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The Sew What’s New Archive
This archived content is from Mary Wilkins’ sewing and
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From: Hippiegirl
Date: 03-27-2005, 12:17 AM (1 of 10)
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Hello. I just started looking at embroidary machines yesturday and wanted to know, do all memory cards interchangable on all machines? Are there certain machines that take more cards than others? Is there a machine that is a good into machine? Ive seen prices range from 600 - 6000 and I have no idea why the drastic difference. Also, is it hard to find boarder embroidary? I like the hippie look in clothing, the true flower child kind of clothing and could use embroidary along the edges of my clothing, but not like one big flower in the middle of a shirt. Can anyone recommend or point in the right direction for starters? Thanks! |
User: Hippiegirl
Member since: 03-21-2005 Total posts: 77 |
From: JulieS
Date: 03-27-2005, 12:57 AM (2 of 10)
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Hi Kelly- I saw on a sewing program today a technique using thick thread (some silk ribbon, even) in the bobbin which gives a machine’s decorative stitches a more substantial, embroidery-like presentation. It was quite pretty and might be more useful to you that using embroidery design over and over around the hem/sleeve/neckline for the look you are going for (not to mentions easier!). Just a thought! I do know that the woman on the program mentioned that when using bobbin thread for the decorative stitching that you should get a separate bobbin case, since you fiddle with the bobbin tension so much, depending on the thickness of your thread. Also, she used invisible nylon thread in the needle (you sew on the wrong side of the fabric so the pretty bobbin thread shows on the right side.). Maybe someone else knows more about this that I. Good luck! Julie |
User: JulieS
Member since: 01-11-2005 Total posts: 26 |
From: Hippiegirl
Date: 03-27-2005, 01:09 AM (3 of 10)
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Hi Kelly- I saw on a sewing program today a technique using thick thread (some silk ribbon, even) in the bobbin which gives a machine’s decorative stitches a more substantial, embroidery-like presentation. It was quite pretty and might be more useful to you that using embroidery design over and over around the hem/sleeve/neckline for the look you are going for (not to mentions easier!). Just a thought! I do know that the woman on the program mentioned that when using bobbin thread for the decorative stitching that you should get a separate bobbin case, since you fiddle with the bobbin tension so much, depending on the thickness of your thread. Also, she used invisible nylon thread in the needle (you sew on the wrong side of the fabric so the pretty bobbin thread shows on the right side.). Maybe someone else knows more about this that I. Good luck! Julie Oooh, that sounds so cool, a separate bobbin case? I'm soooo new to this. The design is created from the bobbin? Is that normally the way it goes? I'm thilled to hear about being able to use the heavier thread because that is more authentic. Thanks for letting me know! I just realized that I could make my own clothing. It came easily to me, so now all of a sudden my creative juices are flowing and the possibilities seem so fun - so 70's! I even thought I'd do it by hand, but then that could take a while. |
User: Hippiegirl
Member since: 03-21-2005 Total posts: 77 |
From: JulieS
Date: 03-27-2005, 01:20 PM (4 of 10)
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Okay, this is going to be a long one! I know very little about it, just what I saw on the program (Fon's and Porter's Love of Quilting: Crazy Quilts and Bobbin Work... look it up in your PBS schedule!). I did a little googling and found these: (My comments are all in green!) " Also called "bobbin work," reverse embroidery is a decorative process often used in situations when the thread is too thick to easily pass through the needle hole. It can be difficult to achieve on the machine, but it's not impossible. "This is a neat decorative surface embellishment that can make a garment look really couture," says Janie Lantz of Sewn By Design, Emerson, Iowa. As a certified embroidery software instructor for Husqvarna Viking, she recommends following a few simple steps, starting with choosing the right threads. "I have been using both ribbon floss and 4mm silk ribbon for the bobbin. I also use perle cotton or rayon, or lightweight yarns in the same manner. I have found polyester or other synthetic ribbons to be too stiff to work well." When using these heavy threads in the bobbin, the wrong side of the fabric may need to be backed with a water-soluble stabilizer. It can be held in place with a temporary embroidery adhesive to avoid puckering. For