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Adjusting your thread tension

Before starting, remember that the bobbin tension must always be less than the top thread tension.

Some problems and their solutions.

Problem: puckering
Cause: Assuming here that you have already adjusted your presser foot. If your thread tension is too tight, the thread will pucker the fabric as you sew. Reason is that the thread pulls the seam together. It looks terrible and makes your work look cheap (look at the seams on a cheap shirt that has been worn a few times).
Solution: Loosen the top thread tension.

Problem: Snapping thread
Cause: see above, or maybe you're using vintage cotton thread.
Solution: If the latter, just know that old cotton is generally not usable for sewing. Throw it out or use it for a display.

Problem: thread loose and loopy at the bottom
Cause: Top tension is too loose
Solution: Increase top thread tension

Problem: Thread loose and loopy at the top
Cause: Bobbin tension is too loose
Solution: Increase bobbin thread tension.

More likely you'll have something in between and your stitches aren't balanced. Your stitches should be perfectly balanced, with a dot from the bottom just visible between top stitches and a dot of the top thread just visible between stitches at the bottom. Test this using contrasting coloured threads.

Top tension

Almost all tension problems can be fixed by adjusting or fixing the top thread. The sewing machine was designed like this so you don't have to fiddle about with the bobbin, which is always more difficult than adjusting the top.
Thread your needle, making sure the thread is between the tension discs.
Make sure you thread it with the foot up. Reason is that when the foot is down, the discs are pressing together and will not allow the thread to sit between them. Then there is absolutely no tension on the discs. If there's no tension, chances are you threaded it while the foot was down.
Now put the foot down and pull lightly on the thread, through the needle. Not hard, and the thread should deflect (bend) the needle. Now turn the top tension toward zero. At around 1 the thread will start moving and at zero there should be almost no resistance at all. If this is not the case, you will need to adjust, or calibrate, your tension dial. If you don't want to, just don't rely on the numbers. From zero, most machines are happy for normal clothing fabric at around 2.5 to 3.5, at least on my old Singers.

I'm not going to tell you how to calibrate your machine's tension dial because your machine will almost certainly not be like mine.

Bobbin tension

If you absolutely must do this, how you do it will depend on whether it has a vertical bobbin (with removable bobbin case) or horizontal (drop-in bobbin - non-removable bobbin case).

Vertical bobbin machines: Remove the case and holding the end of the bobbin thread, let the rest (bobbin and case) hang. It should only just be able to stay still so that if you move the end of the thread up at all the thread will unravel. If this is not the case, adjust by turning the little screw in to tighten or out to loosen. Keep testing until it is perfectly balanced. Adjuster is on the tension spring, which the thread passes through.

Horizontal bobbin: Thread it through the throat plate like you were preparing to sew. Pull the end and adjust as neccesary so you just feel a little tension on the thread. Adjuster is on the tension spring.

Before I learned about all of this I probably shook with fear if a machine's tension wasn't right, but it's really not that bad. If it loops, the side opposite to the loop is too loose. If puckering, loosen the top off. For puckering, check the foot pressure before adjusting the tension or you'll have to fix the tension afterwards.
Posted by Mike Williams at 13:50 1 comment: Labels: adjusting, bobbin, puckering, thread tension, top tension

Testing Your Presser Foot

I've noticed recently that even seasoned sewing people have the presser foot pressure too high. This has generally been with vintage machines, but will probably apply for more modern ones too, if they have an adjustment. Not that I would know of course - haven't had much to do with modern machines.
Sewing ordinary stuff, the fabric will pucker if the presser is too hard or, if it's too soft, uneven stitches will result.

Testing and adjusting is really easy and will take you less than a minute (more like 15 seconds) to check. You might even test it every time you change fabrics (I do).

1. Put fabric under the foot, leaving the needle up

2. pull the fabric back gently.

3a If it slides back pressure is too low so screw it in a little and test again.3b If it is very tight, lower the pressure (there's usually a screw adjuster at the top of the presser bar) a little at a time until it starts to move. Now it's just slightly too loose, so turn it in about 1/4 of a turn.

4 Perform a test sew.

Your stitches should be perfect and never pucker, even if you're sewing silk (use a microtex needle for silk).

Next will be how to set the thread tension
Posted by Mike Williams at 12:58 5 comments: Labels: adjustment, foot, presser bar


Repair of 1950s Singer motor

I met a fellow blogger the other day at Spotlight (Vogue pattern sale) and surprising number of amazing patterns left at only $5 each. Yes I know (bought 27), but I digress. She (thornberry.blogspot.com.au) told me to write something as I've been a bit slack recently.

So a few days later a lady from an FB group asked about repairing her older machines. Yes indeed there should be more information about this, so here is the most common electrical problem I've found with Singer motors: The wiring for the singerlight (that's what they were called by Singer) degrades and the wires touch, causing drama and blow fuses.

