I have a new machine

Hi all

This is my first post to this group so bear with my silly questions...

I have recently inherited a sewing machine off my grandmother (who passed
away last year)....it will be in my possession this weekend. I have
absolutely no sewing equipment in my house at the moment and know I will
have a few things to buy. I am told that I will need to buy
bobbins.....don't laugh, but, are all bobbins the same? (size wise or
whatever)....what are some other things that I might need? Apparently it has
a manual so I guess that will help me with threading the needle and all
that.

Any help for a beginner with NO experience would be greatly appreciated

Thanking you all

Angela

"Gizela" u wrote in message
...
Hi all

This is my first post to this group so bear with my silly questions...

I have recently inherited a sewing machine (snipped)

I am sorry to hear about your Grandmother........all sewers love their
machines, so she must have loved you....

All bobbins are NOT the same........you need to know the manufacturer and
model number to make sure you get the right thing. If there is a bobbin
with the machine.....take it with you to a fabric store and look..... be
sure you match it exactly-----some are flat on top and bottom....some
slightly domed-----and the diameter sizes vary too..

Read the manual, and take your time to be sure you are threading correctly
and loading the bobbin correctly. It is a voyage of discovery!!! Don't
lose that manual!!!!!

"Pat" wrote in message
...

All bobbins are NOT the same........you need to know the manufacturer and
model number to make sure you get the right thing. If there is a bobbin
with the machine.....take it with you to a fabric store and look..... be
sure you match it exactly-----some are flat on top and bottom....some
slightly domed-----and the diameter sizes vary too..


Learn hard lessons from others, you'll never live long enough to make them
all yourself........I was helping a neighbor get set up with a new machine
she'd been given by her aunt. I told her to make sure she brought the bobbin
along to make sure we got the right kind. What luck, they were on sale, she
got 4 packs! That weekend we sat down for sewing 101. The machine would not
sew, threaded and re-threaded, I read the manual, she followed the steps,
still couldn't get it to sew.....now she read the manual, I followed the
steps, it wouldn't sew. We tried another bobbin just incase the first one
had a flaw......still wouldn't sew.. As I was helping her pack things up to
take to the sewing machine hospital I noticed the bobbin packet, the brand
was NOT the machine she had.....yup, the bobbin in the machine was wrong and
we had matched it perfectly. So if you haven't actually sewn on the machine
not only take the bobbin but also take the name and model of your machine,
at least on your first trip to the store.


Val

Gizela wrote:

Hi all

This is my first post to this group so bear with my silly questions...


First off, there are no silly questions - except the ones you DON'T ask!

I have recently inherited a sewing machine off my grandmother (who passed
away last year)....it will be in my possession this weekend. I have
absolutely no sewing equipment in my house at the moment and know I will
have a few things to buy.

Take a look at the list on my web site: it's in Kate's Sewing Room,
first thing on the Sewing Related Things list. Once you have checked
through what your grandmother left you, made sure things are not broken
or warn, make a shopping list.

I am told that I will need to buy
bobbins.....don't laugh, but, are all bobbins the same? (size wise or
whatever)....

Again, check through what comes with the machine. If you DO need to buy
new bobbins (NEVER use bent or rusty ones if metal, or chipped plastic
ones!), take one with you to the store, along with the machine make and
model number. There is large variety of bobbins, though you may find
this machine uses one of the commoner types. Lay in a good stock!
(OK, so I sew professionally, and have over 100 for my main machine, 25
for the treadle, 15 or so for the hand crank... But there is no such
thing as too many bobbins!)

what are some other things that I might need? Apparently it has
a manual so I guess that will help me with threading the needle and all
that.

It will tell you what came with the machine, so check through it
carefully. Make sure plugs are secure, cables are not worn, and belts
are properly adjusted. If the machine hasn't been used for a while ,
check the book for oiling points, and oil before use. If you have
checked everything and hit a hitch, we'll steer you through it. If the
machine has been unused for some years, it may be worth getting it
serviced. For general sewing stuff, just check my list. It was put
together when I taught a sewing for beginners course for my local Adult
Ed providers.

