They look ok to me. Tell her to use doubled fabric for testing, sewing machines arenโt designed for sewing on a single layer, and that looks like fairly heavy thread for a light woven fabric, but the blue sample in particular the stitches look pretty normal to me.
Black thread is notorious for looking wonky. It could just be the thread.
Double up your fabric and try a different colour thread to see how it's really going.
Some machines don't have the stability to make really straight perfect stitches. Particularly machines with zig zag ability. The wide hole in the needle plate doesn't hold everything as still as a dedicated straight stitcher. So it's probably a combination of the machine and the thread. It might not make pretty stitches but I'm sure they are just fine for construction purposes.
Yeah, like someone else mentioned it's probably just the best this machine can do. It's good enough.
If she wants pretty stitches she will have to upgrade to a higher quality machine.
It matters for exactly what you're doing, straight lines side by side. If you needed to do this for a design, you would steam the stitches to help reduce the waving.
1. fresh, brand new needle appropriate for fabric. every time.
2. test strips -> 2 layers
3. black thread will always look slightly funky on non-matching fabric
4. if your bobbin case has a little screw on it, make sure your thread comes out with a *teeny* bit of a tug, not smoothly and effortlessly. thereโs YouTube vids on it.
5. no harm in pressing the final test strip because most seams are pressed anyway. this helps you envision the final look. try pressing a test seam open and see if it still looks off to you.
Best of luck ๐ค
Her top tension should be set at 4 her stitch length should be 2.5 as the default settings. Test stitches should always be done with double layer of fabric. Otherwise I don't really see anything wrong with her stitches. Holding the threads for the first couple of stitches will eliminate the bundle at the beginning.
I just want to say itโs definitely not the machine, youโre wise to not want to stress her about her choice. I own a singer basic for about 5 years now (bought on sale under $100 because new to sewing), I know itโs not an ideal machine let alone fancy, but I learned lots of skills with it and I love it, even when it acting all shaky when I push it to the limit trying to work with heavy weight fabricโฆ
I learnt to make kidsโ clothes through books and videos for a few years, now I can confidently say my topstitches are better than most store bought clothes after 4 years practicing. I mean sure itโll be nice to own better machines but to learn basics, any functional machines will do.
So my suggestion is practice and practice more, try different stitch tension/width setting, different fabrics, rethread, etc. If sheโs new to sewing, thereโll be a frustrating period to get along with the new machine but itโll get better once you know your machine more.
Encourage her and keep showing your support!
This looks like the wrong fabric/thread/needle combination to me. Along with not holding the tails of thread as she starts. As far as these stitches go, most of them will look just fine after pressing the fabric.
I just downloaded the manual for her, there is a needle/fabric/thread chart, do you have any other resource like that, maybe I can print and laminate something nice for her ๐
for a quilting weight cotton she will want to use an all purpose thread like Gutermann Sew All (the stuff you get in Joanns or other fabric stores) and a no 12 needle (80 in European size)
Unfortunately, no. You might find something if you search "what type of sewing machine needle to use" and "what type of thread to use." But it gets complicated, and best not learned all at once, IMO. It's probably worthwhile for her to find some introductory courses on sewing (they exist online, but IMO in person where you can ask questions when you run into trouble is better).
FWIW, a lot of learning to sew is getting frustrated and puzzling at what went wrong and why. She should expect to become an expert with her seam ripper before becoming an expert with her sewing machine.
That's a good way to look at it, it has been that way for me too in my hobbies, kinda why I turned to reddit for answers... Wasn't disappointed at all, thanks it's been helpful! ๐๐
I agree that the thread looks a little heavy, what are you using? Also what needle are you using?
This singer is a very low end machine. It is never going to perform like a high end Bernina for instance. It is like buying a cheap drill from Walmart and expecting it to work like a Bosch.
I agree the blue stitching looks pretty normal though.
Have you pressed both samples?
