Is it me or my machine?

I purchased a White Jeans Machine a few weeks ago. I've always wanted
to sew, but I didn't know how far I would go with it as a hobby, so I
opted for something basic that could do heavy fabrics for home
decorating. I'm new to sewing, but many years ago I did sew a dress on
my mom's Singer (and yes, I asked her if I could have it before I
bought a new one. She refused to give it up even though she hasn't
touched it for over 15 yrs).

I decided one day that it would be interesting to try patchwork
quilting. Up to then I had done some mending and alterations on the
machine, but not much. When I tried doing some precise 1/4" seams, I
realized that my machine seems to pull the fabric such that the seam
width goes wider and wider. It's like driving a car with an alignment
problem. I really have to struggle to maintain a 1/4" seam.

Is this normal?

Is there a problem with the machine? Is it fixable? Is my machine just
a POS?

Or am I just inept? I tried using some masking tape as a guide as one
of my books suggested. It didn't help.

Could be the presser foot you are using-----------try some others, if you
have any extra ones.

"bromeliad" wrote in message
om...
I purchased a White Jeans Machine a few weeks ago. I've always wanted
to sew, but I didn't know how far I would go with it as a hobby, so I
opted for something basic that could do heavy fabrics for home
decorating. I'm new to sewing, but many years ago I did sew a dress on
my mom's Singer (and yes, I asked her if I could have it before I
bought a new one. She refused to give it up even though she hasn't
touched it for over 15 yrs).

I decided one day that it would be interesting to try patchwork
quilting. Up to then I had done some mending and alterations on the
machine, but not much. When I tried doing some precise 1/4" seams, I
realized that my machine seems to pull the fabric such that the seam
width goes wider and wider. It's like driving a car with an alignment
problem. I really have to struggle to maintain a 1/4" seam.

Is this normal?

Is there a problem with the machine? Is it fixable? Is my machine just
a POS?

Or am I just inept? I tried using some masking tape as a guide as one
of my books suggested. It didn't help.

You could also try adjusting the presser foot pressure. Maybe how hard (or
not hard) the presser foot is pressing on the feeding fabric is making it
more difficult for you. There is always an adjustment for this ,check your
manual.

"bromeliad" wrote in message
om...
I purchased a White Jeans Machine a few weeks ago. I've always wanted
to sew, but I didn't know how far I would go with it as a hobby, so I
opted for something basic that could do heavy fabrics for home
decorating. I'm new to sewing, but many years ago I did sew a dress on
my mom's Singer (and yes, I asked her if I could have it before I
bought a new one. She refused to give it up even though she hasn't
touched it for over 15 yrs).

I decided one day that it would be interesting to try patchwork
quilting. Up to then I had done some mending and alterations on the
machine, but not much. When I tried doing some precise 1/4" seams, I
realized that my machine seems to pull the fabric such that the seam
width goes wider and wider. It's like driving a car with an alignment
problem. I really have to struggle to maintain a 1/4" seam.

Is this normal?

Is there a problem with the machine? Is it fixable? Is my machine just
a POS?

Or am I just inept? I tried using some masking tape as a guide as one
of my books suggested. It didn't help.

"Elaine Carpman" wrote in message news:uCIkb.822873$YN5.848172@sccrnsc01...
You could also try adjusting the presser foot pressure. Maybe how hard (or
not hard) the presser foot is pressing on the feeding fabric is making it
more difficult for you. There is always an adjustment for this ,check your
manual.



I lessened the presser foot pressure & it did help a bit, but did not
solve the problem.

Could the feed dogs be at an angle?

I have a machine that did that. Turns out that the foot was uneven pulling
it off to one side. The installation of a Teflon foot solved the problem. In
any case, I would highly recommend the Teflon foot for any machine, whether
it was having problems or not.


"bromeliad" wrote in message
om...



I lessened the presser foot pressure & it did help a bit, but did not
solve the problem.

Could the feed dogs be at an angle?

I found the following posts on an old thread (1995). Is it true that
all machines do this?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From: DDuperault )
Subject: Stash and ? about triangles

View this article only
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.textiles.quilting
Date: 1995/09/19

In article ,

(Wendy Stanek) writes:

First the
feed dogs on my machine seem to want to feed the fabric in at an
angle
making it hard to keep the fabric straight without really strecthing
the
materials.
I have yet to work with a machine that doesn't do this. (my
luck?)
I've learned to compensate and feed the fabric at an angle so it sews
straight.