Any help for a beginner with NO experience would be greatly appreciated

You're welcome! And, BTW, welcome to the group!

Thanking you all

Angela

--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

Hi, Congratulations on inheriting a sewing machine that was truly loved. If
you have a dedicated dealer for that brand in your area take the machine
there. Even if it doesn't need service they should be happy to look at it
and get you started with whatever it needs. If it is an old machine they
will probably oooh and ahhh over it. Enjoy it and treasure it.

--
Sugar & Spice Quilts by Linda E
http://community.webshots.com/user/frame242

Any help for a beginner with NO experience would be greatly appreciated


I see by your web address that you are involved in education. The best advice
I can give you is FIND A SEWING CLASS. Look at the various night class
offerings from the local education authority or your own institution and its
extension department, check out the fabric stores and the sewing machine
dealers. Someone, somewhere, will direct you to a beginners class. You might
as well learn the right way to do things from the beginning, unlearning bad
habits acquired through ignorance is much harder than learning the right way
from the beginning.

Good luck, and come back to tell us how you are doing.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

From: "Gizela"

I have recently inherited a sewing machine off my grandmother (who passed
away last year).... ...... Any help for a beginner with NO experience would be
greatly appreciated .........

You've gotten some great advice so far. Now I will add the one thing I
always tell novice sewers. DO NOT WATCH THE NEEDLE!!! When you first start to
sew, most people tend to watch the needle. The needle doesn't move around --
it stays right where it is supposed to stay and the only control you have over
it is choosing the type of stitch it will make. WATCH THE FABRIC!!! Keep an
eye on the fabric and make susre you are feeding it through the machine with
the proper seam allowance whatever that might be.
I can assure you that you WILL make this mistake :-))). I know because,
even though I have been sewing for over 40 years and I am a professional
seamstress, I STILL do it on occasion -- LOLOL! That constant up and down of
the needle sort of mesmerizes you. This also means you need to have a good
quality seam ripper handy. Remember -- your seam ripper is your friend :-)))!
Condolences on the los of your DGM and welcome to the sewing circle.
CiaoMeow ^;;^
..


PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ Queen of Kitties
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their
WHISKERS!!
Nothing is complete without a few cat hairs!

Now I will add the one thing I
always tell novice sewers. DO NOT WATCH THE NEEDLE!!!

And I'll add what I always tell novices: Don't PULL the fabric through the
machine, let the feed dogs do that. You just gently guide it, with your hand to
either side of the needle area.

The feed dogs are the little pointy metal "teeth" sticking up under the throat
plate beneath the needle. If you turn the hand wheel (on the right side) while
the machine is not yet threaded, you can see the feed dogs rise up and sort of
scoot back with each revolution of the wheel. You'll notice that the needle
pierces the plate (and would pierce the fabric if you were actually sewing),
making a stitch, then the feed dogs move the fabric backwards one stitch
length.

If you pull the fabric from the back it increases the stitch length (thereby
defeating the settings), and it can cause the machine to go out of time. Timing
dictates the precision coordination of the following elements of sewing a
stitch: the needle rising and falling, the feed dogs moving, and the bobbin
case revolving in order to lock the stitch.

Remember, sewing with a machine is not supposed to build your arm muscles! :-

Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati

On Wed, 19 Nov 2003 22:40:35 -0800, "Valkyrie"
wrote:

Learn hard lessons from others, you'll never live long enough to make them
all yourself........

That's the best advice of all time, no matter what the
topic!

I once bought a dozen bobbins that looked right, and were
labeled for my machine, but they were cheap bobbins and just
a tad off spec.

So I'd recommend that she get her *first* bobbins from a
sewing-machine repairman who has to roodle around in some
shallow, compartmented drawers behind the counter. I was
*aghast* at the numbers of different bobbins! But he
explained that he also repaired industrial machines.

