Machine stitching tips for newbies

[UKRay]

One of the things we hear regularly on the forum are requests from newbies for help to get their stitching machines working nicely. Too often they are referred to Barra, Art, Steve or Ryan and the solution is never made public. A week or so later the same problem happens to someone else and so it goes on.

Now I'd be the last person to suggest that a single post could encompass a lifetime's learning but the basic stuff about basic adjustments, cleaning, oiling, setting tensions and choosing needles and thread could save hours of angst for someone and could save a lot of repetition for our team of experts. We need to know things that the average person can do to their own machine to make it easier/nicer to work with.

Can I please ask all our sewing machine vendors and top machinists for their top tips for making a leather sewing machine work properly? A few notes on the essential stuff like thread sizes, needle sizes and why you might want to change them and how to do it would also be very helpful. What about servicing: how often and why?

Over to you guys!

Ray

[Bree]

I'll start.

Pay attention to the simplest things first. Sewing machines love oil. Make sure that your machine has oil. It is very easy to forget to oil her. Also make sure it is the right kind of oil. Don't pour motor oil into your expensive sewing machine! I use Lily White or Juki Defrix #2 in all of my machines.

Another simple thing is needle placement in the needle bar. Your needle wants to be inserted all the way up and facing in the right direction. This is essential for the hook to pick up the thread. If you don't get your needle in right, the result is missed stitches. Take your time and get it right... the right size needle inserted in the right way.

Another simple thing really isn't the sewing machine at all but is essential for good sewing... proper light. Make sure you can see what you sew. Get some good light on that needle. I like to flood the area with light from all directions. My favorite light is the Verilux Shop Light with full spectrum lamp. It has tons of beautiful white light. I supplement it with spot lights from several directions.

That should be enough of the simple things to get your thread started.

Edited June 23, 2009 by Bree

[UKRay]

A few tips you might find useful:

Invest in a pair of thread snips rather than a pair of scissors. Snips are very inexpensive and very sharp indeed. Best of all they aren't much use for anything else other than cutting the ends of threads so they don't get moved away from the sewing machine.

Buy your oil in bulk (I get mine in a gallon can) this is much cheaper than the small tins. Spend a few dollars on a small trigger operated oil can and fill it from the bulk. You will save a lot of money this way during the time you own your sewing machine.

Find a small stiff synthetic haired brush to clean the thread ends from around the 'business end' of your machine. Keep the machine clean and it won't get jammed and cost more money to get sorted out.

Get into the habit of checking that your spools are always running clean. Any thread snags can screw up an important job.

Find a seat that can be adjusted to the right height. It is very easy to strain your back working a sewing machine from a poor seating position.

Find a quart sized plastic detergent type container with a wide mouth and write 'SHARPS' on the side with a black pen. Use it to keep broken machine needles and utility knife blades for disposal to save accidents with your trash bags. I've had my container for about three years and I reckon it will be at least twenty years befoe it needs emptying!

Hope these help. Anyone else got any?

Ray

[Bree]

Canned air... the sewing machine's best friend

[Handstitched]

I do like to always keep my machine covered up when not in use. Where I live Western Australia, we get strong easterly winds during hot dry summers and dust can often be a real bugger . It doesn't take long for dust to get into my workshop, so I'm forever keeping it clean .

No doubt everyone has their own routines with their machines when the all the work is done, mine is very simple , 'clean and cover' every time, including covering the spools of thread

[Hilly]

I do like to always keep my machine covered up when not in use. Where I live Western Australia, we get strong easterly winds during hot dry summers and dust can often be a real bugger . It doesn't take long for dust to get into my workshop, so I'm forever keeping it clean .

No doubt everyone has their own routines with their machines when the all the work is done, mine is very simple , 'clean and cover' every time, including covering the spools of thread

I leave the thread spools right inside the plastic they come in. Put a small hole in the top for the thread to come out of and just plunk it right on the thread stand. No extra work to cover the thread!

[neelsaddlery]

A few tips for people:

1. Keep your machines oiled. Oil is very cheap insurance and can save you from hundred of dollars in repair bills. If you have an oil pumper machine, then change the oil at least once a year, and do not use motor oil. Use a clear oil specially made for sewing machines. The oil should be light in weight. Heavier oil makes the pump on an auto-lubed machine work too hard.

