sewbeadit

Okay, I read all the time about how these vintage sewing machines will sew through leather and do all this heavy duty stuff, including on Ebay where they are labeled heavy duty machines, etc. So I want to sew some plastic feed bags into sand bags for water in the winter and I want to use about a 28 or 26 thread, heavy duty, or upholstery thread but not the super heavy nylon thread for walking feet sewing machines. I thread up wind bobbin and it won't sew a stitch, that is on 5 different machines, one White treadle and different electric brands all vintage. So how in the heck do they supposedly sew on heavy duty stuff with this home machines with heavy thread? You can't just use regular weight quilting thread it won't hold up to wear or the leather etc you sew it with.

So I need help, any ideas? I am using a heavy needle a sixteen, what happens is it either won't go around the bobbin and make a stitch or the stitches underneath are 1 inch loops or you can never get a good tension on them, many different issues, none sew well enough to use for anything. I know you are supposed to be able to use different weight threads but maybe that is very fine to quilting not heavier. Thanks for the help or thoughts.

MaryTG

I am currently working on canvas slipcovers for furniture using10 oz painter's dropcloths for the fabric. I am using 70W nylon upholstery thread and sewing on my 201-2. The only problem I have encountered is the super springiness/stiffness of the thread wanting to uncoil from the spool and the bobbin if not under some tension. I am using a size 16 Organ universal needle and my machine is not laboring at all and making normal stitches, even through 6-8 layers of heavy fabric (piping plus zippers plus basic parts). I did have to really crank up the upper tension to make it sew correctly though, as the setting I use with 40-50W thread left loops on the bottom. I also sewed through a leather dog harness a couple of days ago (repair for a friend) with no problem (that one I went quite slowly with)

This is the heavy thread I am using:

[h=1]Tex 70 150 yds Xtra Strong Nylon Upholstery S964 Thread[/h]
Coats Xtra Strong Nylon Upholstery Thread for machine and hand sewing. Great for Upholstery, outdoor, and heavy weight fabrics. This Bonded 3-Ply Nylon Thread is weather and UV resistant. For best results use a size 18 needle and increase stitch length. Tex 70, 150 yds. Please note: actual color may vary from picture due to computer setting. Use chart as a reference.

Tartan

The heaviest thread I have used on my old singer Treadle with the shuttle bobbin is the thread for sewing jeans. I adjusted the top tension and loosened the screw on my bobbin shuttle. It sewed one line of stitches on double over blue jean hem fine.

miriam

To sew with heavy thread in leather you need a LEATHER point needle with a big eye. A 16 may not be big enough for your thread. You may need an 18 or 20... An 18 or 20 is less likely to break, too. If you use a needle with a big eye you have to have a big enough hole in your needle plate for the needle AND the thread to pass through or you are right it will not make a loop for the bobbin. I think a lot of the times they are really pushing it to be sewing that stuff on the household machines they are advertising. I'd use an industrial walking foot. That said I have sewn leather on an ancient Singer 15 I had rigged for hand crank. The big hand wheel was what it took to get enough momentum to pierce the leather the HC went slow enough to control my work. Even then the stitches weren't long enough to suit me. You can not enlarge some of the needle holes for a 20 or 22 needle because they are so close to the feed dogs and you might not get it centered like it would need to be. Yes, you will need to tweak your tensions.
Even an industrial machine will only go so thick with thread. There are special machines out there for the really thick thread.

elnan

Walmart sells a Coats & Clark thread for outdoors that is labeled as holding up to UV light, although I would think your problem with sandbags would be more along the line of moisture than sunlight. I've used that thread in a Singer 301 for repairing flags that hang outdoors, and also for the heavy webbing belts used for riders in a therapy program using horses. The belts have webbing handles sewn on the sides and back of the belts. All these projects were 4 or 5 years ago under the local 4-H umbrella, and I have not heard any complaints.

Sailrite is a place you might want to ask about suitable thread. Somewhere around here I have instructions for sewing shopping bags from the animal food bags woven of plastic. It was published in a magazine. If I ever find it again, I'll see what thread they used. I think your needle is okay, just overkill on the thread size.

miriam

You don't want to use cotton thread - you need a synthetic. I got mine from an upholstery supplier. They should be able to match your thread and needle size for you. Well they used to anyway.

sewbeadit

Okay, so it sounds like my thread may be too big. It is the same kind of stuff that MaryTG is using but mine might be bigger, the label isn't on the spool. I also tried a coats dual duty topstitching thread and it wouldn't work either, but as soon as I put in the regular quilting thread it stitched like a dream. So I will work with it some more, this is the 237, I gave up on the others. I have a new Janome I don't want to use with plastic sacks that will sew it no problem so am just not figuring this one out. I guess the thread could be too stiff or something so it won't make the loop for the stitch correctly. I will try some more out, thanks all.

Yes it is the water the bags will be sitting in or getting rained on is why I want a better thread on there. Just thought I would sit down and run these up as it sews so well and it does with the regular thread, didn't know I was going to be all night trying to figure something out. I went through this with the other machines I tried a few weeks ago, I get worn out.lol

Oh it is Mairam that has that cute saying on her messages, Don't let the sewing machine know you are in a hurry, well that is so true

Cari-in-Oly

First, throw those universal needles out the window. They are universally good for nothing. Use a topstitch needle, they are sharper and have a larger eye. Or a jeans needle. Might need a size 18 for that thread. Might need to loosen the bobbin tension a little bit and tighten the top tension a little.

Cari

manicmike

OK, the only pearl of wisdom I have is my recent discovery that horizontal bobbin machines are really bad at sewing with heavy thread. I assumed it was always so difficult as on my 201, but then used a vertical (Pfaff 360) and the difference was amazing. The 201 did it (pair of jeans) but it wasn't easy.
Pfaff handled a second pair easily, then a friend told me about the horizontal bobbin thing.

miriam

You might try some sunguard thread. http://www.yourautotrim.com/pusuthch.html It is for sewing stuff exposed to the elements. I've never see it fail in 20 years. It would need a size 18 needle. An old clone or Singer 15 with the tension set for the heavy thread might be a good machine for it unless you are going through a LOT of layers. My old walking foot machine (Singer 111) had a horizontal bobbin so I doubt if it really matters if the tension is set right. But it might be easier to set the tension on a vertical bobbin case.