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Jan. 6th, 2005 07:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chhotiiIt's just as well that I haven't gotten to the fabric store yet, today's lessons (some of which were painful) were learned on scrap fabric, not nice stuff that cost money.
* I'm going to need some implement for making marks on the fabric. The orange highlighter is ok for stuff that nobody is going to see.
* I think I'm going to need something like a drafting tool for making right angles
* Stop forgetting to put the presser foot lever down damnit!
* If the needle thread isn't threaded through the opening in the presser foot, it's not going to work.
* Hang on to the needle thread when starting a seam. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong that makes this necessary.
* At the start and end of a seam, don't forget to go back and forth a bit.
* But not too much, otherwise it will make a big lumpy knot.
* Oh, and if the fabric is stuck and stops traveling, but the needle is still sewing, you're making a big lumpy knot.
* After finishing a seam and pulling the work out, check to see if the needle thread is looping down into the place the bobbin thread comes out of. Pull it out if it is. Turning the balance wheel might help. This averts a lot of scary jams.
* Having mis-matched needle thread and bobbin thread is really really useful for debugging. So useful, in fact, that I'm going to keep using mis-matched thread until I'm confident.
I've hit on a good starter project. I'm making a pile of crude but washable and re-usable nursing pads out of discarded t-shirt material. This is one of those "nobody will see the mistakes" projects, and I'm sure nice flat curtain fabric will be a pleasure to work with after this crappy stretchy t-shirt stuff. Like learning to program, learning this progresses a lot more when trying to do a real project, no matter how silly, than when just noodling around.
In other news: I had a funny dream that I encountered Pedro Martinez moonlighting as a waiter. Someone said it would not be nice to ask our waiter about his going to play for the Mets, but it was really hard to not say something.
* I'm going to need some implement for making marks on the fabric. The orange highlighter is ok for stuff that nobody is going to see.
* I think I'm going to need something like a drafting tool for making right angles
* Stop forgetting to put the presser foot lever down damnit!
* If the needle thread isn't threaded through the opening in the presser foot, it's not going to work.
* Hang on to the needle thread when starting a seam. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong that makes this necessary.
* At the start and end of a seam, don't forget to go back and forth a bit.
* But not too much, otherwise it will make a big lumpy knot.
* Oh, and if the fabric is stuck and stops traveling, but the needle is still sewing, you're making a big lumpy knot.
* After finishing a seam and pulling the work out, check to see if the needle thread is looping down into the place the bobbin thread comes out of. Pull it out if it is. Turning the balance wheel might help. This averts a lot of scary jams.
* Having mis-matched needle thread and bobbin thread is really really useful for debugging. So useful, in fact, that I'm going to keep using mis-matched thread until I'm confident.
I've hit on a good starter project. I'm making a pile of crude but washable and re-usable nursing pads out of discarded t-shirt material. This is one of those "nobody will see the mistakes" projects, and I'm sure nice flat curtain fabric will be a pleasure to work with after this crappy stretchy t-shirt stuff. Like learning to program, learning this progresses a lot more when trying to do a real project, no matter how silly, than when just noodling around.
In other news: I had a funny dream that I encountered Pedro Martinez moonlighting as a waiter. Someone said it would not be nice to ask our waiter about his going to play for the Mets, but it was really hard to not say something.
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no subject
Date: 2005-01-06 06:37 pm (UTC)Having mis-matched needle thread and bobbin thread is really really useful for debugging.
brilliant.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-11 08:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-06 06:44 pm (UTC)A piece of chalk works just fine, brushes right off or comes right out in the wash. Or a white colored pencil, or just a regular graphite pencil will wash right out as well.
* Hang on to the needle thread when starting a seam. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong that makes this necessary.
This happens to me all the time, you are not doing anything wrong, It just happens if your thread tails are not pulled out long enough.
* At the start and end of a seam, don't forget to go back and forth a bit.
Two or three stitches is all you need and you only have to go forward three stitches, backward three stitches and then you can start sewing forward normally. When I'm quilting I don't even bother back stitching at all.
* Having mis-matched needle thread and bobbin thread is really really useful for debugging. So useful, in fact, that I'm going to keep using mis-matched thread until I'm confident.
This could be why you are getting jams and big lumpy knots. If your top thread and bobbin threads are different weights you may have problems getting the tensions on the machine set evenly.
Yes, jersey is a pain to work with, most knits are. Straight cotton curtain fabrics are so much easier.
Hope your well, feel free to ping me if you have any questions about sewing stuff. I'm in the process of doing some kitchen curtains myself.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-07 10:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-06 08:06 pm (UTC)There's a magic pen thingabob you can get at the fabric store. If you mark with the blue, you can remove the marks with a little water. If you mark with the purple, the marks fade with light. They're usually located in the section with the pins and rulers.
I've also discovered the magicof masking tape. I'm terrible at making straight lines. Masking tape is straight, and I can pull it off when I'm done. Probably not a good idea for fancy stuff, but ...
Good luck!
no subject
Date: 2005-01-07 06:55 am (UTC)My mom had some neato little chalk tablets, that I've never seen since. I just use a pen if it's on a part of the fabric that won't be seen, and pins if it's on a part that will. Things that wash out aren't very helpful if you don't intend to wash the fabric (curtains, chair covers, etc).
Incidentally, if it *is* something you intend to wash, washing your fabric once before you use it is a good idea, so that if it's going to shrink unevenly or only in one direction, it does it before you've cut and sewn your project.
* I think I'm going to need something like a drafting tool for making right angles
There were a couple of points that I pulled out my T square. However, most of the time you want to be cutting as exactly as possible along the grain of the fabric, which will be a right angle if your fabric is pulled straight. (Of course this doesn't work for things you are deliberately cutting "on the bias" - meaning diagonally). By "grain" I mean a single thread in the weave. This will reduce the raveling at the edge.
* Hang on to the needle thread when starting a seam. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong that makes this necessary.
Either hang onto it or pull out both pieces of thread about 6 inches before you put the presser foot down. Thread is cheap.
* At the start and end of a seam, don't forget to go back and forth a bit.
* But not too much, otherwise it will make a big lumpy knot.
Once is plenty, and only a couple of stitches
* Oh, and if the fabric is stuck and stops traveling, but the needle is still sewing, you're making a big lumpy knot.
Check the pressure of your pressure foot - how hard it's pressing the fabric against the little grabber-bits. The fabric munch shouldn't be happening too often. Your sewing machine manual should describe how to adjust the pressure/height of the foot, or call the manufacturer for a pointer to the right doohickey. If you're a good little sewer (and I'm not) you actually adjust this every time you change fabric thickness.