Patcher machine, straight line sewing

[Silverd]

3 hours ago, Matt S said:

Ah an improvised transverse feed machine. @Silverd could you show us a picture of the seam you want to sew? Maybe we could come up with a better way of construction between us. Using a patcher in this manner would work but wouldn't be great. @wiz described a way to use a regular cylinder bed machine as a transverse feed, which works, if a little slow.

Sure

[Silverd]

End seams:

The left and right tan and black bag body pcs are french seamed sewn at each end with bitter ends to the out side.  Then top and bottom are sewn together on a cylinder arm. Works great.  The black vertical strips on each end cover the french seam bitter ends (not sure the correct term) and were sewn on a cylinder arm but required contortion folding the bag to the point that I broke needles and left presser foot marks in the material.  The sew line starts at the bottom and runs up one side of the cover strip makes a full radius 180 degree u-turn then heads back down on the other side of the cover strip.  I'l try to add another photo showing this, but that's basically the issue.  

 

[Matt S]

Yeah I can see why you're having trouble with that. Beautiful bags but those end seams look tricky. Pretty, but tricky.

A transverse feed machine would be ideal but they are rare. Looks like you could turn the bag inside out, not fully but just enough so you could do those end seams with a post bed machine.

As I alluded earlier, @wiz has described a way of using a normal cylinder bed as a transverse feed (feed on/off the arm) but it's a bit slow and awkward. Essentially you prick the bag as if you were hand sewing. Then set the machine stitch at zero. Put the needle into the first stitch mark and make a single stitch. Turn the wheel to top dead centre (when the take up arm is at its zenith). Lift the foot and, without drawing any more thread than strictly necessary, position the needle Into the next stitch hole. Drop the foot, make a single stitch, and repeat. It goes a little faster if you have a needle synchronizer and a pedal/knee lifter on that machine. Gets the job done without a new machine and avoids some of the issues with patchers.

[Silverd]

I get it!  That is a really clever solution....aside from being a bit time consuming it addresses the challenge in an unorthodox but practical manner.  I will certainly give this approach a try.

Many thanks!

 

Don

[Wizcrafts]

If you actually need a transverse feed, order one. CowboySew/Hightex makes a transverse feed machine, as do several other major brands. Here it is in action.

 

[Wizcrafts]

Puritan Industries, a US builder, makes a transverse feed model with a 36" arm, called The Alligator. Like all Puritan machines, it has no bobbin and sews a chainstitch, meaning you'd need to sew across, or glue down the starting and finishing inside chains to lock them in. One advantage of this type of machine is that it easily handles waxed linen thread of just about any size (with the proper needle and awl combo).