Let there be light!

I am never satisfied with the amount of light I have for sewing. My newest sewing machine is a 1997 Bernina and, with the exception of a few industrials, all of my other machines are quite a bit older. Lighting on vintage machines pales compared to that of 21st century machines.

On Saturday, I saw an advertisement for quite pricey ($45 and up) LED light strips for sewing machines. Knowing that LED light strips are generally very inexpensive, I hopped over to Amazon and found very similar light strips for under $8.

They arrived today and I am just so excited about them! They are self-adhesive and dim-able (not sure why you’d want that…) and easily cut to fit. I ordered one for my Bernina 1530 and one for my 500A buttonhole machine. Wow, what a difference!

I’m generally not a fan of sticking things onto my machines but I’m less of a fan of sewing in the dark. Once I turn on my LED light to the left of the machine, I will be able to see so clearly!

Here’s the link for the strips that I ordered. At this price, you can buy one for every machine!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013DHLHY4?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

The Anorak – Part II

It’s Day 1 of my mini Sewing Vacation, woohoo! Bryan is in Dallas and I am doing exactly what I said I’d be doing: spending the day in my jammies, sewing! I should get this anorak completed before I go to bed tonight. I swear, finishing all of the seams takes longer than the entire jacket itself! But, it’s well worth it.

I didn’t want any raw edges around the armscye so I decided to use double-fold binding instead of the HK finish. I trimmed off a scant 1/4″ from the seam allowances and ran it through.

It looks really nice and neat and was so easy. I love the way the shiny dupionni binding looks with the sueded silk/linen!

I also used the binder to make my own cording. Because this fabric is so “grabby” it would have been a nightmare to turn a bias tube and I didn’t have any charcoal drawcord in my stash. This techniqued worked really well so I’ll definitely use it again.

Here’s where I am so far. I still have to hem the jacket and finish the sleeves. The jacket looks really long but, I assure you, this is the shorter length! And the sleeves… Well, to be fair, they probably are perfect when using a blouseweight but they were way too wide for this fabric. I removed 4″ of width and they are still quite full. I’m unsure whether I will cuff or elasticate them so I’ll leave that until last.

Binder comparisons

I was asked about binding tight curves by Shisomama, who is attempting to bind baby bibs with a plate binder. Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult (if not impossible!) to bind tight curves with this type of binding attachment. As you can see here, the binding enters the attachment at about a 45 degree angle and is then straightened out well before it gets under the needle. This type of binder is best for straight or slightly curved work.

Then we have the right-angle binder which works very well on tight curves and rounded corners. The fabric enters the binder at a 90 degree angle and does not straighten out until just before it goes under the needle. This type of binder is attached to a commercial needle plate (which fits most single-needle machines). It also requires a special feeder and foot. This particular set came with a standard binding foot (on the left) and a compensating foot (right).

 

Am I still working on this silk blouse?

Ugh, yes I am! I can’t believe how much trouble I’ve had sewing this blouse! Well, thankfully, it’s not just me. Last night, Ann, Phyllis, Pam and I decided that the planets must be misaligned or something. Anyway, the sleeves are finally done and I hope not to see my seam ripper for a day or two. Since I’m working six days right now (my friend had a knee replacement so I’m minding his shop on Saturdays) I’ve decided to blow off housework today and get this thing finished because I really want to move on to other projects.

I’m embarassed that my pressing board is so stained! I went to JoAnn’s – do you think they had any cotton drill? Uh, no.

I bought some new industrial hemmer feet this week. The one on the left is 3/8″ and the one on the right is 1/8″. I really like this style best. They are the same as the Bernina feet that I am used to.

Here are some other feet I already had. They are really nice but I just don’t like them as well as the other style. The one on the left is a spring hemmer. It has a little spring that opens as you go over a seam. The middle one is a ball hemmer and the one on the right is a wire hemmer. For some reason, I’ve just never made friends with any of them (I think it’s because of the lack of visibility) so I was really excited to find the others. They weren’t expensive so I’ll probably order some other sizes as well.

I almost forgot about the buttons! I finally picked up some Rit dye yesterday. I simmered the buttons on the stove (I have a dedicated Corningware dish for this task) for about 3 hours, left them in the dyebath overnight and then simmered them some more this morning in a fresh pot of undiluted dye. They are not quite dark enough but I’d rather have an “almost” MOP button than a perfect plastic one!

Singer Hemstitcher

Welcome to the wonderful world of vintage sewing attachments! I warn you, this can become a very expensive addiction. 🙂

Since some of you asked, I thought I’d write a little more about the hemstitcher. It is a wonderful, vintage attachment available for models 15, 66 (except 66-1), 99, 101, 127, 128, 201 and 221. Here’s the set for the 15 class and the 201:

The set consists of the attachment itself (note the huge hooked piercer),

and a special needle plate, an offset screwdriver and a special mushroom-shaped attachment screw:

There are five different needle plates available for the various models. Here’s the plate for the Featherweight (221K):

All of the machines that this attachment was designed for are straight-stitch only. The attachment pierces a large hole and then allows the machine to form a zigzag stitch to hold the hole open. For a nice hemstitch you would stitch down one side and then turn the work around and come down the other side. If you want a picot edge you stitch down one side only and then trim the fabric away up to the hole. It’s really very cool and beats the pants off the wing needle!

If you have one of these vintage machines and want to find an attachment that fits it, here is a list of the plates for each model:

Class 15 #121388
Class 66 #121389
Class 99 #121389
Class 101 #121390
Class 127 #121391 (needs screw #202)
Class 128 #121391 (needs screw #202)
Class 201 #121388
Class 221 #121392

Note that the set is always numbered #121387. The part number for the plate is on the underside and number #121388 for the 15 and 201 classes is the most readily available. The one for the 221 (probably because of the ever-increasing popularity of the Featherweight) seems to be the most sought after and therefore the most expensive.

A New Binder

When I was binding my silk chiffon blouse I thought I really needed a smaller binder so I picked one up today. As you may or may not remember, I used a 1 1/4″ binder on the blouse. It was fine but a narrower binding would have been prettier.

The new binder is 3/4″ (part #5083/4) and I ordered a 1″ (#5081) to have on hand and may get the 5/8″ (#5085/8) just for fun. My friend thought I was crazy because the 3/4″ finishes to a fat 1/8″ but that is just perfect for chiffon!

Because the finished product is so narrow it was a little trickier to get it started. I finally pulled out my awl which helped me get everything positioned properly; it was easy-peasy after that. The finished binding is absolutely beautiful, just what I envisioned. Look at the difference between the two:

If you are wondering, I used this binder on my Bernina 1530. It will also fit on my commercial machines. I do own a real Bernina binder and it works great but no better than any of the commercial binders I own. The Bernina binder is about $200, the commercial ones run $20-40. Your machine must have attachment holes on the bed. If the casting is metal a skilled mechanic can drill and tap holes for you.

Now, you will have to loosen screws on the plate and get everything positioned properly for your machine but that’s really easy to do. Basically the left edge of the binding should run along the left toe of your presser foot and the plate should be as close to the foot as possible without touching the feeders. You will need a proper binding foot. For a Bernina, it’s #94 – for the classic models anyway. You can also have the right toe cut off of an open-toe foot at most industrial sewing machine shops. Or do it yourself with the cut-off wheel of a Dremel – just make sure you polish all the rough edges.