Come Stitch With Me

The traditional method to apply quilt binding is to attach the binding to the front of the quilt by machine, flip the binding over and sew it to the backside of the quilt by hand. I reserve this for show quilts and special quilts only. Every other quilt has machine sewn binding – meaning the binding is attached to the back of the quilt, flipped to the front and sewn down by machine.

In the above photo, I’m using the Janome Left Bi-Level foot for 5mm-7mm sewing machines. I’m also using the straight stitch with the tie-off/autolock feature (stitch #3 in the image below). I moved my needle position as far left as it would go and set my stitch length = 3.0.

I find that the Left Bi-Level foot works best on a sewing machine with a 7mm wide stitch width. However, you can make it work quite easily with a 5mm wide machine. such as the Elna 450 shown here. Rather than let the binding ride against the narrow left toe of the presser foot, simply align the edge of the binding with the left side of the larger right toe of the presser foot as shown in the above photo.

Class will still be held 10:30 a.m. – noon at the Southeastern Quilt & Textile Museum. Seven students of the original eight signed-up for the class were able to reschedule for this Saturday. There’s one seat still available. Call the SQTM at 770-301-2187 if you’d like to join the fun.

Routine maintenance is easy to do and extends the life of your sewing machine. In class, you’ll actually clean out the dust bunnies from under your needle plate, oil/grease where necessary, install a fresh needle and give the machine a good wipe down. We’ll adjust tensions and stitch out a few patterns until everything looks good. We’ll also go over how to troubleshoot and fix common sewing machine issues.

Missing your manual? I’ll help you locate a copy (preferably free). I’ll share my list of trusted repair folks and how often to take your machine in for service. I’ll also provide information on sewing technician training for those wanting to learn more.

This is not a REPAIR class. If your cam stack broke, a circuit board fizzled or the motor sparks, you’ll need to take your machine in for repair. My class is designed to empower sewists and quilters with the skills and knowledge to keep their machines humming for as long as possible. Interesting tidbit: 90% of machines taken in for “service” have issues that can easily be addressed by the owner.

Due to a special event happening in downtown Carrollton this weekend, all of the parking spaces in the lot by the Southeastern Quilt and Textile Museum have been taken over by the city until noon on Saturday. Class on Saturday 9/26 has been canceled. I’ve spoken with Amy, SQTM director, about some alternate dates for the class. Hopefully, one of the three proposed dates will work for the majority of students.

The good news: In addition to the make-up class TBD, I was invited teach another sewing machine maintenance class in Spring 2027. Those dates should be confirmed in the near future.