Garment Weight Leather And Sewing Machines

[Heist]

Hi!

I've been reading these forums and they've been very helpful so far, and many topics have come close to what I'm looking for but I'm about to give up and I'm hoping someone has some information to help me.

I want to sew garment weight leather, specifically, leather taken from old coats. I just purchased a Family Sew FS388 because from what I've read these machines work for sewing lighter (garment) weight leather. I can't purchase an industrial machine (price, space, weight, etc.) so this machine seemed perfect.

So far the machine seems to sew thick layers of fabric well but when I try to sew leather it sometimes skips stitches and sometimes just doesn't even sew at all. It just leaves long lines of thread behind and bunches up the leather. It seems to be ok when I sew the leather together with fabric (either with the leather on top or bottom), although that's not perfect either as it skips a stitch here and there too.

I called in to the place where I bought it and he insists that this machine will sew leather and that I should try a different needle as it could be bent (I'm using the one that came with the machine now) and experiment with the tension. Could these problems be coming from that? Or is there something else I should be concerned about.

I would appreciate any help and advice. I've been trying so hard for so long to figure this out that I'm about to just give up!

[Wizcrafts]

Try using a #18 leather point needle with #69 bonded nylon thread. Reduce the upper and lower thread tensions to avoid puckering/gathering the soft leather. Apply only enough presser foot pressure to hold the leather down between stitches, as the needle ascends.

Edited December 13, 2012 by Wizcrafts

[Heist]

Try using a #18 leather point needle with #69 bonded nylon thread. Reduce the upper and lower thread tensions to avoid puckering/gathering the soft leather. Apply only enough presser foot pressure to hold the leather down between stitches, as the needle ascends.

Thank you! I spent some time playing with the tension and it has definitely gotten better even though it still skips stitches here and there. But at least it's sewing. I have to order some leather needles online so once those come in I will experiment further.

I'm not sure if you would know this but I was studying the way the foot comes down and it looks like the foot itself is slightly over to the left as compared with the bottom teeth (I'm sorry I don't know the technical words for what I'm trying to describe!) Should these be lined up? I'm wondering if that has something to do with the skipping stitches. Thanks again!

[Wizcrafts]

Unless the presser feet are way out of time with the feed dog, they won't cause skipped stitches. But, a little mis-synchronization can cause gathering of the material. However, you stated that the machine sews cloth just fine. So, the feed timing must be pretty close to optimum.

In this answer, the feed dog is what you call "the bottom teeth." Your type of machine also has top teeth, under the presser feet. What you don't have is compound feed, where the needle and inside foot move in sync with the feed dog. Your material is fed by a combination of top and bottom feed, via the dog and outer presser foot. If the tension is too light on the foot, it may slip before the feed dog has pulled the work all the way back. If the top and bottom feed are not synchronized, the material may gather. Further, if the timing of the feed dog causes it to drop before the outer foot stops moving backwards, the stitches can actually back up a bit and become shorter than they should.

The loop that is formed in the eye of the needle is dependent on a couple of factors. One is the timing between the needle's eye, as it begins its ascent from the bottom of its stroke, and the point of the hook as it passes by the gap in the eye. If the hook arrives too late, the loop dissolves and no stitch happens. If the hook passes by too soon, no loop has formed yet. Or, the hook may pass the needle at the right moment, but the needle may have moved up or down due to pounding or loose needle bar screws. If this happens the loop may form and dissolve above or under the point of the hook and not get picked up properly.

Another factor that affects the loop is the amount of motion and spring pressure on the "check spring." This is the movable spring that is either around or under your primary tension disks. Your top thread goes around the tension disks, then around and out of the check spring, up or down to a guide arm, then up to the take-up lever. If you fail to pass the thread around that spring, or feed it down through a guide arm, if one is present, the spring action will be off and missed stitches may occur.

Finally, some thread is very springy and may twist out of thread guides, tensioners, springs, etc and may even twist over in the eye of the needle. If you unscrew the throat cover plate you can watch what the thread is doing as the needle ascends and the hook meets the cutout above the eye. Watch the loop. It will tell you if something is wrong. You'll just need to find out what that something is.

[Anne Bonnys Locker]

Make sure that the screws holding the presser feet in place are tight.

As the outer presser foot assembly is only pressed metal they can bend out of shape and then be out of alignment with the feed dogs.

If the machine is new then take it back to the dealer and ask for it to be repaired WHILE YOU ARE THERE! Do not be fobbed off.

[Heist]

Make sure that the screws holding the presser feet in place are tight.

As the outer presser foot assembly is only pressed metal they can bend out of shape and then be out of alignment with the feed dogs.

If the machine is new then take it back to the dealer and ask for it to be repaired WHILE YOU ARE THERE! Do not be fobbed off.

Thanks! I think you absolutely just nailed it. Just about an hour ago I took the machine apart after trying every single tension, different thread types, etc. etc. There's no reason for it to be skipping this many stitches and being this finicky. There is something hitting or rubbing against something else and it affects the "top" of the rotation if that makes any sense. I'm bringing it into a local technician tomorrow to see if this can be altered or if the machine is just defective. Unforunately the dealer is in California and I'm in Miami, FL...they said they will accomodate my return but since I waited 2 months for this machine, I'm hoping it's just a matter of some fine tuning!

[Anne Bonnys Locker]

As a dealer I imported a couple of this type of machine to experiment with and only sold them after significant modification. Leather sewing is not something I would even consider using them for and to be honest I see very few applications for them.

[Anne Bonnys Locker]

I do not know what consumer laws are like in the USA but here in Australia it comes down to "goods must be fit and proper for the purpose for which they are sold".

Myself, I would have suggested a Pfaff 30.

Thanks! I think you absolutely just nailed it. Just about an hour ago I took the machine apart after trying every single tension, different thread types, etc. etc. There's no reason for it to be skipping this many stitches and being this finicky. There is something hitting or rubbing against something else and it affects the "top" of the rotation if that makes any sense. I'm bringing it into a local technician tomorrow to see if this can be altered or if the machine is just defective. Unforunately the dealer is in California and I'm in Miami, FL...they said they will accomodate my return but since I waited 2 months for this machine, I'm hoping it's just a matter of some fine tuning!