2. If you have a heavy duty stitcher, (like a cowboy Model 4500 or 3500), then I would use a heavier oil on the external parts of the machine and also inside the covers. I like the heavier oil because it sticks to parts better and does not run off like a lighter oil. And, since these machines do not have auto-lube, and a lot of people forget to oil their stitchers anyhow, a heavier oil can prvide some measure of protection long after a lightweight oil runs off. But for the business end of the machine (like needle bars, hook, shuttle race, presser foot bars, etc) stitck with the clear oil. Most of the clear oil is non staining. If you get any on the leather, then you might have a chance of getting it off.

3. Pay close attention to how you thread the machine, and if the machine should misbehave, the thread path is one of the first things you should check!!!! I cannot tell you how many times I have seen thread fall out of an eye, or fall out of the tension discs, and then people panic and look past the obvious. Cover all of the basics first before looking deeper into a problem.

4. If the machine should ever lock up or get a thread clog in the hook area -- DO NOT FORCE THE HANDWHEEL OVER TO CLEAR THE CLOG!!!!!! I cannot tell you how many times people have did this, and then invariably knock their machines out of time. Cut out the clog, take out the hook, clean it, and then re-assemble it. Re-timing a machine is a lot more hassle than cleaning out a clog.

5. Use the right size needle with the right size thread.

6. When sewing heavy leather -- KEEP THE SPEED SLOW!!!!!!

7. For heavy leather, I like to use bonded nylon thread. The nylon I have used over the years is much less likely to fray than any type of polyester I have seen. Poly can be used for a lot of different things as well, but when you are plowing through the tough stuff, I like nylon because at least in my experience, it does not fray as bad as the poly I have used. For needle and awl machines, this is not the case, but for heavy duty straight needle stitchers, I like nylon better.

I know some of these points have been covered above, but I also tried to touch on a few new topics. Hope this is of some help to folks.

Edited August 17, 2009 by neelsaddlery

[barra]

On top of what has been mentioned.

In our workshop we service our machines once a week, usually this is a Friday last thing type job. For many years we would use the compressed airline and give the machine a good blow out under the bed. I am now of the opinion that this is not such a good practice as I believe all you are doing is blowing crap and corruption deeper into little nooks and cranny's. I now teach to use a stiff bristled paint brush or fitch brush to get in there.

Foot control is the essence and to a certain extent is an individual thing. Try all these and find what YOU as the individual is comfortable with. Most of this is applicable to clutch machines as that is all we use.

1. Both feet on the pedal. One foot on the forward edge and one on the trailing edge. The forward foot gives you the go juice and the heel of the trailing foot can hit the brake in an instant.

2. Left or right foot only. Same principal applies to go and break.

In trying to find that sweet spot where the machine will run nice and slow while you learn and get comfortable with speed. Slowly push down on the pedal until you here the motor hiss. Pushing down a hairs breath after this point and it is gonna go. When you find this spot, give the balance wheel a little flick and off you should go at a slow speed. For those who are struggling I allow them to jam a tennis ball under the pedal so that they can not depress further. I want this tennis ball gone ASAP tho.

Make sewing cards on the computer with dotted straight lines and curvy lines. You can then makes some with gradually tighter radius's. Then make one with an ever decreasing circle (pin wheel). Laminate these cards in and office type laminator or print on heavy ish card. Now practice following these line with no thread over and over and over. Then do the same with thread. With thread the heavy card or laminated sheet is importand to give it some bulk or you will perforate the card like a postage stamp.

Seam allowance and lineage.

I use the edge of the foot of my machine as a guide and aim to maintain the same distance from the edge. Don't get focused on the needle it is fixed into the machine and will track true.

If you are following a marked out line (or a stitch groove) then drop the needle into the work and again do not focus on the needle as such. Instead focus on the job just ahead of the needle. An analogy can be applied to driving a car. When you drive you do not stare at the road just ahead of the bonnet/hood. Instead you are scanning the road ahead.

Always complete a full stitch and especially when turning. To do this you make sure the needle has completely bottomed out and is in it's upward movement. To make completely sure I have the tip of the needle just still in the job and then and only then do I go for the foot/knee lifter.

If not mentioned

Correct needle system for your machine as well as correct insertion into your machine and then correct thread size in relation to needle size

Search on the net for a trouble shooting guide. This will give you the cause and remedy for most hassles, skip stitches, thread breaking tension problems etc. Most sites are for domestic machine sewing but the principal is the same.

http://sewandserge.com/tshoot.asp

PERFECT practice makes perfect.

