Originally Posted by
Jeanette Frantz
Tammi, I have just finished re-reading this thread. Everything you've pointed out has been "right on"! I've watched my son (a former SM Mechanic) take machines apart because "it's not stitching right, the thread is breaking, etc., etc." The biggest offender he would find is "LINT", "LINT" and more "LINT". Cleaning up the bobbin case, as well as the rest of the machine, is critical. I've enjoyed reading this thread and I'll be checking out some more of your articles! Thank you.
Jeanette
Thanks Jeanette! Yeah, lint makes machines very grumpy! I think that the bobbin case is possibly one of the most neglected parts of a sewing machine. We jam a bobbin in, thread it and sew. We might pull the lint out of the area between bobbins, but otherwise we jam another bobbin in and thread it and sew. Lather, rinse, repeat. Lots of people can do that for years and never even notice that there are small changes in the stitches happening.
Another thing about checking tension:
Can we talk about the "Bald headed Man"?
Especially with some of the thin fabrics we sometimes use, depending on the thread being used, it's actually OK to see the very top of the bald headed man's head on the front and the back of the work - This is just a function of the fabric not closing over top of the stitches, and the curve created by the threads twisting over each other in the fabric to make the stitch.
Railroad tracks however, are not OK and should be addressed.
How do you tell the difference? You can't feel the top of the bald headed man's head if you run your fingernail down the seam line, railroad tracks though will make a "snap snap snap" as you go over them.
If you separate the layers of both of those stitch samples, here's where they'll also be different:
- The bald headed man stitches will be a nice tight seam.
- The railroad stitches will allow some gapping, resulting in a loose, weak seam.