Sew What’s Up Presents
The Sew What’s New Archive
This archived content is from Mary Wilkins’ sewing and
quilting message board “Sew What’s New,” which was
retired in August 2007. It is being provided by
“Sew What’s Up,”
which serves as the new home for many members of “Sew What’s New.”
From: Orc40k
Date: 06-07-2006, 12:18 PM (1 of 18)
|
Can y'all take any more about sheers/lightweight fabrics? The Pakistani outfit is laid out, ready to cut and sew. Fabric is a very lightweight but not sheer crepe texture rayon. I did some stitching tests on my machine this morning and here's what I'm getting: Size 11 ball point needle - when the tension is balanced between bobbin and top 10,11,and 12 stich lengths pucker, even with taut sewing. Size 9 universal - somewhat less pucker, but top thread shows on bottom and bottom thread shows on top. (BTW, thread is Gutterman 100% poly) Suggestions? Do I need to adjust bobbin tension? (eep) Put paper on the seam? Use longer/shorter stitch? Thanks in advance, Barbara |
User: Orc40k
Member since: 06-29-2005 Total posts: 47 |
From: paroper
Date: 06-08-2006, 08:29 AM (2 of 18)
|
I wouldn't use either needle. I'd use a sharp or microtex (sharp) on a sheer woven. Ball points are meant to be used with knits. Universal needles are a half-way attempt to give you a general purpose needle between sharp and ball point. Their tip is not as round as a ball point and no where near sharp. Be SURE And use directional sewing on your skirt...sewing UP the skirt, not down. The majority of puckered seams are because we sew against the grain! Also, take a little time to be satisfied that your stitch length and tension are where you want them. My Bernies will default to 2.5mm. I prefer the old Singers that did 10-12 Stitches per inch. I usually open my Bernie up to sew about 2.8-3.0mm because not only are the smaller stitches the debil to take out but they also "nail" the fabric. I like my seams to be a little more "free" (a little hard to explain).
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: 06-08-2006, 08:35 AM (3 of 18)
|
If the bobbin tension is showing on top, chances are that the top tension is too tight. I don't adjust the bottom tension UNLESS the threads meet in the center of the fabric and the bottom tension is loopy or just FLAT. Bottom tension seldom loosens over time so unless it is "messed with" or was never properly adjusted, it is probably fine. You can take the bobbin case OUT. hold the bobbin by the thread and "drop it". The bobbin should drop a few inches and stop. If it falls many inches or to the floor, it needs to be tightened. If it doesn't leave your hand, it is too tight. Never tighten a bobbin more than 1/4 of a turn at a time. Once you lay a screw driver to that case, it is next to impossible to get the adjustment back so if you HAVE to adjust it, it is one thing, but if you only "think" that "maybe" it needs adjustment, try to do the adjustments in the top...you can really screw up the tensions on your machine with that screw driver...and it drives the repairmen CRAZY!!! Sewing is different than embroidery because in embroidery you want the top thread to wrap in the bottom. In Sewing, the bobbin and thread tension should be equal and balanced, The stitch should meet in the center of the fabric layers. 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: Orc40k
Date: 06-08-2006, 11:44 AM (4 of 18)
A thousand blessings on you, Pam! (And I plan to chew out the JoAnns gal who sold me the ball point needle for this project.  Would be nice if they educated these youngsters before turning them loose pretending they know what they're talking about.) I'll bet if I get the needle right my problems will pretty much disappear.I always sew directionally, so no problem there. I think I even have a bit about directional sewing, complete with diagram, on my website. And the "drop the bobbin" test is awesome. I want to go home and do it right now but I have to finish up work and then fly home to pack for my trip to phoenix. My puckers were on a crossgrain guideline for the handrolled hem (scarf/veil for outfit) that I'll be doing on the plane. I already checked with the travel security folks and I can take my needles and thread trimming scissors (blades less than 4") on the plane.  And I do get "free." It's what my couture sewing book calls a soft seam. |
User: Orc40k
Member since: 06-29-2005 Total posts: 47 |
From: paroper
Date: 06-08-2006, 02:17 PM (5 of 18)
|
Thank you!! Blessings are always needed!
