knits and the singer 15-91?
 

Ok, so as I was excited to mention in my first post- I have now a singer 15-91, 1948. While my uncle is busy servicing the machine to make sure all is well with her before I plug her in- I have been reading all I can about the machine. And now I have a question. Numerous other forums have users of the machine complaining about its sewing ability on fabric like knits. I plan to up-cycle some knit items into bags and quilts and scarves etc. So this worries me. What are your takes on this notion? Is it just inexperience with the machine? Since several of the posters were saying that “old household sewing” didn’t include knit fabric- only cottons, linens, silk etc. But, since knitwear has been around for ages, I am guessing this machine can actually sew threw a knit fabric if needed.

The needle used is going to give you much better results. Use a jersey or a ballpoint needle especially made for knits and you should have no problems. I would suspect those folks were not using the right tool for the job-in this case the proper needle.

That is what I thought. Sewing is like knitting- different needles for different tasks!

If you want to have the seam stretch with the fabric just pick up a zigzag attachment for it. All the different feet and attachments on the old machines are half the fun anyway. My daughter and I both got a big kick out of watching a buttonholer for the first time.
Rodney

Very true. A straight stitch isn't going to stretch much if needed in a fabric seam. However, not all knits need a stretch. It wouldn't just be the 15's that would not make a stretchable seam...any SS machine would have this same complaint and it doesn't have anything to do with its age. There are modern SS machines that people pay big bucks for.

As Candace mentions - knits are fine, it's stretch knits what cause a challenge for the straight stitch machines. Very often people don't make the distinction, but in this case, it's an important one.

You should stretch your fabric slightly while sewing your seam....it builds stretch into your seam. This is how people sewed stretch fabrics years ago....& yes, knits (wool jerseys for example) were available even in the 30's.

Stretch elastic has been around for a while too.

CD in Oklahoma

Thanks :) My uncle emailed and said my machine is looking good. So I should be able to pick her up on saturday :)