Don't waste good and expensive leather on practice. Get scrap lino, canvas, vinyl or make use of your worn out heavy denim jeans and practice away to your hearts content before wasting leather. I save scrap leather for a final test peice. Make sure your test piece is the same weight as your job to ensure the machine is stitching smooth and the tensions are correct.

http://home.howstuffworks.com/sewing-machine1.htm

On the second animation, see where the green thread and red thread "lock" (in the centre of the job)

Barra

[UKRay]

A few more for you:

• Invest in a bottle of silicon oil to put on the felt thread greasing pad that you will find on most flatbed machines. It really makes a difference to the thickness you can stitch and has made my machine a lot more versatile.
  
• I invested in a bunch of spare bobbins which I keep filled with the various colors of thread I use most. I find two of each color is most useful and can save me a lot of time in the middle of a job.
  
• I always use the same thickness thread on my flatbed machine and buy spools two at a time. I keep the four most popular colours: brown, black, natural and yellow on a stand in pairs.
  

Ray

[HarryB]

Just a couple of more tips. I have sewn on different brands and models of machines for many years and have found that, if the machine was working fine one minute and not the next, 99 times out of 100 it is operator error! I have sewn along fine, changed thread or bobbin and everything went to heck in a hankie (it is Christmas time after all!) worked for several minutes on the machine, walked away and came back to look at it again. In my haste I have almost always missed a step in rethreading the upper thread or put the bobbin in up side down or something else very simple. After sewing on a machine for a while you will be able to tell after a very few stitches if something doesn't look, sound or feel right. Take your time and don't get frustrated.

[Hilly]

Here's a little trick I learned when doing upholstery... I can't count how many times I was zipping along a seam, when I notice that all I'm doing is poking holes, poking holes, poking holes, and not sewing anything cuz the bobbin ran out! That always seemed to be while working with the most expensive fabric, too!

I started putting a mostly full bobbin on the thread stand, instead of a big #1 spool of thread, and a totally full bobbin underneath. That way you can see when you're getting low before it's too late. You may spend more time winding bobbins, but it sure beats ruining your day.

[barra]

Now that is a darn fine idea Hilly.

Barra

[albane]

Hi and thank you for allowing me to participate in this forum.

This may be slightly off topic. If the moderator removes or deletes it I understand.

As a professional leather smith, I have developed many tricks that my fashion school education didn't teach me. While the other posts are mentioning sewing machine maintenance I find that the most obvious problem for a beginner would be insuring that the two layers being sewn stay uniform with their lengths relating to the stitched seam. A typical flat bed sewing machine will inevitably drag the bottom ply causing it to stretch and inversely tug the upper ply causing it to gather, resulting in a misalignment in the joint, (i.e. the top gets shorter and the bottom gets longer). The solutions seem simple yet misinterpreted by the beginner. In traditional sewing a seamstress will pin the work pieces together to ensure alignment. While simple, not a very good practice when sewing leather. I have found evidence of 1/4 " ribbon being glued in to the seams typically in Chinese import pants. This practice seems like an expensive solution to a simple production problem, impractical in an American work environment. So I took the same basic idea and simplified it to the point of almost being ridiculous. I take a piece of plain old masking tape, cutting it into 1/4" strips and sticking it along the seam allowance. The tape itself is not stretchy by nature negating the stretchiness to light/soft leathers. The key is to remove the tape and eliminate any evidence of its presence. The unfortunate byproduct of taping is that it tends to leave some residue behind. Dealing with that residue, again, is another problem that needs to be solved. Some solutions could be to ignore the residue and let it disappear within the lining of a garment, or neutralizing the adhesive with something like talcum powder. Depending on the job, you may not want to introduce talcum powder. Used sparingly, it can do a good job but an unanticipated spill could potentially ruin your day. Another solution would be a chemical solvent like barge cement thinner or spot remover/dry cleaning fluid. Both of these options used in moderation will yield satisfactory results, but an error could be a catastrophe. Please note that this is only one of many solutions. Safety first should be a primary concern. When cutting masking tape into 1/4" strips I use a rotary knife and a straight edge. When applying solvents less is more. Small quantities of exposure will risk less damage to your work piece and your health. I hope you find this helpful.

[UKRay]

Hi and thank you for allowing me to participate in this forum.

This may be slightly off topic. If the moderator removes or deletes it I understand.

We are grateful for your suggestions, Al. Nothing that improves the quality of a job is off topic!

Ray