Machine Fridays - Sew, A Needle Pulling Thread

I get asked this question at least once a day, what needle do I need to buy? In turn I ask what type of fabric are you sewing on and what kind of thread are you going to be using?

Sewing machine needles are the cheapest part of your sewing machine. If you have a dual needle it could tear your fabric. Most people just continue to use the needle that came in their machine until it breaks. Needles DO NOT last forever, they should be replaced approximately every four to six hours and at the beginning of every project. Replacing your needle, is the easiest way to improve your stitch quality.

Change your needle when; you have broken or shredded threads, skipped stitches, puckered fabrics, damaged fabric, uneven threads or you sew over a pin or hit a zipper. If you are having trouble with skipping or the needle makes a popping noise (dull or blunted point) as it sews, it is past time to change the needle.

DO NOT sew over pins or zippers. The needle could break and hit you in the eye. Also, it can throw the timing of your sewing machine off, whereupon you would need to take it in for servicing.

The photo above shows you how a stitch is formed.

The eye of the needle should be 40% larger than the diameter of the thread. When going to a larger size of thread a larger needle should be used. Use the appropriate needle for the type of fabric being sewn. Size 80 needles works great for 40 weight thread, 75 would be great for 50 weight thread. The finer the thread and the finer the fabric that is being sewn, the finer the needle.

If you have any problems with your stitches, try changing your needle. Most people that bring their machine in because of skipped stitches, it's because of the needle and we charge them upwards of $100 and it only costs us $ 0.25.

More Fabric Savvy by Sandra Betzina is a must for every sewer. This book includes 100 different types of fabrics and tells you everything from what type of sewing foot to use, what is the best seam to use for the type of fabric, what needle to use and even the setting of your iron. I like to use it in the shop to help people select the right needle for their project and it helps sell the book.

Until next time,

Sunday Squares

This is the post that you have been waiting for. I'm the newest Moda Bake Shop Chef. Head on over and check out my newest quilt quickie entitled "Sunday Squares".

Hope you enjoy your little quickie. Please send me pictures if you decide to make one.

Until next time,

Tuesdays Threads

Still have a few more colors that I need, but I'm off to a good start.

Until next time,

Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks.

Paul sent me this comment and I wanted to share it with you. I did not know this. See you can teach an old dog new tricks.

I work in a sewing repair shop and I see that many people never remove the bobbin case to remove the lint. After a while a felt pad builds up under the bobbin case and under the feed dogs. Amazingly, some of the felt pads have so much lint, and have been compacted so much, they are just like a piece of felt.

And yes, this lint and lack of oiling can cause your machine to make noises when sewing, cause your stitches to not look as nice, and taken to an extreme, cause the premature failure and even death of your machine. The sewing machine motor has to work harder and harder to sew with all that lint, and the newer computerized sewing machines will give more power to the motor to compensate for the slowdown from all the lint. So it's also bad for your electric bill if you sew alot, because the wattage of your machine can easily double as the motor tries to compensate to drive the mechanism with all that lint.

How many of you know that lint would effect your electric bill?

Until next time,

Machine Fridays - Cleaning More Than Just Your House

I wish the sun would come out and stay out. I need bright sunshiny days. These gray overcast days have gotten me into a funk. There is not much I can do on these days except stay indoors and sew. I have been doing a lot more sewing. Woohoo! With more sewing you have got to remember to clean out the lint in your bobbin area to keep it sewing like it was a new machine. Cleaning is a great habit to get into. You should clean your machine at lest every eight hours of sewing if not more. I clean my machine every time I change my bobbin. It may sound anal, but my machine does sew better. If you notice that your stitching is off; change your needle, clean out the bobbin area and re thread your machine. Lint will adversely affect your stitching.

I was talking with a good friend of mine, that I have known for years and she was having trouble with her machine. I told her to bring it in and I would take a look at it. She brought it to me a few days later and I sat the machine up to check it out and sure enough the stitch was was off. I opened up the bobbin area of her machine and boy did I get a surprise. I found that the bobbin area was just caked in lint. I turned to her and said, “Girl, when was the last time you cleaned your machine?”

She replied, “A year ago when I brought it in for a cleaning.”

“No, No, No. You should be cleaning your machine everyday since you are sewing six to eight hours a day,” I told her.

I sat her down and showed her the proper way to clean out her machine. No one had ever told her she had to clean it. We went ahead and sent her machine in to be professionally cleaned. She now cleans out her machine everyday, thanks to me getting on my soap box.

Cleaning your machine is one of the simplest and cheapest things you can do to keep it running for a long time. You will need to check with your owner's manual or your dealer to see the right way to clean your machine. It is advisable to have it professionally cleaned at least once a year, more for avid sewers. A great time to have this done is while you are on vacation so as to avoid the dreaded sewing withdraw.

With most machines though, you take off the stitch plate cover and then take out the bobbin case. Second, take your lint brush and clean out the inside of the bobbin casing. You NEVER want to blow into or use a can of air on your machine because all you are doing is blowing the little bits of lint, that are in your bobbin area, further back into your machine. Which will get caked in and cause you more problems. They do make a mini vacuum cleaner attachment that will hook up to your vacuum and get right in there and suck up all that lint. Not only is it good for your sewing machine, but your car, keyboard, stereo or any other tight spot.

Remember to only take the bobbin case out and not the entire case off the machine as doing so will void your warranty.

It's important to remember to clean your machine at lest every eight hours, if not more often, to keep it running like a new machine.

Until next time,

Giveaway

Giveaway! Check it out.

Super Bowl Sale?!

Today's purchases. Did I really need them? No, but they were cute and only $1 per. Prairie Point Quilts was having their Super Bowl Sale today. Where they had FQ's on sale. $25 for 25 and $1 there after. Their classroom was full of FQ's. I would say they had close to 3,000 cut and when I left I would guess that maybe only 500 remained. Their classroom was jam packed with people and I just pushed my way through to get what I wanted. Most of the women were afraid to skooch around someone, so I took them by the hand and led them. Long as you say excuse me, sorry and say it with a bright cheerful voice you can get away with most anything. My BF did make a comment that these women were crazy. He was just going by what they said. And yes, some of them were CRAZY. It takes all kinds to make the world go round. We quilters are not all from the same cloth.

As for the other item I did need that. You see, I dropped my phone in a day old cup of coffee and it no longer worked. This would not have happened if I could learn to put up my coffee cup when I'm done. I guess you could say I had a Blackberry and cream. I told Sprint they could suck it and went with At&t. I was tired of all the dropped calls. I do live in Kansas City the same town as their world headquarters. One would think the service would be great, but you would be wrong.

I have some BIG news coming. Be on the look out.

Until next time,

Sunday Blocks

Until next time,

Gazebo

Done!!!
It's been almost a year in the making.

I worked on these on Sunday.

Until next time,