Sewing Straight
11-24-2012, 10:22 PM
#31
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Mechanicsville, IA
Posts: 1,497
I love piecing on vintage machines. Do check to be sure your feed dogs are clean. We are buying, refurbishing and selling featherweights and 301's. One machine had the feed dogs so clogged with lint it could barely move the fabric through. DH used a pin and tooth brush between every tooth. What came out was pressed so tightly it was like felt. Poor old machine, I felt so sorry for it.
11-26-2012, 03:52 PM
#32
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Littlefield, TX, USA
Posts: 1,077
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.
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.
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
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
11-27-2012, 06:46 PM
#34
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan
Posts: 137
I have a feeling, Mavita, that this will be helpful to me in time. I will refer back to this when I am sewing the rows together. Right now I have taken a break to get my machine serviced. The tension has really been giving me trouble, and a nice lady at a little sewing shop my friend referred me to suggested I get it serviced, since it is older and wasn't being used before I got it.
11-27-2012, 07:17 PM
#36
Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: North Dakota
Posts: 258
I teach sewing and keeping the fabric straight and guiding it is one of the things my students struggle with most. I do a couple of things to help them.
I have them practice on paper. I draw lines on the paper and they pretend the lines are the end of the fabric and they line their presser foot up to it and try to keep the foot on the line. Takes practice. And I have them use an old needle, nothing will dull a needle faster than paper, so you want to have a needle just for paper work. Remove it when you switch back to fabric and save it for work on paper.
We also practice controlling the speed at which you sew. If you have a machine with speed control, no problem, but if you don't, you need to practice controlling the speed with your foot. Slowing down can really help your accuracy.
We also practice guiding the fabric through. The fabric will go through with or without you, and probably reasonably straight through as well, you do not need to push it, pull it, or shove it through. What you need to do is guide it. Use the fingers of both hands. Your fingers should never be directly in front of the presser foot or to the left or right of the presser foot (I say this because you can line your fabric up to the left side OR right side of the presser foot, although most people line up to the right side). Your fingers should be 1-1/2 to 2 inches in front of the presser foot, guiding the fabric so it is staying in position. If it starts to stray a little, and you feel you are losing control, stop, be sure your NEEDLE IS IN THE FABRIC, lift the presser foot and move the fabric so it is lined up again. You may have to start and stop frequently at first, but you'll get the hang of it eventually.
And lastly, be sure your presser foot is at the right pressure. Some machines have a pressure setting for the feet. This is so you can accommodate different types of fabrics that may require a lighter pressure or heavier pressure of the foot for ease of sewing. If you have such a thing (your manual will tell you), be sure it is set on the proper setting (it's usually a dial and you set it on a number, for example, for "regular sewing", it would be #1). If you have a really old machine, the pressure may be able to be set manually, again, your manual will tell you.
Hope this is helpful!
I have them practice on paper. I draw lines on the paper and they pretend the lines are the end of the fabric and they line their presser foot up to it and try to keep the foot on the line. Takes practice. And I have them use an old needle, nothing will dull a needle faster than paper, so you want to have a needle just for paper work. Remove it when you switch back to fabric and save it for work on paper.
We also practice controlling the speed at which you sew. If you have a machine with speed control, no problem, but if you don't, you need to practice controlling the speed with your foot. Slowing down can really help your accuracy.
We also practice guiding the fabric through. The fabric will go through with or without you, and probably reasonably straight through as well, you do not need to push it, pull it, or shove it through. What you need to do is guide it. Use the fingers of both hands. Your fingers should never be directly in front of the presser foot or to the left or right of the presser foot (I say this because you can line your fabric up to the left side OR right side of the presser foot, although most people line up to the right side). Your fingers should be 1-1/2 to 2 inches in front of the presser foot, guiding the fabric so it is staying in position. If it starts to stray a little, and you feel you are losing control, stop, be sure your NEEDLE IS IN THE FABRIC, lift the presser foot and move the fabric so it is lined up again. You may have to start and stop frequently at first, but you'll get the hang of it eventually.
And lastly, be sure your presser foot is at the right pressure. Some machines have a pressure setting for the feet. This is so you can accommodate different types of fabrics that may require a lighter pressure or heavier pressure of the foot for ease of sewing. If you have such a thing (your manual will tell you), be sure it is set on the proper setting (it's usually a dial and you set it on a number, for example, for "regular sewing", it would be #1). If you have a really old machine, the pressure may be able to be set manually, again, your manual will tell you.
Hope this is helpful!
this is an awesome lesson
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