Here's the before picture (bit out of focus but still obvious what the problem is). This one is nowhere near as bad as I've seen. A lovely friend gave me a 201K23 for my birthday and the wiring was absolutely gone, and I mean no insulation left, wires totally touching each other at several places. This one would have been completely fine for decades, as the rubber insulation was completely intact, it was just the green outer that had gone. Pretty unsightly and looks dangerous, and I want to sell the machine (a 320K2). The rest of the power cable had already been replaced with the standard black.
1. Remove the light. Prise off the end: This just pulls away with the lense still on. After this remove the bulb or it will get broken.
2. Unscrew the plate that's covering the light's mounting screw (already removed in the picture above) then remove the mounting. Put all screws back so you don't mix them up. That is, as soon as you remove the light, put the plate back.
3. Remove the motor screw then remove the motor from the machine and put the screw back in.

Now the motor and light have been removed as a unit. Put the machine out of the way until you're ready to put it all back on.

4. Disassemble the light.
4a Circlip 1. Just take a small screwdriver (jeweller's or the one for adjusting the bobbin) and unclip that circlip in the picture. This is one of two things holding the light fitting in one piece, there are no screws, just two clips.
4b Other clip is here:
This clip is much harder to move. You don't have to remove the screw, but make sure you only turn it so the spring holds it less tightly. In the picture that means pushing the bit with the screw upwards. You need only a little turn, so the arms (already removed) can be pulled out. Pull them out. They will be pretty tight and they're sharp-ish, so try to grip them hard then pull away as you did the lense.
Now you can turn the clip and prise it off. Once off the light will separate into two.
This is what the inside looks like. The wires (originally yellow and red) are soldered to those copper strips. Remove the copper strips with the wires attached.
Unsolder the wires. This is a little tricky because you need dexterity holding, soldering and pulling at the same time. Make sure you remove all the solder, because the new wires have to go all the way through these holes.
The other ends are on the motor. Unscrew the long screws holding the wiring cover on. Remove the cover and the piece of cardboard and you should be looking at this.
Unscrew what you need to and put the nuts and washers somewhere safe. The original wires are clamped and soldered to little circular washers. If you have these, use them. I don't.
Now you should have the original wires in your hand. You need to cut the replacement wire to the right size. Better to err on the larger side. Remove sufficient insulation and bare enough wire to wrap around the two posts on the motor.
Solder the new wire to the copper strips from the motor first, and before you install the other end in the motor, make sure you have both the light circlip and the white plastic motor wire clamp in place . The latter goes into the hole that the screw secures in the above picture (on the right). You don't want to leave either of these off.
Put the white plastic back in its place and secure it with the screw. Reassemble the motor wiring cover.

Now the light end. Solder the copper wires to the copper contacts and insert them back into the light assembly. You might have to play with the switch a little to get them in. I used long nosed pliers. Don't bend them, you shouldn't need to force them at all.
Now it's just a matter of putting it together, replacing the circlip - you can push it over the lip and into the recess with your thumbs.
The next bit requires some force. Make sure you know which way to put the front light clip by lining it up on the machine. If you put it on backwards you'll get really upset. Put it on but not in exactly the finish position. It has to be off by a bit for you to reinsert the arms. Once you do this, turn the clip until it clicks into its groove and put the bulb and lense back.
If you screw this up, just have patience. I've done this a lot of times, and know it well. If you make a mistake, you'll probably not do the same thing again. It'd hard not to get angry if you do though :-).
Doesn't it look nice? New plastic wiring should last a very long time indeed. I chose cord that has copper inside. Not sure if it makes a lot of difference but it shouldn't degrade over time.
Before putting it back on, check the brushes. These are small blocks of carbon whose purpose is to make electrical contact with the armature (of the rotor, rotating part in the middle of the motor).
Here's how to check the brushes. You're checking the size, and you can check how dirty the armature is too.
Remove the caps from the end of the motor - these are visible in the above picture. Take out the screw and you should be looking at this: Exposed brushes
You can see the copper thing here. I pushed it up a little to make it clearer (which it didn't), but power is supplied from the wires on the right, which are soldered to the J shaped copper bit. The brass case is conductive and contains a metal spring pushing on the black carbon brush. The copper thing at the bottom is the motor's armature. This brush has already been checked and is fine. Check them every service and if less than half this length, replace them both. Don't take them out unless you have to: The ends are shaped as a curve by the armature and if put back differently you could easily lose power in the motor because the contact isn't as good.

Posted by Mike Williams at 17:19 No comments: Labels: 319, 320k, brushes, electrical, motor, rewire, singer, wiring


Top of the must-have list

Just after my first Pfaff (260PE) I could see how fantastic these late 1950s models are. When reading the manual for it the free arm version was mentioned, and I decided to keep an eye out for one. Another 260 late last year, which I sold a few months ago and I then knew how rare the free arm versions were. Apparently the higher the number the better the machine, option-wide.
There was also a logic to Pfaff's model numbers, unlike Singers. Under 100 is a straight stitch, 100 to 200 is the same as the other but add zig-zag. 200-300 add pattern cams, and 300-400 machines are free arms. The highest number I've seen is 362 but I can't imagine it being any better than a 360 (maybe an extra pattern?).

