How to sew straight lines?

[MarlinDave]

I have a long magnet (maybe 16 inch) made to mount tools on a workbench. It is strong enough to not move if stuck to the machine bed as a guide. 

[MikeRock]

I can hear a few of the Amish guys who helped me sew,,,,,,   'Michael.......SLOW DOWN'...  That was on a Union Lockstitch that would go 200 miles an hour......  Chester threatened to turn the air motor valve almost off.... actually he did and slowed the machine until I learned to stitch slowly.  Helped immensely on the harness work they were letting me do.  SLOW DOWN.......  Keep your eye on the line about three stitches ahead.  HAVE A LINE was the other thing they harped on...an awl scratch, a stitch groove, something to follow.  

God bless

[Sheilajeanne]

I'm Canadian - we use both 'chalk and cheese' and 'apples and oranges'. No doubt there's more of a British influence here - the Queen is still on our currency! 

I also have never had a problem erasing the Tandy marker pen from veg-tan. 

Edited November 29, 2021 by Sheilajeanne

[toxo]

18 minutes ago, MikeRock said:

I can hear a few of the Amish guys who helped me sew,,,,,,   'Michael.......SLOW DOWN'...  That was on a Union Lockstitch that would go 200 miles an hour......  Chester threatened to turn the air motor valve almost off.... actually he did and slowed the machine until I learned to stitch slowly.  Helped immensely on the harness work they were letting me do.  SLOW DOWN.......  Keep your eye on the line about three stitches ahead.  HAVE A LINE was the other thing they harped on...an awl scratch, a stitch groove, something to follow.  

God bless

HaHa! You're preaching to the converted Mike. I'm always in a hurry to find out if the concept works. Even whilst writing this I'm thinking  (A) I'll have to make a bigger clicker die for the squares for the bigger seam allowance. (B) Maybe I'll de-construct this one and French seam it to save the patches. It'll mean smaller squares but it'll be worth having.  (C) How the hell can you French seam on both axis? Don't think you can. Will defo be looking at quilting vids.