How I Chose a New Sewing Machine

/ Tina / Leave a comment

After 35 years of using my “old faithful” Singer, I decided it was time to buy a modern sewing machine.  Don’t get me wrong – I love my old Singer… (pictured using a soft, blurry focus to make her look younger)

oldsinger

But, I’ve officially lost the feed dog cover and can’t find anywhere to buy a replacement.

oldfeeddogs

I am still going to keep her as the back-up machine, but figured it was time to treat myself to a newer model.

Here were the steps I went thru when deciding which machine to buy.

1. Research all available options: it was over 35 years since I had seriously looked at another machine, so I needed to get up to speed on what was available.  I searched online, browsed thru YouTube, went to a local repair shop and asked questions, went to a local sewing shop and asked questions, contacted friend and family and asked questions.  At the end of the research phase I knew a lot about what was available – but I was no closer to making a decision.  There were just too many options and opinions!  So, I went into the narrowing phase.

2. Decide my primary use case : meaning, what is the main thing I want to do with this machine?  I sew for a hobby – not a career, so I focused on domestic grade machines.  I further narrowed it down by category:

a. general sewing: do I want a machine for crafts and clothing?

b. sewing + embroidery: do I want a machine that can do general sewing AND automatically stitch embroidery patterns?

c. sewing + quilting: do I want a machine that can do general sewing AND free motion quilting?

For me – I chose to get a machine for sewing + quilting.  A machine that is good for free-motion quilting will also work for free-motion embroidery.  Since I primarily do hand embroidery, free motion embroidery is a good ancillery use-case.

3. Decide my budget:  domestic grade sewing machines can range from under $100 to over $10,000.  The general rule of thumb is to spend as much as you can afford since sewing machines last a long time and you don’t want to outgrow your machine too fast.  However, my old Singer was relatively inexpensive 35 years ago, and it did everything I needed (plus more!) so I decided to keep to a moderate price range ~$500.  I can afford more, but I didn’t want to spend more.

4. Make a list of the most important features to you, sorted in order of priority.  After all my research, here were the features that I considered most important:

  • Harp minimum size of 6 inches:  First of all, the “harp” is the area of the sewing machine between the needle and the sewing machine body – in essence your minimal sewing space.  You have unlimited sewing space to the left of the needle, but to the right of the needle your space is limited.  I found that large harps (over 10 inches) were very expensive and that some machines had harps as small as 4 inches.  I have no problem spending time manipulating my fabric to make it fit in smaller areas, and I don’t see myself making king size quilts so a harp of no less than 6 inches helped me stay in my budget, while still accommodating  my use case of quilting.
  • Easy to drop feed dogs: feed dogs are the little metal bars that move your fabric forward when you press on the pedal.  The needle goes up and down, and the feed bars move front and back.  When you do free-motion quilting (FMQ) you do not want the feed dogs to move the fabric – you are moving the fabric by hand front, back, left, right, etc…  In the old days we used a “feed plate” to cover the feed dogs when we wanted them disengaged.  Now, you can choose a machine with a feed plate OR a machine that will lower the feed dogs.   I really wanted the convenience of lowering the feed dog, especially since I had previously lost my feed dog cover.
  • Top loading and clear plastic bobbin case.  My experience with my old machine made this a no brainer requirement.  I often ran out of bobbin thread while sewing because I couldn’t easily see how much thread was left and because it was such a pain to pull the bobbin out, check the thread and then re-thread it.
  • Auto thread cutting: most machines give you a little “cutter” on the back of the machine where you can manually cut the thread but these types of cutters leave long thread tails that you need to clean-up with scissors or run the risk that the thread tail will get tangled into your other seams.  With the auto-cutter the machine snips the fabric very close to the material so you can continue sewing without worrying about the thread tail.
  • Auto needle threader: this one is just because I have bad eyesight and can spend too many minutes trying to thread the needle – or looking for the manual needle threader.
  • Needle up-down position: this feature allows you to set the machine to always stop with the needle in the down position or in the up position.  In my previous machine I raised or lowered the needle by hand at the end of every seam.  When I make small projects this isn’t a big deal, but it is a time waster when making large quilts
  • Speed regulator: With my old machine I regulated the sewing speed based on how hard I pushed down the pedal – similar to how you regulate your car speed.  For small projects this is fine – but when you are sewing a quilt your foot gets tired of holding the position.  With a speed regulator you can put the “pedal to the metal”, but the machine won’t go faster than your pre-set speed.  Also a cool feature when sewing with kids!
  • Auto stitch:  With this feature you can start/stop your seam by pushing a button – no foot pedal!  Possibly a pain in the patoot for little projects but a blessing for big ones!
  • 1-step button-hole: button holes are my personal nemesis.  Anything that makes them easier goes on my list of requirements.
  • Knee control for presser foot: this was an “optional” requirement for me.  The knee control allow you to raise the presser foot with your knee, leaving your hands free to manage the fabric.  I think this is useful but I couldnt think of anytime that this was a problem on my old machine.
  • Stitch length regulator: this also was an optional feature since it seemed useful, but I think my skills are good enough where this isn’t a necessity.

