What Am I Doing Wrong Here? Backstitching

[frasermade]

Hello all

So I have finally got my Adler 167 running nice, I've had to replace the feed dog, I initially ground and polished both walking feet that came with the machine but then bought new ones as I didn't like the two prong outer foot and the inner for was wide. So got a single arm outer foot and a slimmer inner foot, again ground and polished those. I've added a servo motor with needle positioning and finally got the thread tensions sorted - I'm using metric 20 thread with 140 needles, the thread slips down the needle just fine and it sews beautifully.

My leather pieces still get marked and "chipped" as I sew, the leather corners get lifted and scrunched by the feet when I get to an edge, but that's probably technique more than anything.

BUT

What I can't for the life of me seem to do, is to get the start and ends of my stitching line to stay STITCHED!! They keep unravelling.

What I do is start 12mm in to the piece (stitch length is 3mm), and I then stitch 4 stitches (going forward, but the opposite direction to the way the main line of stitches should go...my reverse on the Adler isn't set up to be exactly 3mm, so I'm doing it the manual way for now so my stitches are in the exact same holes), then lift the foot, rotate the piece 180° and sew normally. When I get to the end I do the same in reverse. Once I remove the piece from the machine I cut it off from the machine thread, pull both sides of the stitch tight and then trim the threads quite close to the stitches / leather surface. I then take a lighter and try to melt the ends and prod them down in to the stitching line.

But my stitches STILL COME UP and start unravelling themselves. I do not know what to do. I don't really want to finish by hand as that's the whole point of buying my machine. I just want nice locked stitches that I know will remain locked for the life whatever I make. Not worry that someone will inadvertantly pick the lock stitches and voila, out they all come.

I use felt on the inside of some of my pieces and thus I cannot burn/melt one side out the 2.

Any help here would be amazing.

Thanks

G

[dirtclod]

On my machine when i am sewing all the way around i don't lock the first few stitches. When i get to the end i come around where i started and sew 3 or 4 stiches and they hold good. Oh i never burn the ends it leaves bumps where the thread was melted.

I don't know what size 20 metric thread is but your needle maybe to big for that size thread.

On my flat bed machine i ground the toes back on the inner foot and the outer foot because they were to long and it messed me up as far as judgeing on how close i was getting to the edge / end.

[Colt W Knight]

Drop of water thin super glue

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

I do burn the ends, but; while they are still hot I smooth out the bumps with the metal edge of the lighter.

Bob

[dikman]

I wouldn't have thought superglue would have much effect, as in my experience it doesn't usually like sticking to most plastics (polyester). Skin, on the other hand......

I've started burning the ends with a soldering iron, using a very fine tip. It melts it and pushes it into the hole at the same time.

[Colt W Knight]

I wouldn't have thought superglue would have much effect, as in my experience it doesn't usually like sticking to most plastics (polyester). Skin, on the other hand......

I've started burning the ends with a soldering iron, using a very fine tip. It melts it and pushes it into the hole at the same time.

Most plastics don't have enough surface are for the superglue to adhere to create a bond. There are super glues available that are for plastics that kind of melt the plastic like welding and work really well. Thread absorbs the glue like a wick and there is a ton of surface area for it. Fisherman even use it on braided fishing line that slip loose from knots.

I wonder if your needle is too large and that is what is allowing your thread to come loose. I wish I knew the metric equivalents. I have never had backstitches comes loose before.

Edited September 28, 2015 by Colt W Knight

[dikman]

Thanks Colt, I must admit I was thinking in terms of flat surfaces. What you say makes sense, although it will obviously depend on what type of superglue it is, as I've found some are definitely better than others!

Metric 20 is pretty close to 138 thread, so his needle size is pretty much what's recommended.

[Colt W Knight]

What kind of leather are you sewing, and how thick?

Do you have your top/bottom tension set so that the knot lays in the center of the sticking hole?

[frasermade]

What kind of leather are you sewing, and how thick?

Do you have your top/bottom tension set so that the knot lays in the center of the sticking hole?

Thanks Colt, I must admit I was thinking in terms of flat surfaces. What you say makes sense, although it will obviously depend on what type of superglue it is, as I've found some are definitely better than others!

Metric 20 is pretty close to 138 thread, so his needle size is pretty much what's recommended.

Thank you all.

I think I'll try a 130 needle and see if that tightens things up. I tried the sliding needle down thread thing and it was smoothly passing down the thread.

My thread tensions are such that on the underside I cannot see the top thread in each stitch hole (I'm using grey on top, copper on bottom...copper bottom.....) but I'm not really sure how to gauge how centered the threads are? Also if I can see the top thread on the underside, how do I go about rectifying this - do I increase top tension or reduce it?

And I'm using 1mm veg-tan (milled and smooth) with some 1 and 3mm felt. But I'm sewing without the felt too so 2-2.5mm veg-tan as well.

Wallets and stuff.

Thanks again

Gordon