Today I made a scarf for CootieGirl, so that she wouldn’t be left out when I brought out CootieBoy’s fish scarf. I had scraps from the princess fleece blanket that I made earlier this week, so I figured it was time to rev up the sewing machine and get in more practice. I’m still have problems occasionally, only not with the fleece. No, my problem is the threading – I know the machine is threaded properly, and the bobbin, but to be honest I have NO IDEA what I’m supposed to do with those threads once the machine starts stitching. NO IDEA. So in turn I have no idea if these scarves will even stay sewn together once they start being used.
Here are the two scarves next to each other:
Now, you can immediately see that the fish scarf won’t even lay straight – that’s because that was my VERY FIRST ATTEMPT at actually sewing something as opposed to just randomly seaming together to pieces of scrap fleece. My mistake (as I know now) was not to have some sort of tissue paper over the fleece to not only keep it straight but keep the furry fleece from getting caught up near the needle.
My second attempt, CootieGirl’s princess scarf, came out much straighter and I had no problem getting it to go under the needle. As I said a moment ago – my only issue is what to do with the threading once the machine starts sewing.
Here’s a picture of the flip sides of the scarves – pink for CootieGirl’s and the wonderful furry white for CootieBoy’s. I feel bad that CootieGirl’s scarf is not as wide as CootieBoy’s, but then again – her’s is definitely better made, so it’s a tradeoff, I suppose.
Are you reversing over about the first 1/2 inch when you start a new seam? In other words, you sew forward about 1/2 inch, then flip into reverse and sew backwards over that same stitching then flip back forward and continue your seam? (You should repeat this at the end of your seam as well.) If you’re doing this, then your seams won’t pull apart. Once you’ve clipped the project off the machine, clip the threads on both sides as closely to the seam as you can so they’re not just dangling around.
Let me know if that doesn’t make sense – I’m an avid sewing machine user and am happy to try and help.
And if that didn’t actually answer your concern, you can just roll your eyes at how obtuse I am – that’s ok too! 🙂
Also, try messing with your tension – esp if the bobbin tread on the backside is wonky-looking.
Beth – yes, I’ve been going back a couple times over my starting seam, however, is there a reverse switch on a sewing machine? Cuz I’ve just been forcing the fleece to go backward under the needle.
As I said in my post, my issue is “what do I do with the needle and bobbins threads once I get the needle going? Because as it stands now, it looks like the bobbin thread is getting “eaten” in the first few inches of the seam and then I don’t see it again until I pull the fleece out from under the needle to cut it loose.
There should be a reverse switch somewhere on your machine. It varies widely where it is, but check the manual.
If you’re not seeing the bobbin thread then you should check your tension like Cristan suggested — you should see the same neat stitches on the top and bottom of your seam. Tension needs vary based on the fabric you use — so it sounds like the fleece might be throwing this off. Do you have some scrap cotton fabric (even just an old pair of undies that you can cut in two and then make a seam) to play with? You might run a few seams on something of a more “normal” fabric weight and see if you’re still having the “missing thread” issue — if you are, then there’s something else odd going on.
Manual? What manual? This machine is easily 25+ years old and a hand-me-down from my mother!!
You know Mom will help when we come down in a couple of weeks. Of course, that’s no help now, but she is only a phone call away. 😉
Ah – somehow I missed that key detail. 🙂 Sorry!
Your mom is probably the best bet then for finding those things — or if you take a picture and post it I might be able to guess.