5. Make a comparison grid: after deciding the features that I wanted,  I began searching for machines that fit my criteria.  I started with the Juki and Janome brands since the local repairman said they were the best quality machines, but I also included Singer because of my personal experience (great!) and Brother because of the Amazon reviews.   Fortunately,  many of the machines were available on Amazon, so I could easily see prices and major features, however some of the features were only mentioned on the manufacturers’ website.

And – here is the spreadsheet I created to track all my research!

sewingmachinecomparison

Ultimately, I purchased the Singer 9960.  The harp barely met my requirements, but I was more interested in saving the $300 vs buying the Singer C440 Legacy with its larger harp size.  I also liked that the Singer has an automatic locking stitch function.  I found this on the manufacturer’s website – so don’t rely only on Amazon when you are looking for specific features!

Embroidery + Boutis = Lovely!

/ Tina / Leave a comment

For months I’ve wanted to create a little project that combines my two favorite crafts: hand embroidery and boutis quilting… and ta-da – here it is!  This will eventually be a top – so you can see where I drew in the neckline.

kindbig

I did a backstitch on the lettering….

kindclose

and french knots in the center of the flowers.flowerbetter

I absolutely LOVE how this looks and can’t wait to try the same concept on a more complicated piece.

 

Making an Embroidery Sampler

/ Tina / Leave a comment

One of my favorite embroidery activities is making a sampler.  I use samplers to try a new stitch, or to see how certain colors work on a specific background or just because I want to “doodle” without committing to a large project.

There is no right or wrong way to make a sampler, but my favorite way is to divide a piece of fabric into a series of squares and then fill in  each square with a doodle or sample. Filling the square gives me a good feel for the stitch or idea, and sometimes I end up with a little design that can be incorporate into a craft or sample book.  Here is one sampler that turned out nice:

 

samplerwhole

One of the ideas I wanted to test was my ability to stitch “freehand” writing.  No pattern, no predefined font – just my writing on the cloth.  The cloth I used was a scrap of linen from a previous project so the weave was large and loose:

samplerclose

I think it turned out perfect, and I plan to use this in a larger project.

How do you test your ideas?  Do you have a preferred layout for samplers or do you just stitch wherever their is space?  Do you have a sampler book where you keep all your samples?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

 

 

Acrylic Paint on an Embroidered Piece

/ Tina / 2 Comments

A few months ago I tried using acrylic paint on an embroidered piece – and I think it looks horrible!

The piece was created on a red linen fabric, using wool tapestry yarn and embroidery thread for the french knots.

birds

The design is adorable, and I like how the tapestry yarn gives the design some texture and weight vs. the embroidery thread which is smoother and shinier:

closerup

However, on my piece, the acrylic paint just didn’t work.  I don’t know if I didn’t use enough paint, or if it doesn’t work well on  a dark colored fabric or what – but it just didn’t work.  Here is a close-up of the area where I applied paint:

birdclose

I also don’t like the way the piece feels with the acrylic paint.  The bird’s head feels “plasticky.”  I plan to stitch over the paint with more wool tapestry yarn and see if it fixes the problem.  If not – then I will chalk this up to learning and start again!

Should You Use a Hoop for Boutis?

/ Tina / Leave a comment

When I was scouring the internet to find examples and tutorials for Boutis, I read articles supporting both sides of the “to hoop or not hoop” debate: some said you should use a hoop when stitching the Boutis design, others said you should not since it made it harder to make the multi-stab stitches.  So, I did my own experiment, and my conclusion is: Yes – I will hoop.

Here how I created a prototype top, and the results of my experiment.