I saw one for sale a week or so ago and here it is: It's a 260 with a free arm. The free arm is the easiest one ever. Spring loaded so you pull the table out to the left, lift it a bit, line it up and let go. Everything clicks into place and stays there. Oh you clever Germans! This is way ahead of Singer's efforts of the time. The only free arms they made were the 222K, which is straight stitch only, and the 320K2 which has a much larger arm and is simply not as good a machine as this. Additionally the latter was made in very small numbers because Singer couldn't mass produce them.
Feature #2: The stitch length indicator goes from 4 to 0, but at 1 it goes down very slowly. This isn't a gimmick, it will reliably feed fabric in the tiniest increment. Very useful indeed when using the embroidery patterns, which work superbly.
Feature #3: Look at the spool in the photo. Most thread spools were wound so they had to come off by spinning but some were stack wound, as for industrial machines and have to come off from one end or they twist. Pfaff catered for this by including a transverse spool holder. This clips easily to one of the vertical spool pins and allows you to use stack wound thread.

There are other nice things like needle threader (yes it still works) but they had to compromise a little with this design. The lack of space in the bed meant they had to use a smaller motor. It only has 2/3 of the power of the 260. Considering the 260 was incredibly fast, I have to say the 360s motor is still more than adequate.

Today I noticed two little problems, one caused by me. The first wasn't: The zig-zag set to maximum was skewed to one side. Solution was simple: There is a screw that is accessed at the rear of the left side of the machine which is a simple adjuster. Thanks again Pfaff! The second was because I insisted on cleaning and oiling when I got it. It really needed nothing at all. The previous owner had taken extraordinarily good care of it and it's really like a showroom one. When I put the bed back together, I just screwed the three screws down. Well, it seems there's a bit of play in the screws and I should have aligned them. The needle plate was right against the needle and deflecting it just a little. When I set it to zig-zag, it kept catching the hook during its left swing and I broke two needles before realising what was wrong. At least they're ordinary domestic needles and I learned something about my new favourite.

Won't mention how much it was, but it wasn't much. Luckily the lady was just happy it went to a good home.

Posted by Mike Williams at 20:20 3 comments: Labels: 1960, 261, 360, free arm, pfaff

Layette for newborn

I've bought a couple of patterns over the years for these and thought they'd come in handy. Of the three I had,  one was missing the instructions, another was missing the pattern and the third was complete.

I felt pretty good when finding out about an ex I'm still great friends with was due to give birth late September (or so I thought. She actually gave birth on the 3rd). I looked closely at the pattern: Kids clothes in the '50s were pretty impractical, and really, unless you're going to a traditional church service to baptise your newborn, I wouldn't.
So gritted my teeth and went to the local sewing shop. $17.50 later I had Butterick B5585.
The warning sticker says to disregard the suggested fabrics on the pattern and avoid chenille molleton and flanelette made with 100% cotton and acrylic. I chose jersey, which is probably polycotton but I doubt it's less prone to burning. The pattern says you must only choose jersey. I dislike this fabric: It's hard to put through the hemmer foot because it insists on curling the wrong way and generally misbehaving.
It also says "very easy", which it was. Here are the results:

They could both have been made in the same day, they're that simple. Another bonus is that each garment uses only 1/3 of a yard! Good thing, since the pattern cost so much.
I'd recommend this pattern if you want to whip up some clothes for a newborn, but if you can get it secondhand, even better!
Made both on my new Pfaff 360.
Posted by Mike Williams at 19:40 4 comments: Labels: baby, butterick, layette, newborn


Kids' Pyjamas Butterick 9987 1960

This was a pretty easy garment to make. My great nephew (a large-ish two year old) will be cosy and warm when he gets them (view B), but it was really difficult to find a natural fabric with animals printed on it. My go-to shop didn't have any either! It should have been flannelette but I had to struggle with cotton jersey. This needs a special needle, a jersey needle (yes, duh!).
The fabric wasn't that much more difficult but any thickness and it won't stitch. This was especially the case when I didn't trim the collar seam allowance. I did it to keep as much fabric as possible on the garment (it is a cold Winter in south eastern Australia) but I shouldn't have done it. As a consequence I couldn't do a buttonhole for the top button. I felt he probably wouldn't use it anyway (definitely, if it's not there!). The buttonholer does a rubbish job on this fabric and when it gets up to four layers it won't catch the thread at all.
Quite a good pattern, though.
You could sew the whole thing in a day, and I recommend the crazy cat pattern, but not jersey fabric: Very cute! Posted by Mike Williams at 19:42 2 comments: Labels: 1960, 9987, butterick, pajamas, PJs, pyjamas


Demonstrating some attachments using a Singer 319K

The Singer 319K Swing needle machine

Make it use a normal domestic needle

Roll hem

Engaging the Zig-zag 

The Ruffler

Seam Guide

Machine Embroidery 

Industrial strength sewing machines 

Saturday, 23 May 2015

A Pack of Jeans that never runs out

Good Jeans need never die

Step 1: Making the pattern

Step 2: Layout for cutting

Step 3: Cutting

Step 4: Make the Pockets

Step 5: Prepare other garment pieces

Step 6: Prepare your machine

Step 7: Sewing it together

Step 8: Waistband and belt loops

Step 9: Buttons Labels: 201, 201K, 501s, button fly, jeans, singer
