75 pages

English

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Sewing Machine Manual , livre ebook

Search Press - Wendy Gardiner

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75 pages

English

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Sewing

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Publié par	Search Press
Date de parution	01 août 2022
Nombre de lectures	2
EAN13	9781800930117
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	196 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0650€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

TheSewing MachineManual Your easy guide to machine stitching WENDY GARDINER

SEARCH PRESS

Wendy Gardineris a writer, teacher and author. She has been editor of several leading sewing magazines and written 21 books includingThe Great British Sewing Bee: From Stitch to Style,Fun with Fat Quarters,The Very Easy Guide to Using Your Sewing Machineand most recentlyTake Two Fat Quarters: HomeandTake Two Fat Quarters: Gifts. Wendy has also presented many DVDs on sewing and made several YouTube videos for leading haberdashery and pattern companies. She runs regular residential Creative Sewing Weekends, teaches a weekly class and writes articles for various magazines and her own website. Wendy organizes the extensive workshop programmes for the Festival of Quilts and the Knitting & Stitching Shows. She has a strong reputation and fan base because of her enthusiastic and friendly approach to sharing her passion for dressmaking and machine sewing. Wendy lives in Hampshire, UK.

More of Wendy Gardiner’s best-selling books:

THE SEWING MACHINE MANUAL

Dedîcatîon To my mum, Joan Green, who augh me o sew as a chid and whom I now each.

THE SEWING MACHINE MANUAL

Your easy guide to machine stitching

Wendy Gardiner

SEARCH PRESS

This ediion pubished in 2022 Search Press Limied Wewood, Norh arm Road, Tunbridge Wes, Ken TN2 DR

Incudes maeria originay pubished in 204 as: The Very Easy Guide to Using Your Sewing Machine

Tex copyrigh © Wendy Gardiner, 2022

Phoographs on pages 2, 5 (boom), 54, 2–5, 75 (op e), 7 (boom), 77, 84, 85 (op, midde), 8–88, 05 (boom), 25–27, 0 (boom) and 2–5 by Mark Davison a Search Press Sudios. A oher phoographs by Pau Brickne a Search Press Sudios.

Phoographs and design copyrigh © Search Press Ld, 204 and 2022

A righs reserved. No par o his book, ex, phoographs or iusraions may be reproduced or ransmied in any orm or by any means by prin, phooprin, microim, microiche, phoocopier, inerne or in any way known or as ye unknown, or sored in a rerieva sysem, wihou wrien permission obained beorehand rom Search Press.

ISBN: 978--80092-02-7 ebook ISBN: 978--8009-0-7

The Pubishers and auhor can accep no responsibiiy or any consequences arising rom he inormaion, advice or insrucions given in his pubicaion.

Readers are permied o reproduce any o he iems in his book or heir persona use, or or he purposes o seing or chariy, ree o charge and wihou he prior permission o he Pubishers. Any use o he iems or commercia purposes is no permied wihou he prior permission o he Pubishers.

SuppliersI you have diicuy in obaining any o he maerias and equipmen menioned in his book, hen pease visi he Search Press websie or deais o suppiers: www.searchpress.com

You are invied o visi he auhor’s websie: www.wendygardiner.co.uk

Publisher’s note A he sep-by-sep phoographs in his book eaure he auhor. No modes have been used.

TemplatesTempaes or eBook ediions o downoad and prin hese racings a home, simpy go o:www.bookmarkedhub.com

The projecs in his book have been made using meric measuremens, and he imperia equivaens provided have been cacuaed oowing sandard conversion pracices. The imperia measuremens are oen rounded o he neares 16in or ease o use excep in / rare circumsances; however, i you need more exac measuremens, here are a number o exceen onine converers ha you can use. Aways use eiher meric or imperia measuremens, no a combinaion o boh.

AcknowLedgements Wih hanks o Ar Gaery abrics or he beauiu coon abrics suppied by Hanex Ld (www.hanex.co.uk/agF) and o Madeira or he hreads. Aso o Sewing Sree TV or he ovey Tua Pink abrics. And as aways a specia hanks o my sons who are so supporive o my endeavours.

