Sewing Around An Octagon

[Mike516]

How would you go about sewing around multiple corner turns, like say an octagon for instance, and keep distance from the edge uniform?

Should I play with different stitch lengths going around the turns and count stitches, or is there another method? I been at this for days but can't seem to get consistent results. I'm fairly patient but I don't seem to be getting anywhere with this. I have figured out quite a bit in the last couple of months practicing but this solution eludes me.

[Northmount]

Hand or machine stitching?

Tom

[Mike516]

Sorry, I am using a sewing machine. I am trying to expand my practices, so I just got it a few months ago and I'm still learning to use it. I'm getting frustrated trying to get clean corners.

[JLSleather]

I take it you're referring to the projects you sometimes see -- with a little 'booger' stitch at the end cuz they dun run outta room. Looks like... well - it aint good

If you don't have clear visibility under the foot to place your stitches, try marking the training wheels! Don't take offense at the term.. I sometimes still do it here n there. Make a stitch line with a compass, groover, creaser, whatever. Then mark a few stitches back from your turn with an overstitch wheel. Better yet, use a compass or dividers. That way you can stitch a few stitches in a piece of scrap, and set your divider spacing to those stitches, and the spacing will match what your machine wants to do and the look you want.

[TinkerTailor]

Watch @ 2:45:

If you know how far you are going to be off before you get there, you can cheat the stitch length of the last 3 stitches to hide the change better.

Edited January 14, 2016 by TinkerTailor

[Mike516]

I take it you're referring to the projects you sometimes see -- with a little 'booger' stitch at the end cuz they dun run outta room. Looks like... well - it aint good

If you don't have clear visibility under the foot to place your stitches, try marking the training wheels! Don't take offense at the term.. I sometimes still do it here n there. Make a stitch line with a compass, groover, creaser, whatever. Then mark a few stitches back from your turn with an overstitch wheel. Better yet, use a compass or dividers. That way you can stitch a few stitches in a piece of scrap, and set your divider spacing to those stitches, and the spacing will match what your machine wants to do and the look you want.

This is a little confusing. By training wheels (no offense taken. I certainly AM in the infant stages of sewing) you mean make a scrap piece of leather to be used as a guide? I don't think I understand how this would work.

Watch @ 2:45:

If you know how far you are going to be off before you get there, you can cheat the stitch length of the last 3 stitches to hide the change better.

I'm finding out about new presser feet. I think if I could see where I am going to end up at the end of a line, I can use the method in this video. But I have a foot with a hole in it that blocks my view of the work.Thank you!

[Northmount]

You can grind out the front toe so you can see the needle as it approaches the leather. Get a couple extra feet and modify to suit your sewing preferences.

Tom

[TinkerTailor]

In the video he knows the tip of his foot is 1/8 inch past the needle, and the distance to the edge is 1/4 so he can infer that if the foot stops 1/8 inch from the edge at the corner,, and he turns, the needle will be 1/4 inch away.

As far as training whees, he is referring to using a hand stitching marking wheel or a set of dividers to lay out the last couple of stitches in the row before the machine gets there so you have marks to hit at the right spacing to make the corner.

[JLSleather]

That's exactly what I meant by "training wheels". You'd be able to see the marks easier than judge distance through a hole. And while that guy may be a real nice fella, I just can't see 15 minutes of video to tell me what I said in 4 sentences

Edited January 14, 2016 by JLSleather

[TinkerTailor]

That's exactly what I meant by "training wheels". You'd be able to see the marks easier than judge distance through a hole. And while that guy may be a real nice fella, I just can't see 15 minutes of video to tell me what I said in 4 sentences

The video is a different technique to do it without a marking wheel. The drill he does in the video helped my accuracy. The meat and potatoes is at the time i posted.

[Mike516]

You can grind out the front toe so you can see the needle as it approaches the leather. Get a couple extra feet and modify to suit your sewing preferences.

Tom

Another good idea. One of the feet I got with my machine, the guy at the store cut a piece off it to make it easier to use, but it has a small hole where the needle goes in that blocks my view. I'm working with him to see if they make one for my machine similar to the one in the video.

The video is a different technique to do it without a marking wheel. The drill he does in the video helped my accuracy. The meat and potatoes is at the time i posted.