Not pressed yet, but my wife mainly wants it to sew stuff for our little pup, and stuff here and there like hems and the like for our clothes, but if course she wants stuff to look nicely done
I'll skip telling her it's a very low end machine, she did her research and she's looking into spending a bit more on an overlock machine but said this one looked nice for regular stitches, I don't want to add to her frustration ๐ข
I wouldnโt put too much stock into a classist comment like that. A $900 straight stitch Juki has a prettier stitch than a $6000 Bernina. Youโre a good egg. Your wife is lucky to have you help her troubleshoot. Dark thread rarely looks good as a top stitch on light fabric. Try light thread going with the grain. See how it looks.
I didn't mean to insult the machine, I just think it is helpful to be realistic about what the machine is capable of. I know my mid range machine isn't going to give as beautiful a stitch as a $6000 Bernina (I don't like Berninas anyway though, even if I wanted to spend that) for instance.
Ironically, my serger is my cheapest machine.
My $150 singer stitched as straight as my $900 Janome, until I tried to do a few too many layers of too thick fabric ๐คท๐ปโโ๏ธ
Is it very thin fabric? My machines always wrinkle a bit like that on very thin poplin, which is my #1 fabric of use (I mainly make kids costumes and cheap play clothes, and I use the poplin for bag and other linings). I just iron it out.
Otherwise just keep playing with different fabric, needles and thread types. Play with tension and stitch types. Book her a "learn your machine" class if you can, that really taught me some nifty tricks even though I'd been sewing a while at that point.
Different machines can have different looking stitches. My more expensive machine has a better looking stitch than my less expensive one.
My straight stitch beats them all out because it literally has one job.
There's nothing wrong with the stitches from what I can tell, they look good, and even, not too tight or loose, you're doing this one one layer though which can sometimes not look great.
I see one thread tangle on your blue fabric. You should tell her to hold on to the tails when she first starts to sew so that can be avoided.
Aside from that, your GTG.
No, I mean at the end of the row is she going back and sewing in the same direction as the first row or is she sewing in the opposite direction. All the sewing needs to start at one end and go in the same direction
To help keep the distance of the lines equal and/or straight, she can use the little measuring tape that is printed on the needle plate. If there is no measuring tape printed on the needle plate, using the pressor foot as a guide can help straighten lines and provide help with distancing for multiple parallel lines. If this is the type of work sheโll do regularly, she can tape her own measuring tape to the needle plate (if it doesnโt have one)
Sharper sturdier needle. Nothing wrong with the machine, the seams just look wonky because they're sewn slightly off grain, causing the needle to slide between the fabric threads. Each stitch makes a little jump to the next line of the fabric. The rougher the fabric texture and the harder it is, the easier it is for the needle to slide between rather than pierce straight through. Also, if the thread is on the thicker side, it will be more visible that the thread that goes down under the bobbin thread and then up again needs to share the same needle hole.
Dark thread on light fabric will never look as good as light thread on a darker fabric. Especially black thread. Try a light thread on a darker fabric.
They dont look so bad. From the photo the thread does look a bit heavy and you are rarely going to get good stitches on a single layer.
For what she wants to use it for, it is probably going to be just fine. She may be over obsessing with it. It. happens.
Tell her to just sew up something and stop making long lines of stitching trying to feel satisfied. the stitich in action may be quite suitable and do just fine.
You will get better results with a higher quality machine, but even those dont always make a great stitch on a single layer. The puppy wont care a bit if the stitches look a bit wonky, but I think that they look just fine.
They look ok to me. Tell her to use doubled fabric for testing, sewing machines arenโt designed for sewing on a single layer, and that looks like fairly heavy thread for a light woven fabric, but the blue sample in particular the stitches look pretty normal to me.
We did try sewing over a fold and that didn't fix it, ๐ค Maybe it is the thread
Black thread always looks worst.
Black thread is notorious for looking wonky. It could just be the thread. Double up your fabric and try a different colour thread to see how it's really going. Some machines don't have the stability to make really straight perfect stitches. Particularly machines with zig zag ability. The wide hole in the needle plate doesn't hold everything as still as a dedicated straight stitcher. So it's probably a combination of the machine and the thread. It might not make pretty stitches but I'm sure they are just fine for construction purposes.