Introductîon 686PATCHWORK PLACEMAT Your sewîng machîne 8QUILTED POT HOLDER 90 TooLs and equîpment 14 Free motîon 96 Wîndîng and ittîng the bobbîn 24SWIRLS AND FLOWERS SCARF 100 Upper threadîng 26 Twîn needLes 104 Checkîng stîtchîng and tensîon 28RETRO APRON 108 Tryîng out your machîne’s stîtches 30 Bobbîn work 116 DECORATED GUEST TOWEL 118 USING YOUR MACHINE 32 Straîght stîtch 34122ADVANCED TECHNIQUES Patch pockets 36 PLeats 122 DRAWSTRING BAGS 38Tucks 124 Zîgzag stîtch 42 Usîng an aLphabet 125 HEART-FELT APPLIQUÉ PILLOW 46 NOTEBOOK COVER 126 ButtonhoLes 50 Trîms 128 PARTY CLUTCH BAG 55Couchîng 130 Zîps 58TABLET COVER 132 Pîpîng 66 UsefuL înformatîon 136 PERFECTLY PIPED PILLOW 70 TroubLeshootîng 137 Hemmîng ways 74 CONTENIndTex 144S GLossary 142 CAFÉ CURTAIN 78 QuîLtîng 84

INTRODUCTION hen Search Press ﬁrs asked me o wrie a W book on basic sewing or beginners, I el as i all my wishes had come rue in one go! I love o sew, paricularly by machine, and am always keen o share my passion or abric, hread, haberdashery and lovely modern sewing machines. I really enjoy seeing he ligh bulb momen when new sewiss realize hey can do i, and ha i is un, afordable and rewarding. So his book encompasses i all, rom geing he machine ou o he box o creaing projecs ha you can be proud o. I have demysiﬁed he knobs, dials and hreading sysem, showing ha whaever machine you have, he basic principles are he same. Throughou he book here are ips and hins o make sewing easier as well as how-o seps or all he basic sewing echniques you migh need o creae your own ashions or urnishings. To help you ge o grips wih he echniques, here is a series o prey and pracical projecs or you o sew, which will also help you become ully acquained wih your machine and conﬁden o ackle any projec you wan. I sar wih handy drawsring bags ha are made wih simple sraigh siching and hen move on o add zigzag and decoraive siches, ending wih some creaive work ‘drawing wih hread’ as you sew your own ree-moion designs on a chifon scar. As you gain conﬁdence, you can move on o making an apron using win needles, and decoraing a owel wih bobbin work. Once you have masered he more advanced echniques a he end o he book, here will be no looking back, and you and your sewing machine will be able o ake on any number o exciing projecs.

O course, here are imes when hings go wrong and your siching isn’ perec. I happens o us all, so I have pu ogeher a very comprehensive Troubleshooing guide ha will help you solve any sich problems you encouner (see page 137). So le’s sar a he very beginning. When you are saring of wih a new sewing machine, pu he box on a ﬂa surace. Genly urn i on is side or upside down and gradually slide ou he polysyrene case. Then ake of he ape ha holds he polysyrene ogeher and genly open he case. Lit he machine ou careully, waching ou or any sharp or loose iems ha may all ou. I always recommend keeping he box and inner packaging in a sae place so ha you can use i when sending he machine or servicing. Read he insrucion manual beore beginning o sew as i will include some grea sewing ips, and keep i in a sae place o reer o as needed. I do hope you enjoy working your way hrough his book and ﬁnd ha you love o sew as much as I do. Happy sewing!

YOUR SEWING MACHINE

This is a quick guide o wha’s wha on your sewing machine. I expains he knobs, dias and basic uncions so ha you can conideny sar o sew. The basic componens o a sewing machine are generay in he same pace and ahough dieren modes may have more or ewer specia uncions, which wi depend on make and price, i is comoring o know ha once you have ideniied he basics, you can do so on amos any machine.

BaLance wheeL (ly wheeL/hand wheeL) This is the large round knob on the right-hand side of the machine. It is used to lower and raise the needle by hand. Always turn the wheel towards yourself. On inexpensive machines, this wheel may have a separate outer ring or switch on it, which is used to disengage the needle when winding bobbins.

