Tips

Getting to Know Your Sewing Machine

So you’ve finally bought the machine of your dreams, got it home and unpacked the box. Now it’s sitting there waiting for you to make the first move. What do you do?

Step 1. Before you do anything else – READ THE MANUAL - especially the sections on threading and filling the bobbin. Also check that you’ve got all the bits the book says you should have.

Step 2. Thread the machine top and bottom with a good quality polyester thread in a dark colour on the top and a lighter shade on the bottom. This really is the most important thing you need to know. Practise it until you can do it with your eyes shut.

Step 3. Set the stitch length control to 2.5 and the stitch width to 0. These are the usual settings for an all-purpose straight stitch.

Step 4. Cut a large square of strong, white cotton or calico. Iron, fold in half and iron again. This will be your practise piece.

Step 5. Line up the edge of your presser foot with the edge of the fabric. sew a line of straight stitching keeping the foot lined up with the edge of the fabric all the way to the bottom. Repeat these lines of stitching, lining up the presser foot with the previous line of stitching until you have a collection of perfectly straight lines.

Step 6. Check your tension. If you can see the bobbin thread on the top of your work, your top tension is too tight. If you can see the top thread on the reverse of your work, the bobbin tension is too tight.

Step 7. Support the fabric. Hold it loosely in front of the needle bed with your right hand and loosely at the left of the needle bed with your left hand. Do not try to pull or push the fabric through the machine, just guide it gently.

Step 8. Maintain an even speed. An uneven and jerky speed will produce uneven and jerky stitching. You do not need to be going at full speed but going too slowly will make it difficult to keep your stitching straight.

Step 9. When you have a line of straight stitches try the same thing again but start and finish each line with a few stitches using the reverse lever on your sewing machine.

Step 10. Experiment with the built-in stitches provided on your sewing machine. Try altering the stitch length and width controls on each stitch. Don’t forget to keep your stitching straight.

I hope you found this top tip useful. If you have any comments, feedback or suggestions for more tips, please write to me at margo@time4me-workshops.co.uk

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