SheltathaLore

It worked perfectly - I'm all set! Thank you guys! Look at this beautiful stitch :D

No - I'm about to start my first project. At least it sounds like the problem isn't just me being dumb?

Unfortunately, I can't get it to turn in either direction.

I've been emailing Gregg - it sounds like it's probably operator error, because it *ought* to be turning just fine. I just can't get a good grip on it. Pictures:

I am super excited to sew my first project on the beautiful reconditioned 227 I got from Gregg at Keystone, but for the life of me, I can't get the stitch length regulator knob on the handwheel to turn. It's from Gregg, so I'm confident it works and isn't rusted on or anything, I just can't get a good enough grip for my wussy hands to make it turn. I found the manual, and this doesn't seem to be one of the ones where you need to push a button and turn the handwheel to unlock the screw. Any advice?

It occurs to me that I might actually want 1/4" tape, for a finished width of 3/8", since the folded edges will add some width. 1/4" is probably easier to find, too.

Perfect. Thank you so much for all the help! I'll start experimenting this week.

All right, I'll give that a shot. It sounds more or like making plain bias tape, but with glue. Any google keywords you can recommend for finding a folder? Where in the strap should the elastic go? I definitely thought about putting elastic there, but if the buckle tongue goes straight through the leather, it seems like that would prevent stretching entirely. Is this is the kind of reinforcement tape you're talking about: http://sorrellnotionsandfindings.com/product/topline-tape/ http://sorrellnotionsandfindings.com/product/backseam-tape/

I should add that these need to be narrow enough to go through a 3/8" buckle, so I may need to sacrifice some durability.

The lining is about 2oz. Can you describe what you mean by "folded straps"? I'm picturing both sides of a strip folded in toward the middle, but I have no idea if that's what you mean. To be honest, these shoes aren't likely to see heavy wear, but I'd like to figure out the best way to do it anyway.

Whoops, actually, I meant Tyvek. It'll still serve the same role, though

Yeah, I had some ideas for how to do it, but I wasn't sure if it was the right way. Thanks for confirming! Everything's better with kevlar :D

I'm working on some women's dress shoes (I'm pretty much making things up as I go along. Fun times), and I'm not entirely sure of the best way to execute the straps. The uppers will be made of 2.5 oz kidskin, with a pig suede lining; I assume that to make the straps themselves, I want to layer those together, stitch just inside where the edges should be, then trim the leather to be closer to the stitching. Do I need to reinforce the point where they connect to the uppers with another layer of material? If so, what should I use? (It occurs to me that kevlar for kites might be a reasonable choice for unobtrusive and lightweight reinforcement). Any tips?

Style lines and stitch marks drawn Cut up, pattern in progress Pile O'Things Pattern complete! Next up, wet-forming the midsoles to the shape of the wooden base soles, and sewing together a mockup.

IT MADE THE GOAL! (Just barely. I'm glad I increased my pledge at the end.) Thank you to everyone who backed it!!

gottaknow outlined the typical uses of this type of stitch in an earlier reply.

Ah, good point. I never touch my imgur uploads once they're uploaded, but it could potentially be a problem. Going through my folders and copying-resizing everything before adding attachments is such a pain, though :-/ I'll keep you posted!

I took a class on non-lasted shoemaking from Jason Hovatter at Laughing Crowe, and it gave me enough basics that I think I'm ready to try making something more challenging! I'm working on a costume for a convention next spring, and I want to make these shoes (the refs are inconsistent - they're different between the anime and the game, but this is pretty nice, because I can mash them up and pick the design elements that are most feasible or most aesthetically pleasing). This is what I'm going for: Conveniently, I found some heeled sandals with a wooden base that will save me a lot of trouble with messing around with shanks, so I decided to go with those; it's also pretty simple to paint them (in the following pics they're primed, ready to spray with acrylic). The way I learned pattern making was to start with a sole pattern and then wrap the foot in several layers duct tape; from there you can draw on style lines and cut it apart to make your pattern. In this case, it was pretty critical to do the casting while standing on the curved sole so that everything would fit together. I just traced off the sole, cut it out of cardboard, covered it in duct tape, and stuck it to the sole with double stick tape, and did the casting from there. Next up, pattern drafting and prototyping! There are a couple open questions that I'll need to figure out: How to attach the upper to the sole - it's not like I can really stitch it to the wood, unless I want to drill a whole lot of holes (and detach the heel). Some combination of glue and nails will probably do the job. The shoes I've made before have had a heavy horse butt midsole, but I think for this, I'll go with a lighter weight (but still reasonably structural) midsole and try stitching it on the INSIDE of the upper, rather than the outside, and then stick the whole thing down. Somehow. The toe is going to be tricky; I might have to put the nails in at a slant with a setting tool or something. This is why I'm prototyping in some cheap upholstery leather, though! I welcome suggestions, if anyone has some. The boots I made were of much heavier leather. Even with a lining, I'm wondering if the kidskin I plan to use will be too floppy. I can always try putting in an interlining of some description, although that might interfere with the squishability (technical term) of the leather when I need to shape it around the toe, and even with an extra layer of applique, I will almost certainly need to stiffen the counter in some manner. We'll see how it goes. Definitely want to wet-form the midsoles to fit the soles; I haven't done that before, but I don't think it'll be too problematic. Expect updates as I keep experimenting! Incidentally, posting pictures to imgur and then inserting a link and letting the forum load the image is a convenient way to get around the attachment size limits. Made this post a lot easier to make!

I just got my Consew 227 yesterday, and I'm so happy with it! They've been great to work with, and set it up exactly the way I wanted. Through no fault of theirs, there was an extended snafu with the freight company (if you have the choice, don't use Roadrunner. Ever.), but once I brought it to their attention, it was resolved within a day. They're fantastic and I highly recommend them :D Also, as a personal preference, I am super happy that I can communicate with them over email instead of playing phone tag across three time zones. Just wanted to share my good experience!

My condolences on your maker space Best of luck finding these a good home!

This gives me the impression that you don't change the needle often, which might part of the problem - needles are disposable parts, and when I'm running into problems, re-threading and installing a fresh needle usually clears up a lot of issues.

Nah, now the customer has a portable pocket wherever they go!

The edge guide feet aren't strictly necessary; I thought they might just be a nice thing to have - I can get by without them, if narrow edge guide feet aren't a thing. Thanks for the tips!

Nah, I've been on the phone with them a lot - if you want to bother them too, you're welcome to, but I don't know how much it will help. (Although perhaps it will, since you're the one who's paying them...) Not your fault in any way, though. It sounds like there was a lot of miscommunication between various customer service representatives and the Seattle terminal. Le sigh. Here are the walking foot catalog pages they sent me: http://www.kwokhing.com/2003foot/26e.html http://www.kwokhing.com/2003foot/30e.html

I am super psyched about the Consew 227 that will be arriving Real Soon Now from Gregg at Keystone (Gregg is amazing. Sadly, the freight company is not.), and I'm planning out some projects already :D (I am going to make so many shoes. Just imagine, dress shoes that don't make me want to cut my feet off!) One of the things I have in mind is a pair of shoes that involves some straps; I assume I'd want to stitch close to the edge all the way around, and an edge guide foot/topstitch foot/compensating foot of perhaps 1/16" would be ideal. I've been searching around a bit and only saw 1/8" and up. I checked Kwok Hing, and they do have 1/16" feet, but it's not clear if they're compatible with my machine (I emailed them, and they're not entirely sure either). Can anyone point me in the right direction?