Fixing Ratty Towels

[sudsmaster]

Correction: I consulted my Brother sewing machine manual and the stitch I used to rehabilitate frayed towel edges was an overcasting stitch. Basically it's a zigzag stitch with a straight stitch on one side. It seems to be working well enough, in that it's stopped the fraying.

 

[launderess]

Have An Older Bernia Five Thread Serger

That one almost threw clear across the room at a wall. Took that long to get the threading correct I was so angry,after over five or so hours *finally* got the thing threaded, and now will only do work that requires five threads. You aren't going to get me to go through that again. The manual suggested using different coloured threads for each so as to make threading easier at first, so I did. Regardless of what colour fabric is, it is going to get those same colours! *LOL*

One tip picked up from a sewing newsgroup I belong to, is that one shouldn't unthread a serger when changing thread colours. Clip the thread near the cone, tie (tightly with the smallest knot), new colour thread, then go to the needle end and gently start pulling the new colour thread though as to thread. If done carefully (pray, pray, pray), nothing will catch or break, and you'll avoid having to manually rethread the machine.

Both my vintage Elna "Supermatic" and Pfaff 1200 series will do "over cast" stitches, indeed the Pfaff has a special foot for the job, but unlike serger neither can cut and trim while sewing the edge the way my five thread serger can. Also using the elastic foot on my serger can do an elastic edge (as when making ironing board covers), whilst trimming off the excess/frayed edges.

Sergers are great for running up lots of laundry bags. No pattern really required, no pinking of edges, and so forth.

 

[launderess]

Frayed Edges and Machine "Zig-Zag" Stitches

Are a based upon the old method of darning by hand, where one would simply weave darn back and forth over a tear/fray catching up the loose threads and closing the damage.

Machine Darning:

Can do both "free style" (drop feed dogs on my Pfaff, cover feed plates on my Elna), and also the Elna has a stitch disc for darning. However find machine darning rather "hard" and inflexible when compared to work by hand.

True hand darning or "reweaving" recreates as best one's skill allows the pattern missing from the cloth or knitted goods. Lock stitch sewing machines do not form stitches this way thus what one gets is a series of inter-locked back and forth stitches. While the hole is covered/damaged repaired, it rarely answers for the same softness and such from handwork.

Also have tons of vintage darning cotton, none of which will work in a sewing machine, I've tried. Like to use darning cotton because it is multi-strands (can use one or more depending upon the fabric one needs to mend), and is very soft. The vintage French daring cotton I have from DMC has a very high luster, it is meant for mending fine damask and linen.

 

[elginkid]

I had a serger that I used once...

My friend's mom gave it to me, NIB, and I was going to use it to make simple tablecloths for the museum I worked for. They needed them for some of the art programs for the Girl Scouts. I finally got the thing threaded, and sewed partway through one tablecloth and the thread broke. That was the last time I was able to get it to work.

Now, that friend is moving and her mom just gave me her NIB embroidery machine. All of my old machines have instruction manuals that are maybe 4x6" tops, and 3/16"-1x4" thick, and it covers everything including attachments. This thing came with two 2" binders and a video. So the machine will thread itself, but unless it's gonna sew everything for me, I'm probably screwed. I wish they made a cast iron, all mechanical embroidery machine!

 

[ironrite]

Ah Launderess, yes, the joys of a serger and inventing new languages to go with them. Much as I love the Elna, it is no different. You have to thread it carefully and if you don't it is nothing but trouble! For me, I forget to raise the foot, thus releasing the tensioning discs for the thread. Think of two pie tins that come together to apply tension to the thread. If you don't the thread rides over the discs and you have a mess. On sergers this can be harder to see than regular sewing machines and you have to feel the thread lock into tension as you thread it.

The dental floss threaders are just little plastic loops that you can feed your thread into the looped end and then use the single end to feed it through the loopers. A pack of them is very cheap at the local drug store. These are helpful with thicker threads.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of working on the Babylock Evolution, an 8 thread machine, with the airjet threading and they are a dream. Very, very easy to thread, and should you make a mistake in the settings, and I did, very forgiving. The price, expensive. However if you did a lot of serger work, this would be the machine. I put the link to be below. For now, the Elna will work for me, but I'm saving my dollars for the new one.

Wesley, what brand of embroidery machine did you get? And yes, a lot of the newer sewing machines have some sort of automatic threading. Embroidery isn't terribly difficult, just make sure to have the correct stablizers and thread to do it. Feel free to email me if you'd like.

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babylock.com

 

[launderess]

Cast Iron Embroidery Machine

Well they are out there, but not what you think.

Have an old and apparently highly collectible book from Singer The Art of Embroidery and Lace Making) that teaches how to do all sorts of embroidery and lace making via machine. Granted from the era this book was printed the "machines" would have been those early black Singer cast iron jobs, but the work translates well to modern machines.

The book, instructions and so forth are techniques used by *VERY* skilled women (and perhaps a vew men), who do machine embroidery for French couture and other high end work.

This is all work done with straight stitches (zig-zag stiches on sewing machines are a recent invention *LOL*), and is really some of the most beautiful embroidery you have ever seen. It is what they call "free motion" or "free hand" embroidery.

 

[launderess]

Here is the book:

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www.google.com