Yea, I still don't fully understand the training wheels but I'm kind of visual and have a hard time with written instructions. If I see it or someone shows me how once, I can usually reproduce it with written instructions again 10 years from now. I like the method in the video, I think it's something I could do. I can see where the video would be maybe silly to an accomplished sewer, but for anyone just getting started, like myself, I highly recommend watching it through to the end. I definitely learned a few things and plan to look this guy up and watch the rest of his videos.

[TinkerTailor]

Perhaps training wheels was a bad analogy. and is causing confusion.

You use training wheels on a bike until you get good at running the pedals.

Stitch marking wheels are used by machine sewers, until you get good at running the pedals. You mark where the stitches are supposed to go before hand and then try to hit the dots. This can also be done with a pricking iron, or a set of dividers. The important part is the tool used matches the stitch length of the machine exactly. I just use a compass, and set it to 3 stitches long. I make a single mark 3 stitches before the corner so i can see how far off i am before i get there and correct a little at a time. If the needle hits the mark 3 stitches back, it will hit the corner correct. I also do this at the beginning and end of a line of stitch to get my backtacks right. Mark the third or fourth hole from the start, sink your needle there, reverse stitch to start of seam and then go forward.

1- measure the actual stitch length your machine is at now (or set the machine to exactly the spi of the marking wheel).

2- use a divider or a compass to scratch a light line, or make a groove, on the edge of the leather where the stitches are going to go. This will give you the offset from the edge,

3- grab a stitch marking wheel that is the same as the stitch length your machine makes or set your compass/divider to that stitch length.

4: From the corner backward, mark where the stitches are supposed to go to make a neat corner. Start at the corner hole and measure backward.

5: When stitching, adjust the stitch length a little every stitch to make it hit the marks, By the time you get to the corner, it should put the needle right in the right place. Just before the needle goes into the leather, you can lift the foot just a little and move the leather forward or back a smidge to get the needle into the mark.

-Its a different sewing technique, but watch Uwe position his stitches in his french seam video (it should start at 4 mins, if not skip to there)

https://youtu.be/hrCUWG6b5kk?t=4m

The problem with the technique in the Al Bane video, is he waits to the last stitch to correct, meaning he may be off by a half stitch right at the corner, which will be visible. If you mark the proper stitch spacing back from the corner 3-5 stitches, you can hide the half stitch a little at a time. This is the cleanest way.

Edited January 15, 2016 by TinkerTailor

[Mike516]

So you're marking the holes on the piece you are sewing or making like a template on a scrap piece you are then using as your training wheels?

[TinkerTailor]

On the piece you are sewing. That is the part you want to have the stitches nice on right?

Scratch a line/groove where your stitch goes on the piece. At every corner, mark the places on the stitch line the needle is supposed to go leading up to the corner before you start sewing so when you are sewing, you can see where the needle is supposed to hit. The thread will cover the scratch line. If you lift your foot like in Uwes video, you can see the needle tip and put it in the mark. Without lifting, with your closed toe foot it is really hard to see the mark. Only lift it a little so the machine doesn't release thread tension like it does when you remove the work.

Before you cut the front off your foot, one advantage of the closed hole is you can pull the work out of the machine in any direction when done. With an open toe foot, you have to pull it out towards the back or you may break a needle. After using an open toe for a while, I am going to get a closed toe for this reason. My bad shoulder does not like pushing the work out the back of the machine, I end up reaching just too far and then my shoulder yells at me for a day or two...

[Mike516]

Ok, I get it now. Thank you for taking the time to explain it for me.

I used my wife's domestic machine a little bit so pulling the work out towards the back of the machine isn't a big deal because that's the way I learned so I do it anyway. Being able to see where the needle is I think will be worth the trade off.

Still waiting to hear about a foot before altering anything. I only have the 2 feet the machine came with, and one the guy cut off the needle guard, so I'd rather not screw with them too much.

He said there are a lot of feet options for the machine I chose to buy so I figure there has to be one that will work. He's just gotta find the time to look at the video because apparently I have as much hard time explaining stuff as I have understanding explained stuff

[TinkerTailor]

Ok, I get it now. Thank you for taking the time to explain it for me.

No prob, Gotta do something while having morning coffee..My other option was watching whatever morning talk show my girlfriend was watching........tv is sucha waste