Bobbîn wîndîng spîndLe A short spindle on the top right of the machine on to which the bobbin is placed ready to be wound. You may have to push the spindle across to engage it, or push a lever next to it towards the bobbin. On most machines, moving the spindle or lever will disengage the needle when bobbin winding, but if not, check the balance wheel as mentioned above. Most bobbins will only wind until they are full and then automatically stop. For full instructions, see page 24.

Bobbîn Lots of machines have a drop-in bobbin in front of the needle (see right). Drop-in bobbins are very easy to use, have a clear plastic cover and are often made from clear plastic themselves, so it is easy to see at a glance how much thread is left. There is often a little diagram on the plastic cover or next to the bobbin casing showing the threading direction.

The other type is the front-loading bobbin (see right). If you can’t ﬁnd your bobbin in front of the needle, under the plastic cover, it’s a front loader! See page 25 for instructions on inserting both types of bobbin.

Tip Athough a bobbîns ook the same, they can vary sîghty în sîze and thus fît. Use bobbîns întended for your mode/make of machîne to avoîd probems.

Tensîon dîaL The top thread tension is set by a dial on the front or top of the machine, usually just above the needle area. It is numbered and will usually have the most common or default tension highlighted in some way – by darker numbers, or circled numbers. Generally leave the tension set at the default position as most

modern machines stitch perfectly well on all types of fabric. If you do adjust the tension, do so a little at a time. Perfect stitches are formed with the top thread visible on the top of the fabric, and the bobbin thread on the underside.

Top thread spîndLe Place the thread reel on the spindle, which may be vertical (see left) or horizontal, depending on the make and model. On a horizontal spindle it is essential to add the thread retainer (a round disc with a hole in centre which ﬁts on the spindle) to

Many machines come with a spare spindle in the tool kit. This is useful for top stitching with two threads going through the needle for greater deﬁnition, and for twin needle stitching (see right). The second spindle will ﬁt into a hole on the top of the machine, or on to the bobbin spindle.

For instructions on upper threading, see pages 26–27.

NeedLe threader Many modern machines have a needle threader which is a real boon when threading the eye of the needle. Most are on the left of the machine, with a lever that you pull down. The thread is pulled through the eye of the needle by a tiny hook on the arm of the needle threader, which is almost impossible to see. If it doesn’t work, try raising the needle so that the arm of the threader is in line with the needle eye. For full instructions, see page 27. To thread a needle without a needle threader, hold a scrap of white paper behind the eye of the needle. This makes it much more visible and easy to thread.

hold the reel in place. This will stop the reel sliding along the spindle as you stitch, to help prevent the threads wrappingaround the spindle and snagging,which can result in skipped or even broken stitching as the thread unravels unevenly.

Tip If you have ony one spînde but want to use two threads, wînd a spare bobbîn and pace on the one spînde wîth the thread ree.

NeedLe Your machine will come with a standard universal needle already ﬁtted but it will need changing regularly – afterevery eight hours of sewingor every sewing project. Machineneedles have a ﬂat section on the shank, which is usually placed ‘ﬂat to back’ of the machine when ﬁtted up into the needle socket. See tip on page 18 for how to change a needle.

Throat pLate This is the metal plate below the needle with holes for the feed dogs (see below) and the needle. It often also has markings to the right of the needle, which can be used to maintain straight seams. The marking will be the distance the needle is from the fabric edge if the edge is placed along the mark.

Feed dogs The little teeth that protrude through the throat plate are the feed dogs. They move up and down as you sew, helping to move the fabric through (see left).

Presser foot The basic purpose of a presser foot is to hold the fabric ﬂat while it is being sewn. Most machines come with a few different feet for speciﬁc sewing techniques and they will vary in shape, or have attachments to help with different techniques such as zip insertion, blind hemming or overcasting. Most machines now have snap-on or clip-on presser feet which are easy to remove; press a little button behind the foot and it will drop off. To attach a new foot, position it under the foot holder which has a groove on the underside. Line up the horizontal pin on the foot with the groove and lower the presser foot lever to snap on the foot.

Presser foot Lever This is located behind the needle at the back of the machine and lowered and raised with the right hand. Make sure it is raised when threading and lowered to sew. There is often an option to hold it up a littler higher to insert thick fabric layers under the needle. Just push it up a little more and hold as you insert the fabrics.

