I had a lady contact me about a few machines she wanted to sell.
I wasn’t interested in all of them, but 2 piqued my interest, the Singer 185J, because I knew someone who wanted it, and the Pfaff 362, because I thought it would be interesting to play with. Continue reading “Machine works and is in good condition”… really?
Tag Archives: tips
Ouch! Watch those hinges!
On Monday I was packing up my things to go to our Sewing Circle. I was in a hurry, and when I grabbed the case of the featherweight I found last month, I managed to rip a 1.5″ long gash in my left hand.
Now, I’m naturally clumsy, but this only happened because Continue reading Ouch! Watch those hinges!
Common Thread – Evaluating the real cost of thread
Expensive really is in the eye of the beholder. Take thread for instance. I often read things like:
I love x brand, but it’s so expensive!
or
Brand y is pricy, but I think my quilts are worth it.
So I thought I’d do a little price shoot out with thread. Continue reading Common Thread – Evaluating the real cost of thread
I learned a lot today. Tension, needles, thread
I love learning! One of the things I’ve realised about quilting and sewing in general is that you can never learn all of it. I spent a day a couple of weeks ago just watching videos from the Superior thread company (all of the videos posted on youtube)
I learned so many things that will do nothing but improve the quality of my sewing and quilting. I really want to get my hands on some of that Superior thread too! I would love to feel and see the differences for myself, but my supplier doesn’t carry it (yet) so I’ll have to spend some time looking for some to sample.
Some of this stuff I knew and have even discussed on this blog, but even that stuff I think it always worth watching, even if only to see it explained from another point of view. Continue reading I learned a lot today. Tension, needles, thread
Mack the Knife – testing your serger knives
I read this in an “old” Serger book this week again. I read it probably about a year or so ago, and needed the information today. I thought it was a good enough tip to warrant publishing here to help everyone out.
From ABCs of Serging by Tammy Young and Lori Bottom:
A comment in the book, made by Sue Green-Baker Continue reading Mack the Knife – testing your serger knives
Because a change would do you good – Substitution parts
The longer I work on vintage machines, the more I find parts that I need that are no longer available. Sometimes I can get lucky and find something that works. Sometimes we have to “make” them. I thought that this blog is a great place to keep track of successful and even unsuccessful substitutions.
Successful substitutions will help people keep the machines running. Unsuccessful substitutions will at least save you guys some money, by not trying the same thing I did. 😀 Continue reading Because a change would do you good – Substitution parts
Sit yourself down!!! Slant-O-Matics: Bobbin Case placement
Sometimes you find yourself taking the bobbin case of a Slant-o-Matic out, maybe to remove an errant thread, clean the lint out or whatever. Strangely, putting it back in isn’t as easy as taking it out. Or maybe you thought it was good, but the machine’s locked up, or it just doesn’t look / feel right. Continue reading Sit yourself down!!! Slant-O-Matics: Bobbin Case placement
Followup to the Universal adjustable sewing desk
I had a couple of questions asked in PMs the other day on the Quilting board about the Universal Desk I built a couple of weeks ago, and am posting them here with permission.
when you have your machine in it… does your machine ‘vibrate’ backwards? I see you have a gap at the back/right side of it and am wondering if you have something you insert in there or if you just leave that spot open. (to the right of your wheel)
Spring has sprung
Well, not really. Not here in Central Alberta anyway. We got about 10-12″ of the white sh…. stuff over the last weekend.
Ever had your bobbin case just fall out while you were sewing? You’re just sewing along, and the darn thing just gets up and leaves? Or maybe you’ve found it not snapped in when you’re positive that you installed it right.
No,.. chances are that you don’t need a new bobbin case. Continue reading Spring has sprung
Tear it down – bobbin case maintenance
What do you do when you’re sewing along and your machine’s tension goes crazy for no reason?
There are the obvious things to do: re-thread the machine, in case the thread “popped” out of one of the guides, or came unseated from the upper tensioner, clean out all of the fluff and lint from the machine, especially in the thread path ( don’t forget the bobbin case area) … sometimes you might even get desperate and clean out the upper tensioner.
If you don’t know how to do that, it’s really straight forward, and can save you a trip to the sewing machine repair shop.
But what do you do if you’ve done all of that and the tension’s still goofy? Especially if your top tension seems way too tight. Say you have it turned the upper tensioner all the way loose, and your thread is still laying on the top of your fabric… Continue reading Tear it down – bobbin case maintenance