the top thread, Lantz uses transparent polyester or a coordinating color of lightweight thread. "Depending on the application," she says, "I might use cotton bobbin fill on top, or embroidery thread, or a fine- weight sewing thread." When manually stitching out a design, i.e. couching a geometric, she suggests using a wash-away marker to draw the pattern on the side that will be face-up (the wrong side when done). This makes it easy to follow while stitching. First, wind several bobbins by hand. Lantz suggests resting the yarn in an empty margarine tub and threading it through the guides used to wind bobbins. She takes care to wind the bobbin very slowly and allows the thread, yarn or ribbon to run between her thumb and forefinger so it doesn't jump out of the guides. Wind until the bobbin stops automatically or it is full. The wound bobbin is then placed in the bobbin case, but Lantz advises, "Don't run the thread, yarn or ribbon through the bobbin tension. This keeps the stitches balanced. Normally, on newer machines, you don't need to feed the thread end up from the bobbin, but I've found that with this technique, it works best to get the thread started up through the throat plate before beginning to stitch." That's pretty much how it went on the program yesterday. They did have a seperate bobbin case, though. That's the little metal "bowl" that your bobbin sits in. The tension on the bobbin thread can be adjusted by turning a little screw on the bobbin case. Here is more about bobbin cases: Q: Now that I know I can use decorative threads in the bobbin; What do I need to do to set-up for this type of sewing? A: First, you will need to wind bobbins of decorative thread. Threads that work wonderfully are silk ribbon 4mm, Ribbon Thread�, Ribbon Floss�, Pearl Crown Rayon�, and Designer 6�. Place the bobbin in the bobbin case; do not take the thread through the bobbin tension. You can also purchase a special bobbin case in which the bobbin tension has been adjusted to accommodate for these decorative threads. Thread machine with a coordinating thread color or monofilament thread. Adjust the needle tension to 7 or 8. Bring the bobbin thread up through the opening in the needle plate. For this technique you will be required to stitch on the reverse or wrong side of the fabric. This will require that all design lines be placed here. We also suggest that you stabilize the fabric. This will help with the stitching and also make it easier to see your design lines. FWIW, the women on the program recommended transferring your thread to a spool (if it wasn't already on one) and winding your bobbin by machine, so it was would with the correct speed/ pressure. Q: Why do I need this special bobbin case to do decorative bobbin work? Can I do this type of sewing without this special bobbin case? A: Yes, you can do this type of sewing without the bobbin case. However, the stitches will be inconsistent. The bobbin case provides a light tension and path for the thread. When the bobbin case is not used, the thread may jump causing the stitch to look awkward or not form properly. We recommend for consistency to use the special bobbin case for this type of work. Now, this is from the Elna site, so they may be selling their "Special" bobbin case. The ladies on the program just used an extra bobbin case. They adjusted the tension so that the case fel slightly when the bobbin thread was held and "bounced." (This is before the bobbin case was put into the machine.) Q: Are there certain stitches that work better than others with decorative bobbin work? A: When selecting stitches for this type of work, make sure to choose stitches that are open. Stitches that work well are the straight stitch, the zigzag, a feather stitch, a briar stitch, a tracery scallop, etc. Experiment with adjusting the stitch length and width. Do not use stitches such as satin shapes or decorative stitches that are composed of tiny stitches. Here is a link to a project featuring bobbin work: http://www.purrfection.com/projects/sewdownunder.htm And here is a link to a .pdf project sheet from Bernina. This is for digital embroidery, but the set-up instructions apply. You would just be using a decorative stitch so the hooping, etc. wouldn't apply to you. http://www.berninausa.com/media/knowledgebase/projects/pdf/prj0077_d8cb.pdf Good luck! I think this is the perfect application for the look you are going for. Esp. with some of the thin, flat ribbons or textured yarns you could use. I may buy some heavier thread and try it out on my machine! Julie |
User: JulieS
Member since: 01-11-2005 Total posts: 26 |
From: mamadus
Date: 03-28-2005, 10:09 AM (5 of 10)
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here is a link from Brother for bobbin work http://www.brothersews.com/html/SearchResult.do?searchparam=bobbin+work&resultpage=http://www.brothersews.com/html/TutorialsDetails.jsp?xmlfile=tutorial_bobbin_ult.x ml&header= MO life is too short, not to explore