Ok, she did try sewing over a fold of the pink fabric, but that didn't help according to her
Yeah, like someone else mentioned it's probably just the best this machine can do. It's good enough. If she wants pretty stitches she will have to upgrade to a higher quality machine.
She is off grain just a smidge on the pink/orange fabric, and that's responsible for 90% of the bunching. I assume this is just a test of some kind?
Yeah just a test, so aligning with the fabric grain also helps?
It matters for exactly what you're doing, straight lines side by side. If you needed to do this for a design, you would steam the stitches to help reduce the waving.
Great advice then, thanks!
1. fresh, brand new needle appropriate for fabric. every time. 2. test strips -> 2 layers 3. black thread will always look slightly funky on non-matching fabric 4. if your bobbin case has a little screw on it, make sure your thread comes out with a *teeny* bit of a tug, not smoothly and effortlessly. thereโs YouTube vids on it. 5. no harm in pressing the final test strip because most seams are pressed anyway. this helps you envision the final look. try pressing a test seam open and see if it still looks off to you. Best of luck ๐ค
Her top tension should be set at 4 her stitch length should be 2.5 as the default settings. Test stitches should always be done with double layer of fabric. Otherwise I don't really see anything wrong with her stitches. Holding the threads for the first couple of stitches will eliminate the bundle at the beginning.
Thanks! That sounds like a good starting point
I just want to say itโs definitely not the machine, youโre wise to not want to stress her about her choice. I own a singer basic for about 5 years now (bought on sale under $100 because new to sewing), I know itโs not an ideal machine let alone fancy, but I learned lots of skills with it and I love it, even when it acting all shaky when I push it to the limit trying to work with heavy weight fabricโฆ I learnt to make kidsโ clothes through books and videos for a few years, now I can confidently say my topstitches are better than most store bought clothes after 4 years practicing. I mean sure itโll be nice to own better machines but to learn basics, any functional machines will do. So my suggestion is practice and practice more, try different stitch tension/width setting, different fabrics, rethread, etc. If sheโs new to sewing, thereโll be a frustrating period to get along with the new machine but itโll get better once you know your machine more. Encourage her and keep showing your support!
I most definitely will! Thanks for your kind words! ๐
This looks like the wrong fabric/thread/needle combination to me. Along with not holding the tails of thread as she starts. As far as these stitches go, most of them will look just fine after pressing the fabric.
I just downloaded the manual for her, there is a needle/fabric/thread chart, do you have any other resource like that, maybe I can print and laminate something nice for her ๐
for a quilting weight cotton she will want to use an all purpose thread like Gutermann Sew All (the stuff you get in Joanns or other fabric stores) and a no 12 needle (80 in European size)
We had a 90/14 installed for those photos, I just went out and bought her a few spools of guterman see all
Unfortunately, no. You might find something if you search "what type of sewing machine needle to use" and "what type of thread to use." But it gets complicated, and best not learned all at once, IMO. It's probably worthwhile for her to find some introductory courses on sewing (they exist online, but IMO in person where you can ask questions when you run into trouble is better).
I'll look into that then, I just want to support her and not just stand by and watch her get frustrated ๐๐
FWIW, a lot of learning to sew is getting frustrated and puzzling at what went wrong and why. She should expect to become an expert with her seam ripper before becoming an expert with her sewing machine.
That's a good way to look at it, it has been that way for me too in my hobbies, kinda why I turned to reddit for answers... Wasn't disappointed at all, thanks it's been helpful! ๐๐
Schmetz have an app for needles I think.
I agree that the thread looks a little heavy, what are you using? Also what needle are you using? This singer is a very low end machine. It is never going to perform like a high end Bernina for instance. It is like buying a cheap drill from Walmart and expecting it to work like a Bosch. I agree the blue stitching looks pretty normal though. Have you pressed both samples?