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: Sancin
Date: 06-08-2006, 04:58 PM (6 of 18)
|
Pam, you never cease to amaze me about the technical details you know. Many thanks about the bobbin tension, something I had thought about but didn't know - I don't think I have had a 'screw' to adjust my bobbin in the last several machines I have had - may have but couldn't find. Now, a question. Do you know if there is a chart or file somewhere that talks about the meaning of the numbers of the stitch lengths on the different sewing machines? You mentioned you prefer 10-12 stitches per inch but how do those numbers relate to a 2.5 on a stitch selection dial. I thought it was 2.5/cm but not so. I have tried an number of times to do metric conversions (we use metric in Canada and some of oldsters use both, whichever is most useable) but the numbers do not equate. This becomes confusing when and if one follows pattern instructions. *~*~*~* Nancy*~*~*~* " I try to take one day at a time - but sometimes several days attack me at once."
|
User: Sancin
Member since: 02-13-2005 Total posts: 895 
|
From: paroper
Date: 06-08-2006, 07:10 PM (7 of 18)
|
That's me, a fount of useless knowledge...killer at trivia! I am absolutely horrible with metric. I believe that the 2.5 and 3.0 is the reverse of our 10 stitches per inch, 12 stitches per inch. That should be X stitches per 2.5, 3.0, 6.0 etc. I think it is probably 10 or 12 per 2.5 mm but I'm not positive. If you have a good way to measure, try measuring the largest amount on your machine (probably 5 or 6 and see how many stitches are there.) It has been a few years since I switched from the 10/12 system to the other and I don't remember all the specific info (should though). 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: Esbea
Date: 06-08-2006, 07:24 PM (8 of 18)
| You might also want to change your thread from polyester to cotton. Polyester has a slight stretch where as cotton has none and if your tension is just a tiny bit tight... it could cause puckering. Hope this helps? Sue |
User: Esbea
Member since: 09-29-2002 Total posts: 8 |
From: wghmch
Date: 06-08-2006, 07:29 PM (9 of 18)
|
I can help on this one Pam. The metric settings, unlike the US ones, are intended to be the actual length of each stitch. If you set it at 2.5, (under ideal conditions) the feed dogs should advance the fabric 2.5 mm each time the machine stitches. This really makes more sense than the US system, where you were supposed to measure an inch and then count the stitches within that inch. Older machines used to feed about 6 stitches per inch, and the equivalent metric stitch was about 4 mm long. Older ZZ machines usually had a 4 mm swing for the needle, so the maximum ZZ was about the same as the maximum length of each stitch. Bill Holman |
User: wghmch
Member since: 03-04-2003 Total posts: 249 |
From: wghmch
Date: 06-08-2006, 07:32 PM (10 of 18)
|
"You might also want to change your thread from polyester to cotton." That's absolutely right Sue, and the poly thread can be stretched out both by the normal pull of the take up and the motion of the feed dogs. For this reason, on light weight fabrics that pucker easy, a shorter stitch will usually produce better results. Bill Holman |
User: wghmch
Member since: 03-04-2003 Total posts: 249 |
From: Sancin
Date: 06-08-2006, 09:52 PM (11 of 18)
|
Thank you so much Bill. That makes sense - except if you are used to thinking of distance in time. I will have to figure this out with fabric tryouts I think in order to visualize the foot moving 2.5 mm. I still wouldn't mind a conversion chart if anyone knows of one available. Pam, don't feel bad, many people have trouble with metric and as I said I use it for somethings and not others. The interesting thing I found when teaching nursing is that as the years went on the students didn't know anything else but metric. I had to learn metric and apothecary when I was in nursing school as well as Canadian and American Imperial measures not that it stuck - so much for memorizing - I carried a lot of 'cheat sheets' in my pockets when in clinical areas. I did get a bit of a giggle at 10 stitches per mm. There are 10mm in 1 cm and 2.5 cm in an inch. Picture it. If you think 10 stiches per inch is difficult to pick out I think success picking out 10 stitches per 2.5 per mm would be in the Guiness book of Records. 