The other problem I am having is that the fabric seems to be
stretching at different rates through the feed dogs. Shoudl I just
pin
better? Brush up on my sewing? What's the best way to avoid this
problem?
If you have a machine where you can set the top tension you might
adjust that. (Not the thread tension, but the presser foot tension).
You
might also try lowering your feed dogs if you can do that. Pinning
will
help. Mostly you'll need to get a feel for how to feed the fabric
through
the machine so it comes out right.

Last night I did about half my squares and tonight I'll be
picking all that stitching out because I think it looks so bad.
Thanks
for any advice.
Be careful not to pull on the bias edge or the triangles will
really
get warped and then you'll just hate sewing them.

Dawn

Sounds to me that it was someone trying to sew fabric cut on the bias for
those triangles for quilting. I haven't done any quilting in years, but
there are two solutions: One is to use an even feed foot and the other is
to mark the squares, sew down the marked lines and then slice the square
into two adjoining triangles. Works like a hot damn.
I never really had a problem sewing on the bias, but I know a lot of people
who do. Many of them are unintentionally pulling the fabric through instead
of guiding it.
Cynthia
"bromeliad" wrote in message
om...
I found the following posts on an old thread (1995). Is it true that
all machines do this?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From: DDuperault )
Subject: Stash and ? about triangles

View this article only
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.textiles.quilting
Date: 1995/09/19

In article ,

(Wendy Stanek) writes:

First the
feed dogs on my machine seem to want to feed the fabric in at an
angle
making it hard to keep the fabric straight without really strecthing
the
materials.
I have yet to work with a machine that doesn't do this. (my
luck?)
I've learned to compensate and feed the fabric at an angle so it sews
straight.

The other problem I am having is that the fabric seems to be
stretching at different rates through the feed dogs. Shoudl I just
pin
better? Brush up on my sewing? What's the best way to avoid this
problem?
If you have a machine where you can set the top tension you might
adjust that. (Not the thread tension, but the presser foot tension).
You
might also try lowering your feed dogs if you can do that. Pinning
will
help. Mostly you'll need to get a feel for how to feed the fabric
through
the machine so it comes out right.

Last night I did about half my squares and tonight I'll be
picking all that stitching out because I think it looks so bad.
Thanks
for any advice.
Be careful not to pull on the bias edge or the triangles will
really
get warped and then you'll just hate sewing them.

Dawn

I lessened the presser foot pressure & it did help a bit, but did not
solve the problem.

Could the feed dogs be at an angle?

The most likely cause is that the presser foot is not parallel to the feed dogs.
(The feed dogs do not rotate but the presser foot can). Put on a wide presser
foot and lower the foot onto the feed dogs. If they are not absolutely
parallel, take the machine back to where you bought it and tell them to fix it.

Roger.



--
Yarn Forward
Your On Line Yarn Store
http://www.yarnforward.com

I'm not sure if the person was referring to sewing on the bias or both
bias and straight-of-grain. My problem is with straight-of-grain (long
strips for strip-piecing). Haven't even attempted sewing on the bias
yet. When I do, I'll keep your tips in mind (thanks).



"Cynthia Spilsted" wrote in message ...
Sounds to me that it was someone trying to sew fabric cut on the bias for
those triangles for quilting. I haven't done any quilting in years, but
there are two solutions: One is to use an even feed foot and the other is
to mark the squares, sew down the marked lines and then slice the square
into two adjoining triangles. Works like a hot damn.
I never really had a problem sewing on the bias, but I know a lot of people
who do. Many of them are unintentionally pulling the fabric through instead
of guiding it.
Cynthia
"bromeliad" wrote in message
om...
I found the following posts on an old thread (1995). Is it true that
all machines do this?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From: DDuperault )
Subject: Stash and ? about triangles

View this article only
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.textiles.quilting
Date: 1995/09/19

In article ,

(Wendy Stanek) writes:

First the
feed dogs on my machine seem to want to feed the fabric in at an
angle
making it hard to keep the fabric straight without really strecthing
the
materials.
I have yet to work with a machine that doesn't do this. (my
luck?)
I've learned to compensate and feed the fabric at an angle so it sews
straight.

The other problem I am having is that the fabric seems to be
stretching at different rates through the feed dogs. Shoudl I just
pin
better? Brush up on my sewing? What's the best way to avoid this
problem?
If you have a machine where you can set the top tension you might
adjust that. (Not the thread tension, but the presser foot tension).
You
might also try lowering your feed dogs if you can do that. Pinning
will
help. Mostly you'll need to get a feel for how to feed the fabric
through
the machine so it comes out right.

Last night I did about half my squares and tonight I'll be
picking all that stitching out because I think it looks so bad.
Thanks
for any advice.
Be careful not to pull on the bias edge or the triangles will
really
get warped and then you'll just hate sewing them.

Dawn