Read the user's manual.
Singer and other manufs have some great how-to books to give you the basics.
go to the links page here on HF then the 'gear making tips'
Check out creative solutions - click the different "feet" on the left side
Also check out the links for 'sewing tips' and 'specialty outdoors'
Also, check out Thru-hiker, the projects tab. Lots of good info there.
Good luck!
Scott
"Man is a stream whose source is hidden." RWE
Excellent advice in reading the manual. I didnt even know the sewing machine uses different feet based on the stich.
I guess I need to jump in and try, which seems to be the consensus. I dont mind a boot shaped stuff sack.
Not based on the stitch, rather based on what task you want some help performing. If you're sewing a zipper, it's easier to use a zipper foot. Hemming? You could use a hemming foot. They're just tools to make things easier. You can do what you need to do without them, just don't forget about them completely... you can bring them in when you're ready for them.
"Civilization is the limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities." - Mark Twain
“I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.” - John Burroughs
sergers are heavenly or hellish depending on what you want to do. The key to being able to use your wife's serger is Never, ever... and I mean never ever... break a thread through carelessness. Stuff happens and even my wife will break an occasional thread. But under no circumstances am I just careless with that machine. My own regular sewing machine... pfft.... any thing goes. The serger is straight by the book....
I may be slow... But I sure am gimpy.
"Bless you child, when you set out to thread a needle don't hold the thread still and fetch the needle up to it; hold the needle still and poke the thread at it; that's the way a woman most always does, but a man always does t'other way."
Mrs. Loftus to Huck Finn
We Don't Sew... We Make Gear! video series
Important thread injector guidelines especially for Newbies
Bobbin Tension - A Personal Viewpoint
a zipper foot is almost required for most zipper applications. You really need to be able to get close to the zipper teeth to get a good stitch. A rolling hemming foot has always struck me as more trouble than it is worth. Even my wife never uses one. The buttonhole foot is an important one if you want to do slits and slots and have then look uniform and good.
I may be slow... But I sure am gimpy.
"Bless you child, when you set out to thread a needle don't hold the thread still and fetch the needle up to it; hold the needle still and poke the thread at it; that's the way a woman most always does, but a man always does t'other way."
Mrs. Loftus to Huck Finn
We Don't Sew... We Make Gear! video series
Important thread injector guidelines especially for Newbies
Bobbin Tension - A Personal Viewpoint
"Civilization is the limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities." - Mark Twain
“I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.” - John Burroughs
hehe... I'm glad they work for you. My wife is a professional seamstress and can roll a 1/16" chiffon hem by hand faster than she can use a hemmer. I just dont care enuf to try to learn how to use them. Please note that was a personal statement and not to be projected on to anyone else.
I may be slow... But I sure am gimpy.
"Bless you child, when you set out to thread a needle don't hold the thread still and fetch the needle up to it; hold the needle still and poke the thread at it; that's the way a woman most always does, but a man always does t'other way."
Mrs. Loftus to Huck Finn
We Don't Sew... We Make Gear! video series
Important thread injector guidelines especially for Newbies
Bobbin Tension - A Personal Viewpoint
Completely understood. All input here is good input. I think of the feet as helpers to get a job done, but not everyone will use all of them.
I have a buttonholer, but have not yet learned to use it as intended. I mean I used it, but I'm not sure I used it correctly. That's next on my list of things to learn.
"Civilization is the limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities." - Mark Twain
“I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.” - John Burroughs
I hate to pin. And I find the hemmer feet a pain to use... but to compensate I will routinely do something else that is extremely important and often overlooked. Iron... press the seams before you sew them. Press the hem before you stitch it. Use the proper heat setting on the iron... (ack more learning curves) so you get a nice crisp crease in the fabric. It is so much easier to sew something when the fabric is creased and less likely to move around. My wife and I have been known to stand at the ironing board waiting for the other to be done...
I may be slow... But I sure am gimpy.
"Bless you child, when you set out to thread a needle don't hold the thread still and fetch the needle up to it; hold the needle still and poke the thread at it; that's the way a woman most always does, but a man always does t'other way."
Mrs. Loftus to Huck Finn
We Don't Sew... We Make Gear! video series
Important thread injector guidelines especially for Newbies
Bobbin Tension - A Personal Viewpoint
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