I was SEW excited to open my email and see this notice! It’s been five years since the Greater Atlanta Quilt Shop Hop disbanded. Many of those participating shops have gone out of business. Since then, Sadie and I have participated in the Middle Georgia Shop Hop every February. I also usually spend a 1/2 day at the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo held every March.
It’s wonderful to see ten shops listed, six of which I’ve never visited. Sadie and I will have fun catching all the shops over a long weekend – including a stay at Grandma and Poppy’s given the majority of the shops are on that side of town.
FYI – two of the large quilting and sewing shops in the area are not part of this event – which makes sense as this is designed to promote the smaller shops in the region.
Here’s the event homepage, so you can get all the details.
Accurate seam allowances play a vital role in the successful outcome of any project. A 1/4″ seam allowance is standard in quilting and most smaller sewn projects like zipper pouches and placemats. Topstitching is one of those little sewing extras that takes an item from homemade to handmade. If you make bags, zipper pouches, journal covers, placemats, fabric boxes, bookmarks, lanyards, etc., you’ll find find 1/8″ topstitching in your project.
What’s the best way to achieve consistent seam allowances and accurate topstitching? Experiment with the different feet that came with your machine. Practice, practice, practice.
Perhaps your all-purpose presser foot looks like the one in this picture. Here, I’m showing a 1/4″ seam, scant 1/4″ seam and an 1/8″ topstitch. All were made using the foot that came with the machine. Use the edge of the presser foot as the guide for 1/4″ seams and adjust the needle position (change the stitch width) accordingly. Use a similar approach for 1/8″ topstitching, except use the inside right toe as your seam guide (long metal lip on the right side) and adjust the needle position.
My personal favorite, and most consistent means of 1/8″ topstitching, requires a specialty foot. Janome refers to this one as the SE foot, but it’s very similar to a common blindhem foot. Here’s a an earlier post where I discuss using the Janome G blind hem foot. The Elnita EC30 pictured here has a 5mm wide stitch width, and I find the SE foot easier to use than the adjustable blind hem foot demonstrated in that post.
For 1/4″ seams, I do best with a guide on the right side of my presser foot (similar to topstitching). The Janome 02 presser foot delivers consistent results.
These sticky notes will be pasted inside the front cover of my sewing machine manual. Having this info at my fingertips helps me make the most of my limited sewing time.
What about vintage straight stitch machines and modern mechanical machines where you can’t adjust the needle position on a straight stitch?
Use the original presser foot and painter’s tape on the machine bed to mark seam allowances.
Buy a 1/4″ presser foot for your machine. Can’t find one? The Little Foot works well.
Singer makes a Sew Easy foot with an adjustable guide. Using the inside toe as a guide with a center needle position yields a nice, consistent 1/8″ topstitch.
Experiment with the different feet and attachments out there to discover what works best for you. Another hack for vintage machines is use an old credit card along with the painter’s tape to mark seam allowances. This way you get a lip to run the edge of the fabric against and you can still use pins/clips up to a point. Beats having to pin everything to the left.
One of the best sources of information on how to operate and care for your sewing machine is the MANUAL.
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As part of the sewing machine maintenance class I teach, I make sure each student has a copy of their sewing machine manual. A short survey is sent out prior to class asking about the machine they plan to bring to class. If a student indicates they don’t have a manual, I’ll search for one and send them a link where they can download a copy. (One advantage to having a librarian as your teacher!) During class, I emphasize the importance of saving a pdf copy to Google drive or somewhere online so that they can access it quickly if the original manual gets lost or left at home.
PDF downloads for most modern and many vintage models can be found online for FREE. Sometimes you have to try 2-3 different websites before you can locate the free pdf file, but those few extra minutes could save you $6-$20. If you prefer a printed or original copy of your manual, skip the free sources and head straight to the paid resources.
All I need is a FREE pdf download and I’ll print it myself: 1. Download directly from the sewing machine company’s website. Navigate to the site – Brother, Baby Lock, Bernina, Juki, Janome, Singer/Pfaff/Viking. You get the picture. Once there, look for a link to SUPPORT. 2. Try Pocono Sew & Vac. Search for your machine. Scroll down the sidebar to FREE digital manuals. 3. If you have a Kenmore, try searching Sears Parts Direct. Enter your model number. Ignore the graphic that doesn’t look anything like your sewing machine and click on Manual to retrieve. This link probably has the test link to my old Kenmore machine. Merely replace the model number with your own. 4. Try Manualslib.com. You may also be able to locate free service manuals here. Note that a watermark may appear on some of the files you download.
Vintage machine, but no luck with the above resources? Try the ISMACS website and look to see if they have your manual. Join an enthusiast group for your machine on Facebook and look under the FILES section.
Ebay is a great resource for original manuals for older sewing machines or enhanced reproduction copies of original vintage manuals. High quality reproduction manuals for popular vintage machines like the Singer Featherweight and Singer 301 can be found at many niche online retailers who specialize in these specific models.
Test machine #2: Kenmore 30 stitch model 18830. Found on Sears Parts Direct for free. Found watermarked copy on manualslib for free. Found exact same pdf download from Sears Direct Site for sale at manualsoncd, and sewingpartsonline, plus at least one seller on Etsy. If I needed a print copy, I would buy from sewingpartsonline.com
I have purchased printed reproduction instruction and service manuals for my Singer Featherweights and 301. The large print version for the 301 I bought off Ebay is fabulous and well worth the money.
Tip: If you regularly take your machine to classes and retreats, print off a copy of your manual and stick it in a 3 ring pocket folder. Put a sticky note on the front cover that includes your preferred settings for 1/4″ seam, 1/8″ topstitch and any stitches commonly used for machine applique. Leave the pocket folder in your machine’s travel case.
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