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User: mamadus
Member since: 12-31-2004 Total posts: 492 
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From: paroper
Date: 03-29-2005, 12:04 AM (6 of 10)
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About the machines. Most people here are pretty settled on the brand of machine they use. There are many very good machines out there for different prices. Each company's stitch is a little different in look. You need to decide how your machine will be used. If you plan just to embroider, you may want to get an embroidery only machine. There are many of these available. If you go this route, I would suggest that you purchase the largest stitch field you can afford (especially) if you plan to embroider large areas. You should be able to get a very nice machine for $1500 or much less, depending on what you want. There are some home/professional crossover embroidery machines that run in the $6-$10,000 range that have many needles and of course there are professional machines that run way up in price, but for the most part, the machines that you are looking at in the $2500-7000 range are machine which do both embroidery and sewing. These machines are constructed almost as two machines in one...that is why the price is so great. The large difference in prices depends on what options are available on the machine including how many built-in stitches it might have and how wide a pattern it will make with embroidery stitches. Some machines have absolutely beautiful artistic built in designs (for this, I like the Pfaff machines) but some have good built in designs and marvelous straight sewing capacity (like the Bernina). If you plan to do a lot of "plain old sewing" with your machine, you might like one brand, if you like decorative stitches, you might want another. If you want an even mix of sewing and decorative stitches you might want another. If you like to quilt, you want a 5mm or less feed pattern and you might want quilting extras that are avail. on some brands. If you have a clear idea of what kind work you will do on your machine when you shop, you will be happier with the outcome (and be more likely to keep the salesperson on track). As for designs. With software (which can run from a few hundred dollars to a couple thousand), a converter box or both, you can get most of the designs you want. You can find border designs, but again, you will want a large hoop so that you don't have to stop and move the hoop as often to get the look you want. Each company has a particular format that it uses (sort of like the operating system in Mac vs IBM) so these have to be read or converted into your machine. The big thing about the embroidery is that it is hard to explain how expensive it can be. When you look at an embroidered item, you don't normally stop to think about all the shades that go into that project. Those threads are very expensive. There are free designs out there but you have to consider that in some cases you get what you pay for so sometimes the best designs will be purchased from reputable sources. Stabilizers are expensive and absolutely necessary too. Embroidery is a wonderful hobby. I'm sure that you will love it...and freemotion embroidery might be just the ticket for you! It is good to be armed with some information when you go to look at machines though. Knowing what you will need will help you to determine what kind of budget you will have and how you will want to spend it. pam
Bernina 200e, Artista V5 Designer Plus, Explorations, Magic Box, Bernina 2000DE & 335 Bernette Serger, Bernina 1530 Sewing Machine, Bernina 1300 DC Overlock (with coverstitch) |
User: paroper
Member since: 02-03-2004 Total posts: 3775 |
From: Hippiegirl
Date: 03-29-2005, 12:27 AM (7 of 10)
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About the machines. Most people here are pretty settled on the brand of machine they use. There are many very good machines out there for different prices. Each company's stitch is a little different in look. You need to decide how your machine will be used. If you plan just to embroider, you may want to get an embroidery only machine. There are many of these available. If you go this route, I would suggest that you purchase the largest stitch field you can afford (especially) if you plan to embroider large areas. You should be able to get a very nice machine for $1500 or much less, depending on what you want. There are some home/professional crossover embroidery machines that run in the $6-$10,000 range that have many needles and of course there are professional machines that run way up in price, but for the most part, the machines that you are looking at in the $2500-7000 range are machine which do both embroidery and sewing. These machines are constructed almost as two