Singer 15 Class (15-88) DO's/DONT's

[cwyhs]

Hi everybody,

I recently purchased a refurbished Singer 15-88 that I look forward to playing with, but have zero experience with this type of machine. I plan to use it for the projects which I am into such as wallets, purses and men's should bags and from what I have read I believe it should work ok. With that said, would you mind sharing any helpful information you may have with this machine or personal experiences that you think can help me out? I have done my research online on a few different sites but would love to hear personally from my fellow leather crafters. What size thread and type of needles do you prefer to use, what NOT to do etc.

As always, I value all of your input!

[Wizcrafts]

The Singer 15 class machines are domestic use, cloth garment sewing machines with bottom feed only. They have light weight take-up and tension parts and are not up to snuff for sewing leather of much thickness over a few ounces of garment or thin chap leather. Leather that is sticky on top doesn't feed very well on this type of machine. You are best to dedicate that machine to sewing cloth and look for a used industrial walking foot machine for sewing leather, vinyl and webbing. A good starter machine would be a Singer 111w155, or a Juki LU-562, or a Consew 206RB-1 through -5. The criteria to watch for is triple feed, where the needle, inside foot and feed dog move in concert as the outside foot alternates up and down.

[cwyhs]

Thanks for the insight Wiz. I certainly would like to get a true walking foot machine, hopefully sooner than later. I am hoping that this Singer can serve as a decent hold over on my smaller projects in the meantime. With that said, what needles should I stay away from with using this machine for the light leather I will be using? Also, I believe I heard you mention it will not like any thread over #69?

Thank you again

[Wizcrafts]

13 minutes ago, cwyhs said:

Thanks for the insight Wiz. I certainly would like to get a true walking foot machine, hopefully sooner than later. I am hoping that this Singer can serve as a decent hold over on my smaller projects in the meantime. With that said, what needles should I stay away from with using this machine for the light leather I will be using? Also, I believe I heard you mention it will not like any thread over #69?

Thank you again

As a stopgap measure, buy either a Teflon or roller equipped presser foot (for domestic sewing machines) that lets leather glide under it rather than be dragged. To sew with #69 bonded thread you need either #16 or #18 needles. If you are sewing cloth or webbing, or vinyl, use standard round point needles. When you sew leather change to leather points.

The roller foot may require an adapter to mate it to your domestic machine presser bar. This, combined with the thick foot, will reduce the clearance under the foot to about 1/8 inch. Teflon presser feet are simpler to use, but are easily damaged if they land on top of the feed dog teeth. It's best to buy a bunch of them at one time so you can swap them out as you forget about avoiding the teeth (ask how I know).

You may also be able to improve the feeding of leather by spraying the top of the seams with silicon as you sew.

Keep the bobbin winder knob as tight as possible on the flywheel. The impact of sewing leather tends to cause it to loosen and may allow the wheel to spin and not drive the machine.

Finally, try to buy titanium needles for sewing leather, or any other textile that is secured by basting tape.

[Wizcrafts]

Followup info.

Your domestic sewing machine uses "low shank" (short) feet. Industrial straight stitch machines use high shank (tall) feet. Never shall the twain meet.