The Sewing Room

sunshine01

Hi. I have been very inspired by all the wonderful things that have been made on this thread, and got my sewing machine out for the first time in years this morning.

I struggle with getting the tension right, which is why it ends up back in its box, and it can be very loopy underneath, half the seam may be fine, and the rest quite loopy

Does anyone have any suggestions, as it is exactly the same today. It is a Singer 1014.
many thanks

flea72

irishgirl62 wrote: »

size 16 was 6 inches smaller back then!!

is that a pattern size 16 or a shop size 16? i find when sewing from a pattern, i have to go up about 3 dress sizes compared to shop sizing, so vintage patterns are just a no-no for me, as theres too many areas that need letting out lol

F

Rikki

handsewn wrote: »

Hello everyone, just been catching up on the posts. Loving the new rag dolls and gorgeous bag featured a few pages back! I need to get my flickr account up and going.

Today, I got my first Cath Kidston book in the post! (The 'SEW!' book that comes with the free fabric to make up the shoulder bag on the front) Over the moon with it, the bag kit is fantastic and the pages are crammed full of every idea youve ever had for making gifts. I love the fact it comes with the fold-out, full-size patterns for everything too. Nothing seems too hard to make, definately cannot recommend it enough. It is quite funny, I never had myself down as a Kidston follower but recently it has crept up on me. I think the shop in York has had something to do with it.

Now, a question: Has anyone been craft shopping in Edinburgh? It has been a long time since I went and I'm visiting soon. Any ideas for general shabby chic/gift shops would be great too. Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

Before you make up the bag trace the fabric pieces so you can make more bags. It's a lot easier than grading up from the book.

flea72

sunshine01 wrote: »

I struggle with getting the tension right, which is why it ends up back in its box, and it can be very loopy underneath, half the seam may be fine, and the rest quite loopy

if the machine is loosing tension mid-sewing, then it could one of many things

it could be cheap thread, that isnt running smoothly. a bent or dull needle. the machine might just need a good clean. the bobbin isnt wound correctly, or is the wrong type for the machine. top tension is too high. bottom tension needs adjusting. a screw is loose somewhere and its throwing the tension out of whack

when things go wrong, my first port of call is always to rethread the machine. if that doesnt work, then i go for a full on clean and grease

F

flea72

tirlittan wrote: »

Hi all.
A stupid question. Just want to check what is meant by snagging as not native english speaker. Thanks. Just wondering because I tried my 'new' sewing machine yesterday and it was fine but it felt it didn't quite sew straight.

snagging can be two things

it sometimes refers to using a dull or the wrong type of needle, so you get pulls in the fabric, as the needle isnt pushing smoothly through the gaps in the weave

or its when your sewing gets sucked into the feed dogs on your machine and you end up with a birds nest of thread, that is a pita to remove

if you feel the fabric isnt being pulled through the machine evenly then it is usually due to the feed dogs being full of lint. but as this is a new machine that shouldnt be the case. all machines feel different, so it would just be a slight quirk of this one, but it shouldnt be that great an oversteer that you are fighting with the fabric

what machine do you have?

F

tirlittan

THanks flea. It's not a new machine, it's just new to me. It's an old Singer 533 that I bought very cheaply (£5). The thing is, I haven't been sewing for a long time and never owned my own machine. I haven't really made anything with it, just done some practise squares to see how it sews.

flea72

tirlittan wrote: »

THanks flea. It's not a new machine, it's just new to me. It's an old Singer 533 that I bought very cheaply (£5). The thing is, I haven't been sewing for a long time and never owned my own machine. I haven't really made anything with it, just done some practise squares to see how it sews.

then i would give it a good clean and service, as a first stop

F

Savvy_sewing

I have been given a set of wedding dress pictures of the kind of dress that my daughters friend wants for her wedding next year. EEK. Its not something that I have done in a very, very long time, if ever really. So I will be brushing up on boning etc, and I will also have to source the fabrics, a pattern I can convert, and of course the embroidery beaded motifs etc. I no longer have the contacts I used to have. Very nervous about the task.

pennib

Florenceem wrote: »

I do some knitting/crochet as well as sewing. There was a new baby on the way so I made for both sexes - Mum to be loves bright colours for babies!

Just playing catch-up. Love your choice of colours, they are so zingy. Bet they were well received.

Errata

Mooloo wrote: »

I have been given a set of wedding dress pictures of the kind of dress that my daughters friend wants for her wedding next year. EEK. Its not something that I have done in a very, very long time, if ever really. So I will be brushing up on boning etc, and I will also have to source the fabrics, a pattern I can convert, and of course the embroidery beaded motifs etc. I no longer have the contacts I used to have. Very nervous about the task.

Sounds like you need to make a toile. Brides can become quite banjaxed over their wedding dress and think they will look exactly like the model in the picture, despite the fact that they're 6 inches shorter and 5 stones fatter Or vice versa