  1. I downloaded the PDF pattern from Sew Over It .  They have a wide variety of patterns, super cute – and since they are available as PDF you can shop online then start sewing within minutes…brilliant!.  Here is an image of the pattern I used (supah-simple!):sewoverit
  2. After printing the 20 PDF pages, I assembled them with tape as instructed and then cut out each pattern piece.  On this image I circled a specific part of the pattern where you can see the how the pages are taped together.pdftopattern
  3. I then made a template for the Boutis design, making sure the design wouldn’t hit the stitch line.  I wanted this version to be extra simple since I knew this would be throw-away work:boutisdesign
  4. After transferring the design onto my batiste fabric, I sewed the left-side of the design with a hoop and the right-side without a hoop.  Here is a full view of the prototype.  Notice how the fabric is embellished BEFORE cutting so that I can adjust for the Boutis. prototype1Here is a close-up of the left side:leftside…and a close-up of the right:side1Despite the difference in lighting, the right side (stitched with the hoop) is DEFINITELY smoother and tighter.

For my next prototype, I am going to increase the complexity of the design and measure the fabric before vs after adding the Boutis design to get an idea of how much fabric is lost during the embellishment stage.

Learning Boutis

/ Tina / Leave a comment

I ran across Boutis when searching on Pinterest for embroidery ideas, and immediately fell in love!  Boutis is a delicate needle art that is generally used to create baby items, small quilts, accessories like lamp shades and coin purses, and occasionally women’s clothing.  The designs are intricate and the most common color is white on white – meaning white fabric (often batiste), with white thread and white stuffing.

Of course, having seen it I then wanted to learn how to make it – which means diving into the deep end of the pool and thrashing around for a while until I get the basic gist.

Here is a picture of my first – unfinished- attempt.  I copied this pattern from Trish Burr, author of the Seams French blog.

boutislearn.jpg

Here is a picture of the same piece with sunlight behind it so you can better see where the cotton has been inserted into the stitched piece.boutisinwindow

 

Here are the steps I took and what I learned during this experiment:

1.Create the Design: I copied the design from Trish Burr, author of the Seams French blog.  I took  a screen capture of her art, made some modifications to accommodate my skill level and then printed it on standard copy paper.

What I learned:  do something smaller!  I loved the complexity of the project (lots of shapes, turns and overlaps), but I spent too long on every step because the piece was very large.  Next time I’ll find a smaller but equally complex design.

2.Transfer the Design to the Fabric:  I don’t have a picture of this step, but I taped the copy paper to our glass patio doors, then taped a square piece of Batiste fabric on top.  I used an embroidery transfer pen to trace the design onto my fabric.

What I learned:  some needle artists swear that the blue disappearing ink is a bad idea.  They claim it never totally disappears and may re-appear after a year or two.  I haven’t washed this item so I can’t attest to the accuracy of this claim, but I trust the experts.  Next time, I am using dressmakers chalk.

3.Stitch the Design:  this part took forever!  I layered two pieces of Batiste fabric together and then hand stitched over every line using Coats cotton covered bold hand quilting thread and a very fine needle.  I’ve seen Boutis created with back stitches and straight stitches.  I used straight stitches.  In either case, the goal is to make the stitches small and even.  As you can see in this photo, my stitches are relatively good:boutisstitchesWhat I learned:  I suck at making  quilter’s knots!  I eventually stopped trying to pop the knots between the layers of the fabric and decided the back would be “knotty.”  I am going to do more research and practice until I conquer this task.

4.Insert the Cotton:  I actually break stage this into 2 separate steps:

  1. Prep the Cotton:  I cut an 18″ piece of cotton yarn, separate the ply and then thread the needle with the appropriate number of ply for the channel to be filled.  I generally used 2 ply in my piece.
  2. Fill the Channels: I push the large, round tip needle through the first layer of fabric and thread the yarn along the fill area (channel).  When I reach the end of the channel I push the needle out of the fabric and pull the yarn until the very end of the yarn touches the fabric.  I snip the other end of the yarn as close as possible to the fabric then pull the fabric taut to draw in the ends of the yarn.

What I learned:   Insert from the back!  No matter how I tried, I sometimes have channels where the yarn didn’t draw completely under the fabric (see areas circled in white).  The solution is to use the tip of the needle to push the yarn further into the channel.  The better strategy is to insert the yarn thru the back of the fabric – not the front – so the holes and bubble of yarn are a minor annoyance, not a deal breaker.  The holes usually disappear when you wash the fabric (assuming you used a dull point needle and didn’t break the weave), but why take the risk?extrayarn

5. Finish the Project: I don’t plan on finishing this project since some of my mistakes are deal breakers but this is when I would wash and block the artwork.  I plan to learn this during my next project.

Now that I have “experienced” some of the basics, I plan to practice popping knots and sketch out a novice project.  So much to learn!