Dianne
Dianne acquired an interesting attachment that she tells us about
:
I have been busy finishing up quilts over the last month, but did acquire one vintage Singer attachment. The Circular Stitcher was created for Touch and Sew machines, of which I have exactly none, but it didn't appear to need the special attachment spots that many such stitchers need for newer machines - just the usual spot on the bed used to screw down other attachments. The only machine I've tried yet is a 15-91, on which the attachment would initially not anchor down firmly. A simple rubber washer will not do the trick. One needs a piece of rubber stuff - this one being 1/16” thick from a hardware store years ago, cut so that it covers the square plate. I don't know what this rubber stuff is called, but in the photo it is turned a bit so it is visible. Punch a hole for the screw. With this, the stitcher fastens down nicely. Using a piece of quilt "sandwich" used for practicing free motion designs, the attachment sewed very nice circles of any size, up to 10 inches in diameter. The quilt sandwich proved acceptably firm to use without any further stiffening.
My thought was this would be fun for quilting small projects with circles - placemats, small wallhangings, or blocks if one is doing quilt-as-you-go. Concentric circles, overlapping circles, fancy stitch circles, etc. The fabric moves around the pin, and getting anything very large to move smoothly would be difficult and slow, and one would be better off to mark the fabric and freehand the job.
The concept is very simple, and one YouTube video shows a woman creating beautiful round objects with decorative stitches using a homemade version with phone books in which to stick a poster pin to hold the fabric.
Courtney, this is a challenge for you!
Dorothy
Dorothy, our sewing professional, sends the following about her month passed:
Wow! Time passes quick!
I have done little sewing, Mostly adjustments to trial garments finding the Very Lack of information on fabric content is proving to be detrimental. I made some under garments from a knit with spandex which turns out has No Recovery. Ugh. I wish the bolt labeling had more USEFUL information.
I have been doing lots of planning. I hope to use my design programs more, but find I may need to start sketching what the final intent is. Thinking a design is, apparently, a roving target which I can not hit. Start out with one thought and Bam something totally different crops up. Seems the very nice thing about patterns is the line drawing.
I have an avid interest in Hemp fabric and was delighted to find Hemp Traders is starting to manufacture Jersey knit in the US. They are still buying fiber off shore, but hope to bring that online also! I did purchase a Jersey knit blend (55% hemp) and look forward to making, then dying the garment!
I look forward to May Day!
Dorothy
... to be continued