*~*~*~* Nancy*~*~*~* " I try to take one day at a time - but sometimes several days attack me at once."
|
User: Sancin
Member since: 02-13-2005 Total posts: 895
|
From: LeapFrog Libby
Date: 06-09-2006, 11:16 AM (12 of 18)
|
Don't forget about the winding speed of your bobbin. If using polyester thread, you need to wind your bobbin at a slower speed so that the thread does not stretch. If you wind it at high speed, when you sew it will be stretched out as you sew, but then it will relax and tighten up and therefore pucker your seam..This has been discussed on these boards at length in the past.. I use the medium speed of my machine to wind bobbins always just to be safe..
Sew With Love
Libby |
User: LeapFrog Libby
Member since: 05-01-2002 Total posts: 2022 
|
From: MissTaraTara
Date: 06-10-2006, 03:02 PM (13 of 18)
|
Thank you so much Bill. That makes sense - except if you are used to thinking of distance in time. I will have to figure this out with fabric tryouts I think in order to visualize the foot moving 2.5 mm. I still wouldn't mind a conversion chart if anyone knows of one available. I cut a tiny chart out of an old issue of Threads magazine. It states: 20 spi = 1.3mm 15 spi = 1.7mm 12 spi = 2.1mm 10 spi = 2.5mm 8 spi = 3.1 mm 6 spi = 4.2mm 5 spi = 5.1 mm 4 spi = 6.3mm |
User: MissTaraTara
Member since: 01-24-2006 Total posts: 227 |
From: Sancin
Date: 06-10-2006, 08:00 PM (14 of 18)
Thank you thank you, Miss Tara - that is exactly what I was looking for.  It is easy to miss some of those little guides in magazines and on line but I was sure it was somewhere. I have a number tucked away on my bulletin board above my sewing machine, along with certain combinations I frequently use on my machine. I wonder, if with the change in the Threads format, we will lose or gain more of these charts. 
*~*~*~* Nancy*~*~*~* " I try to take one day at a time - but sometimes several days attack me at once."
|
User: Sancin
Member since: 02-13-2005 Total posts: 895
|
From: Orc40k
Date: 06-15-2006, 03:33 PM (15 of 18)
|
The bobbin should drop a few inches and stop. Time for me to find my itty bitty screwdriver. Dropped the bobbin this morning and it doesn't fall even the tiniest bit! Since I've always been cautioned to NEVER, EVER mess with the bobbin tension I have to think that the last person who serviced my machine did this to me. No wonder adjusting tension has been the debbil lately! |
User: Orc40k
Member since: 06-29-2005 Total posts: 47 |
From: paroper
Date: 06-15-2006, 03:36 PM (16 of 18)
|
Just be careful...a little goes a long way so it is better to do it in baby steps than to turn it too fast. I understand tension that is the Debil! 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: MariLynntex
Date: 06-15-2006, 04:06 PM (17 of 18)
| I have heard that old myth about never ever touching the bobbin tension and it just isn't true. I change my bobbin tension all the time. I loosen it when I do freemotion embroidery because bobbin tension needs to be looser when you do that. If the bobbin doesn't fall right when I am through with the embroidery, I adjust the tension again. Your bobbin tension changes as you sew anything, any stitch. It's nothing to be afraid of. I check how mine is by the bobbin-drop all the time, because the thread gets too tight. I think it has something to do with the backward/forward stitching on many stitches, also the natural elasticity of the threads, the weather, the humidity, the dust...you name it, whatever it is, it has its affect, so you just adjust your tension to fit. You know, go with the flow! MariLynntex |
User: MariLynntex
Member since: 01-05-2006 Total posts: 107 |
From: Orc40k
Date: 06-16-2006, 03:34 PM (18 of 18)
|
I'm headed off to get the needles I need to get sewing on this outfit. My victim....friend...leaves for Pakistan in about 2 1/2 weeks and I still haven't laid out the giant-crotch pants. I know how I'm doing it, though. So that's a start. Again thanks for all the help. I'll let everyone know how things are going and I MIGHT even have some in-process pictures. |
User: Orc40k
Member since: 06-29-2005 Total posts: 47 |
Visit Sew What’s Up for the latest sewing and quilting tips and discussions.
This page was originally located on Sew What’s New (www.sew-whats-new.com) at http://www.sew-whats-new.com/vb/archive/index.php/t-19327.html
Sew What’s Up is hosted by ZenSoft