Originally Posted by
NoiseandKisses
Hello!
I've been reading the forums and seeing some posts written on this subject, but none of them fully capture the issue I am having.
I'm trying to sew a straight line on two pieces of 8 inch squares. I am new to sewing so when I saw that my stitch lines drift to the side instead of staying straight I immediately jumped on YouTube to see what I could to fix this.
First thing that is said is not to watch the needle and instead look at your fabric well before it feeds under the foot. To aid in this I can use masking take, post it notes, or a rubber band to have an extended line for my guide. I have been successful in using this technique and before the fabric pulls to far left I can guide the fabric very well.
The second thing I learned was to invest in an extension bed or find a way to have the fabric lay flat instead of half off the edge so weight of fabric doesn't pull to the left. I was lucky and my current machine came with an extension bed and I've been using it for my sewing. The squares fit perfectly on it.
The other tip I learned was to help guide the fabric out the back of the machine with my left hand to keep any fabric from bunch and shifting. The fabric doesn't bunch because it's a small square and I'm not pulling on the fabric. I don't know how to accurately describe what I am doing to know if I am doing it correctly enough or if this would have a huge impact on the fabric drifting. All I basically do it's let the fabric freely move through my thumb and index finger. I'm not doing any direction controlling from back there.
Here's the problem I am having.. after doing all that my stitches are still noticeably slanted instead of straight. I can visibly see the fabric drift to the left even on the slowest possible speed. I even started to improvise and push the fabric on the left side towards the foot and that has not helped keep the fabric from drifting.
Is this normal? Am I doing something wrong? Is it my machine? I want to be sewing perfect squares. Please help me.
you need to hold the fabric together at both the front and the back. If the pieces are too small, you can use a stiletto to help it through. I love the Fons and Porter Ultimate Stiletto. It is silicone so grabs the fabric and is thin enough that you can guide it between the presser foot right up to within a few stitches of the needle.