machines in one...that is why the price is so great. The large difference in prices depends on what options are available on the machine including how many built-in stitches it might have and how wide a pattern it will make with embroidery stitches. Some machines have absolutely beautiful artistic built in designs (for this, I like the Pfaff machines) but some have good built in designs and marvelous straight sewing capacity (like the Bernina). If you plan to do a lot of "plain old sewing" with your machine, you might like one brand, if you like decorative stitches, you might want another. If you want an even mix of sewing and decorative stitches you might want another. If you like to quilt, you want a 5mm or less feed pattern and you might want quilting extras that are avail. on some brands. If you have a clear idea of what kind work you will do on your machine when you shop, you will be happier with the outcome (and be more likely to keep the salesperson on track). As for designs. With software (which can run from a few hundred dollars to a couple thousand), a converter box or both, you can get most of the designs you want. You can find border designs, but again, you will want a large hoop so that you don't have to stop and move the hoop as often to get the look you want. Each company has a particular format that it uses (sort of like the operating system in Mac vs IBM) so these have to be read or converted into your machine. The big thing about the embroidery is that it is hard to explain how expensive it can be. When you look at an embroidered item, you don't normally stop to think about all the shades that go into that project. Those threads are very expensive. There are free designs out there but you have to consider that in some cases you get what you pay for so sometimes the best designs will be purchased from reputable sources. Stabilizers are expensive and absolutely necessary too. Embroidery is a wonderful hobby. I'm sure that you will love it...and freemotion embroidery might be just the ticket for you! It is good to be armed with some information when you go to look at machines though. Knowing what you will need will help you to determine what kind of budget you will have and how you will want to spend it. Thank you so much all of you for your information. There is so much to think about and I appreciate all your effort in describing what I am getting into. Are there places created yet where a person can walk in and pay a fee to embroider something on a blouse instead of buying the machines outright? An embroidery bar or something - like oxygen bars. Anyone ever think of this? Pick the design and pay for the use of a machine. Could make money that way.... Anyway, thanks again! |
User: Hippiegirl
Member since: 03-21-2005 Total posts: 77 |
From: paroper
Date: 03-29-2005, 12:36 AM (8 of 10)
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There are all kinds of embroidery services out there. Some of them require that you leave your item while others will do embroidery while you wait (unless it is Christmas...then good luck). Many will digitize a design for you according to your own specifications and apply it to a garment. Many malls have embroidery kiosks. Quite often athletic shops have someone who does embroidery either send-out or in-house. My sewing machine dealer refers people for digitizing or embroidery and quite often fabric shops will display cards of people who do sewing and or embroidery services.
pam
Bernina 200e, Artista V5 Designer Plus, Explorations, Magic Box, Bernina 2000DE & 335 Bernette Serger, Bernina 1530 Sewing Machine, Bernina 1300 DC Overlock (with coverstitch) |
User: paroper
Member since: 02-03-2004 Total posts: 3775 |
From: paroper
Date: 03-29-2005, 12:41 AM (9 of 10)
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I think that as long as embroidery machines are finicky about threading and needles, etc embroidery machines won't be rented for the general public, esp. with the current prices....however, there is nothing to keep you from taking your designs to the dealers and seeing if they will allow you to "test" their machines while you are shopping for a machine...just a thought....ya never know.....
pam
Bernina 200e, Artista V5 Designer Plus, Explorations, Magic Box, Bernina 2000DE & 335 Bernette Serger, Bernina 1530 Sewing Machine, Bernina 1300 DC Overlock (with coverstitch) |
User: paroper
Member since: 02-03-2004 Total posts: 3775 |
From: mamadus
Date: 03-29-2005, 02:04 AM (10 of 10)
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One of our local Walmarts has an embroidery kiosk inside... they do a very good business... you might check and see if your local Wallyworld has one... MO life is too short, not to explore
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User: mamadus
Member since: 12-31-2004 Total posts: 492
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