Things your machine might be able to do: Needle Offset

[zooshooter]

Most of you folks probably discovered this quicker than I did....

If you have a zig-zag machine, (EDIT:probably ) you can control the needle position manually- centre, R or L.

It's handy to set the needle off-centre if you are stitching near the edge of the fabric, as it keeps the fabric under the feed dogs better, and tends to feed straighter.

If you want to add two lines of stitching, using the R offset for one line then restitching using L offset can make it easier to keep things looking even.

Credit where it is due, I hadn't even thought of this until I read this post last week. It came in very handy while hemming fabric for an underquilt this weekend but boy are my hands stiff this morning. Not used to all that pinning.

[Ramblinrev]

This position selector can appear in a variety of forms whocih would not always look like you might expect. For example, on my machine it is shown graphicly as a zig zag aligned to the right, to the left, or center. Other machines I have seen have a letter designation. I would be surprised if there is no way to make that selection. It might be hidden somewhere. Check the manual or play with all the optional controls. If your machine can do buttonholes automatically you almost certainly have the ability to set the side alignment since that is a major component of auto buttonhole mechanics.

[rocketBoy]

Most of you folks probably discovered this quicker than I did....

If you have a zig-zag machine, (EDIT:probably ) you can control the needle position manually- centre, R or L.

It's handy to set the needle off-centre if you are stitching near the edge of the fabric, as it keeps the fabric under the feed dogs better, and tends to feed straighter.

If you want to add two lines of stitching, using the R offset for one line then restitching using L offset can make it easier to keep things looking even.

I knew I could control the position of the needle on my machine but hadn't thought of using it the way you suggested. That's really useful, thanks!