How To Shorten Stitches ?

[McJeep]

Newbie alert!

So when sewing on a machine, how do I get the stitching to match up to my grooving when I come to the end of a straight run and need to make the corner or something like that - ie: at the end of a collar and i want to cross the collar or belt to go back on the other edge?

Is it as simple as raising the foot and manually positioning so the needle will come down where I want it to? Or will that leave a loose stitch or some other dastardly mess?

Thanks in advance folks!

Rob

[McJeep]

44 views and no replies

Is it too basic a question to be bothered with? Have I not worded it to make it a clear question?

Maybe this'll help - Say I put a stitching groove down the edge and around the point of a belt - I then stitch all down the edge alllmost to the point but I know the next stitch will fall outside the groove - how to I shorten up the stitch when coming to the point so I can make the turn and keep "colouring inside the lines" so to speak ;0)

Brand new to the machine thing folks - hepp a nooby out ;0)

[Leather Guru]

44 views and no replies

Is it too basic a question to be bothered with? Have I not worded it to make it a clear question?

Maybe this'll help - Say I put a stitching groove down the edge and around the point of a belt - I then stitch all down the edge alllmost to the point but I know the next stitch will fall outside the groove - how to I shorten up the stitch when coming to the point so I can make the turn and keep "colouring inside the lines" so to speak ;0)

Brand new to the machine thing folks - hepp a nooby out ;0)

Good question ! Sew on a piece of scrap leather (after setting your machine to the desired stitch length) Take a compass and measure 4 stitches or less and make a point at the place you want to stop and a point 4 stitches farther and then again in your groove . When you arrive at the first point (8 stitches away from the end) you will see if you have to help your machine (holding back the work or pulling a little bit ) . By the time you arrive at the second point (4 stitches away from the end) you should be OK to arrive correctly at the end) . The smaller the stitch the easier. If your crossing a strap , adjust your stitch lenght to make it easy to cross with a certain # of points .

Claro ?

[McJeep]

wow - a lot of adjustment - I was reeeeally hoping I could just adjust on one stitch LOL

Thanks much! Time to go play I guess - practicing eats up a lot of hide - running out of scraps ;0)

edit: on a second read, not so much adjustment - I get it - never thought of counting back so many and adjusting with a simple tug during the feeding of the piece

Claro ;0)

Edited October 21, 2011 by McJeep

[stelmackr]

Is it as simple as raising the foot and manually positioning so the needle will come down where I want it to? Or will that leave a loose stitch or some other dastardly mess?

That's what I do.

Bob Stelmack

www.pslac.org

[McJeep]

Thanks - will try both tomorrow morning

[Rayban]

Talk about a timely post...I was just getting ready to post the same question regarding stitching around "Cape Horn"...I call it that because it can be damn treacherous getting around the tip of belts and making them look good......I pulled it off this morning on these two, but I'm not always so lucky. I was wondering what others do to make an adjustment when you know a stitch or two away that you're not gonna hit your spot.

[Rayban]

Is it as simple as raising the foot and manually positioning so the needle will come down where I want it to?

I was trying that today and it was working pretty good for me......thanks!!

Rg

[Trox]

You can place your stitching where you want to, but if you want your work to look good, listen to the Leather Guru. Or look at his stitch work, it looks Fabulous. It is work of art

Trox

[TwinOaks]

Instead of trying to force the machine to short a stitch, mark off the correct spacing from the tip of the belt to somewhere on the straight edge. At that point, you KNOW you'll hit the tip of the belt with a stitch hole. Now, measure back from that point to find your starting place. If the starting place is in a bad spot, manually short a few stitches by a small amount to get to your starting point. It's better to shorten a few stitches by a little bit than to shorten one stitch to make the distance.

Using Rayban's pic as an example, it's 6 stitches (7 holes) from the tip of the belt to the straight sections. Sewing at a common 6spi, you mark 7 holes from the tip to get to the straight side. Now, measure back along the belt - let's presume a 36 inch belt from end to end. That's 216 stitches per side (at 6spi). You simply measure back from the 7th hole to where you want the stitches to begin, and mark it. Do the same thing for the other end, but only measuring to the mark you just made (starting point). If they line up, that's good, but if they don't, you measure the gap between the two and divide by the number of stitches in which you want to 'hide' the shorted stitches. I usually try to hide a stitch length variance in 4 stitches, but no more than 6.