FLat bed/free arm/extensîon tabLe All machines have what is termed a ﬂat bed – that is the surface area around the needle which helps hold fabric ﬂat as it is sewn. Most convert to free arm by taking part of the ﬂat bed away (see right). This extension may be clipped to the front or back or wrapped round the front, back and side. It frequently holds the tools tray too. Converting to free arm means you can stitch small areas such as cuffs, sleeves and trouser legs more easily.

Reverse stîtchîng button/Lever All machines have a lever or button which you hold down to continue stitching in reverse. When you let go, the machine reverts to forward stitching. The button is often on the lower right of the machine (as shown right), but sometimes it is located close to the needle. It will have a U-turn arrow to indicate its use.

Presser foot pressure adjuster Some machines have a knob or dial located on the left of the machine (on the top, side or back) with which to adjust the pressure of the presser foot. It will have been set to general sewing when it leaves the factory, but if you wish to sew particularly light or heavy fabrics, it can be adjusted to help feed the fabrics evenly. For lightweight or stretchy fabrics, a reduced pressure is required, so turn the dial towards the ‘–’ (or minus) sign.

Tip Rather than startîng to sew at the very end of the fabrîc, start about 2cm (¾în) în, take two or three stîtches, then hod down the reverse button and stîtch backwards to the fabrîc end, before contînuîng forwards. Thîs secures the stîtchîng and prevents the fabrîc from tangîng or beîng pued înto the feed dogs at the start.

Stîtch seLectîon Most machines have the choice of stitches printed either on the front of the machine, or on the inside of the ﬂap covering the thread spindle. The stitch choices will be identiﬁed in a way which corresponds to numbers, letters or pictures on the stitch selection dial. Make sure the needle is raised before changing the stitch choice, as it will move from side to side as you make the change.

Extras As machines increase in price, so they have more functions and facilities. Many of the additional features are conveniently sited just above the needle area, so they are to hand when you are sewing.

Fîx/Lock stîtch button This is used to stitch on the spot, securing the threads in place and is used instead of reverse stitching.

Sewîng speed Lever This is usually a sliding dial that you move to the left to stitch very slowly or to the right to speed up.

Stop/start button This is used instead of the foot pedal. Try it out on scrap fabric ﬁrst, as it can make the machine stitch very quickly. Control the speed by using the sewing speed lever. You usually have to unplug the foot pedal to use the stop/start button.

Knee Lîft This is used to raise the presser foot without having to take your hands from the work or use the presser foot lever on the machine. It is ﬁtted in a hole at the front of the machine. It takes some practice to coordinate using your knee and stitching!

Stîtch wîdth and Length dîaLs/buttons These dials or buttons are used to alter the width and length of the chosen stitch. Not all machines have both additional options; more basic machines will just have the set stitch selection, but some will have a choice of stitch length as well. A standard stitch length for most purposes is 2.2–2.5. Use a longer stitch for multiple layers or bulky fabrics. Stitch width is used for all sideways stitches such as zigzag or decorative stitches. The higher the number or wider the printed scale, the longer or wider the stitch.

Note Stîtches are measured în mm, so a 2.5 stîtch measures 2.5mm. Occasîonay you may come across stîtch measurements gîven as stîtches per înch (spî). If your sewîng pattern does îndîcate thîs, use these sîmpe cacuatîons to convert them to mm: 25.4 dîvîded by spî = mm 25.4 dîvîded by mm = spî

Machîne maîntenance • Change your needle after every eight hours of sewing, or after every project, particularly when sewing tough fabrics or multiple layers.

• Deﬂuff the machine after every project by removing the bobbin and using the little brush provided to sweep out the ﬂuff. Occasionally you should also unscrew and remove the throat plate, remove the bobbin race and brush out underneath. It gets surprisingly dirty when sewing!

• Many of the new sewing machines are self-lubricating so you don’t need to oil them. However, they do still need maintenance and servicing.

• Always ensure the needle is in the raised position before changing stitch selection as it will move sideways as you change stitch, and could bend or break if it hits the side of the throat plate.