Originally Posted by
miriam
Sort of like the stitch length that locks on some machines?
In the early 1950s, there was a style of machine embroidery introduced that used zigzag and the operator's skill to vary the stitches manually.
Modern Home Sewing by Drucella Lowrie and Sylvia Mager (1952; Necchi Home Arts Associates) is an example of the trend. The minimum bight stop on the Singer would have been useful for such an exercise; one could quickly toggle between a 2 and a 4 width, for example, without having to carefully set the dial
while the machine is making stitches! Although by the time of the 306, cams were available that could accomplish rigid, geometric designs but for more fluid embroidery, a combination of machine zigzag and some impressive operator skill accomplished the task. Here's an example from the book:
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It occurs to me that this style of stitching would lend itself beautifully to quilts. Human error/variability would give it more handmade character than computerized embroidery stitches. I've never tried it, but I have a feeling in my case there would be a little too much character.