There is such a thing as *enough* bobbins. I just went to
the drawer and counted thirteen empty bobbins, not including
the two plastic bobbins. (And why are they in the drawer,
when there are real bobbins in my bobbin-box sewing kit?)

fx: runs off to add "bobbin box" to shopping list. The
hinges on the sewing kit are broken, and I might be packing
a suitcase again soon.

Joy Beeson
--
http://home.earthlink.net/~joybeeson/ -- needlework
http://home.earthlink.net/~beeson_n3f/ -- Writers' Exchange
joy beeson at earthlink dot net



(Both of the repairmen I've used also sell used machines:
I've yet to visit one without seeing a superb beginner's
machine at a ludicrous low price

I was helping a neighbor get set up with a new machine
she'd been given by her aunt. I told her to make sure she brought the bobbin
along to make sure we got the right kind. What luck, they were on sale, she
got 4 packs! That weekend we sat down for sewing 101. The machine would not
sew, threaded and re-threaded, I read the manual, she followed the steps,
still couldn't get it to sew.....now she read the manual, I followed the
steps, it wouldn't sew. We tried another bobbin just incase the first one
had a flaw......still wouldn't sew.. As I was helping her pack things up to
take to the sewing machine hospital I noticed the bobbin packet, the brand
was NOT the machine she had.....yup, the bobbin in the machine was wrong and
we had matched it perfectly. So if you haven't actually sewn on the machine
not only take the bobbin but also take the name and model of your machine,
at least on your first trip to the store.


Val

Joy, i enjoyed looking thru your site. I especially liked seeing those unidentified
things on the one page. My grandmother has a couple of things that look very similar
that belonged to her mother. Her mother used them to tie her small pocket bag to her
waistband.
--
Jalynne
Queen Gypsy (snail mail available upon request)
see what i've been up to at www.100megsfree4.com/jalynne

"joy beeson" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 19 Nov 2003 22:40:35 -0800, "Valkyrie"
wrote:

Learn hard lessons from others, you'll never live long enough to make them
all yourself........

That's the best advice of all time, no matter what the
topic!

I once bought a dozen bobbins that looked right, and were
labeled for my machine, but they were cheap bobbins and just
a tad off spec.

So I'd recommend that she get her *first* bobbins from a
sewing-machine repairman who has to roodle around in some
shallow, compartmented drawers behind the counter. I was
*aghast* at the numbers of different bobbins! But he
explained that he also repaired industrial machines.

There is such a thing as *enough* bobbins. I just went to
the drawer and counted thirteen empty bobbins, not including
the two plastic bobbins. (And why are they in the drawer,
when there are real bobbins in my bobbin-box sewing kit?)

fx: runs off to add "bobbin box" to shopping list. The
hinges on the sewing kit are broken, and I might be packing
a suitcase again soon.

Joy Beeson
--
http://home.earthlink.net/~joybeeson/ -- needlework
http://home.earthlink.net/~beeson_n3f/ -- Writers' Exchange
joy beeson at earthlink dot net



(Both of the repairmen I've used also sell used machines:
I've yet to visit one without seeing a superb beginner's
machine at a ludicrous low price

I was helping a neighbor get set up with a new machine
she'd been given by her aunt. I told her to make sure she brought the bobbin
along to make sure we got the right kind. What luck, they were on sale, she
got 4 packs! That weekend we sat down for sewing 101. The machine would not
sew, threaded and re-threaded, I read the manual, she followed the steps,
still couldn't get it to sew.....now she read the manual, I followed the
steps, it wouldn't sew. We tried another bobbin just incase the first one
had a flaw......still wouldn't sew.. As I was helping her pack things up to
take to the sewing machine hospital I noticed the bobbin packet, the brand
was NOT the machine she had.....yup, the bobbin in the machine was wrong and
we had matched it perfectly. So if you haven't actually sewn on the machine
not only take the bobbin but also take the name and model of your machine,
at least on your first trip to the store.


Val