands should be doing. Of course, maybe I just need practice
