k9dancer

In addition to the items listed by others, I find that the presser foot pressure makes a huge influence on the stitch. As you know, this can be adjusted on most of the older machines, while many of the 'white plastic wonders' have eliminated this feature.

J Miller

Cathy,

Thanks for the link. I was wondering what caused the slight zz appearance on some of my machines. Many of my Singer 66s make that kind of stitch.

Joe

lclang

Somewhere I read that if you want a perfectly straight stitch you want an old machine that does straight stitching ONLY. If it has capability to zigzag it will have a very slight zig to the straight stitch and it cannot be prevented. Is it true? I don't know. My machines are capable of zigzag stitching and I am happy with the straight stitching they do. One is a Pfaff and the other a Babylock. I will say it is hard to beat a Singer Featherweight for perfect stitches.

J Miller

Iclang,

I've got several old SS Singers as well as clones, Kenmores, Whites and New Homes that will make the slight ZZ appearing stitch.
I was confused and curious until Mizkaki posted the link to Jenny's blog on the previous page. Now I'm just trying to remember if any of our local sources has "sharp" needles. Most only carry the universal kind.

I also have ZZ machines that sew straight and some that don't. But none of them are so bad I'd reject them. But ... I'm not a professional, or really experienced sewist.

Maybe someday I'll get to that point. My wife already thinks I'm too anal about certain things. I guess I'm on my way .

Joe