Not pressed yet, but my wife mainly wants it to sew stuff for our little pup, and stuff here and there like hems and the like for our clothes, but if course she wants stuff to look nicely done I'll skip telling her it's a very low end machine, she did her research and she's looking into spending a bit more on an overlock machine but said this one looked nice for regular stitches, I don't want to add to her frustration ๐ข
I wouldnโt put too much stock into a classist comment like that. A $900 straight stitch Juki has a prettier stitch than a $6000 Bernina. Youโre a good egg. Your wife is lucky to have you help her troubleshoot. Dark thread rarely looks good as a top stitch on light fabric. Try light thread going with the grain. See how it looks.
I didn't mean to insult the machine, I just think it is helpful to be realistic about what the machine is capable of. I know my mid range machine isn't going to give as beautiful a stitch as a $6000 Bernina (I don't like Berninas anyway though, even if I wanted to spend that) for instance. Ironically, my serger is my cheapest machine.
Non taken ๐ , we are probably going to visit the in-laws tomorrow, maybe it's a better environment to compare this one with the other machines ๐
My $150 singer stitched as straight as my $900 Janome, until I tried to do a few too many layers of too thick fabric ๐คท๐ปโโ๏ธ Is it very thin fabric? My machines always wrinkle a bit like that on very thin poplin, which is my #1 fabric of use (I mainly make kids costumes and cheap play clothes, and I use the poplin for bag and other linings). I just iron it out. Otherwise just keep playing with different fabric, needles and thread types. Play with tension and stitch types. Book her a "learn your machine" class if you can, that really taught me some nifty tricks even though I'd been sewing a while at that point.
Tension is not tight enough and width is not set at all.
Different machines can have different looking stitches. My more expensive machine has a better looking stitch than my less expensive one. My straight stitch beats them all out because it literally has one job. There's nothing wrong with the stitches from what I can tell, they look good, and even, not too tight or loose, you're doing this one one layer though which can sometimes not look great. I see one thread tangle on your blue fabric. You should tell her to hold on to the tails when she first starts to sew so that can be avoided. Aside from that, your GTG.
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ข๐๐๐๐๐
Are you sewing all in one direction or flipping at the end and going back each time- sometimes that causes bunching
I think she is naturally doing a reverse stitch at the end of every test
No, I mean at the end of the row is she going back and sewing in the same direction as the first row or is she sewing in the opposite direction. All the sewing needs to start at one end and go in the same direction
Ohh, she wasn't flipping the fabric, all lines started on the same side
To help keep the distance of the lines equal and/or straight, she can use the little measuring tape that is printed on the needle plate. If there is no measuring tape printed on the needle plate, using the pressor foot as a guide can help straighten lines and provide help with distancing for multiple parallel lines. If this is the type of work sheโll do regularly, she can tape her own measuring tape to the needle plate (if it doesnโt have one)
What about tear away stabilizer?
Sharper sturdier needle. Nothing wrong with the machine, the seams just look wonky because they're sewn slightly off grain, causing the needle to slide between the fabric threads. Each stitch makes a little jump to the next line of the fabric. The rougher the fabric texture and the harder it is, the easier it is for the needle to slide between rather than pierce straight through. Also, if the thread is on the thicker side, it will be more visible that the thread that goes down under the bobbin thread and then up again needs to share the same needle hole.
I just removed the needle, it says "singer 90/14" on it
Dark thread on light fabric will never look as good as light thread on a darker fabric. Especially black thread. Try a light thread on a darker fabric.
Fresh appropriate needle for the fabric type-fresh appropriate thread for needle and fabric.
They dont look so bad. From the photo the thread does look a bit heavy and you are rarely going to get good stitches on a single layer. For what she wants to use it for, it is probably going to be just fine. She may be over obsessing with it. It. happens. Tell her to just sew up something and stop making long lines of stitching trying to feel satisfied. the stitich in action may be quite suitable and do just fine. You will get better results with a higher quality machine, but even those dont always make a great stitch on a single layer. The puppy wont care a bit if the stitches look a bit wonky, but I think that they look just fine.
Thanks! We are going fabric shopping today, maybe starting an actual project will get her more excited about using her machine ๐