Sleeves by machine

A while back we discussed how to attach
sleeve to back of quilt. I thought on
would have to do the final stitching by
hand but was told it is possible to do
it ALL by SM. I *think* it was Talented
KathyA who mentioned this. Well, I need
to know HOW this is accomplished. Any
help from anyone would be greatly
appreciated. Thanks bunches.
PAT
ps: I needed it yesterday - LOL!

i have no idea, Pat, sorry.
but silly girl ya should of asked the day 'before'yesterday, lol.
sorry just had to say it.
i thot u had to finish it by hand too. : /
jeanne
waiting to hear how this works just in case
--
san-fran at ihug dot co dot nz
nzlstar on yahoo msg'r
nzlstar on webshots
gen.gen.co.nz

"Pat in Virginia" wrote...
A while back we discussed how to attach sleeve to back of quilt. I thought
on would have to do the final stitching by hand but was told it is possible
to do it ALL by SM. I *think* it was Talented KathyA who mentioned this.
Well, I need to know HOW this is accomplished. Any help from anyone would
be greatly appreciated. Thanks bunches.
PAT
ps: I needed it yesterday - LOL!

Sorry I didn't answer you before you posted (ie when you needed it) -- my
ESP is in the shop for repair! LOL

Apply the sleeve like "normal" (I sew the raw edges into the binding). To
sew down the fold, do it exactly like a blind hem on a dress, just catching
your stitches through the batting, and not going all the way to the front.
I've done this even with really thin batting and never had a problem (unless
I'm sewing past my bedtime, which is a different story altogether.)

Since it's probably been as many years since you've done a blind hem by
machine as it's been for me, I'll try to describe the process. Look for a
stitch on your machine that looks like _ _ _ / \ _ _ _ / \ _ _ _ . On some
machines (like mine -- grrrr) the horizontal lines are replaced by little
mini-zigzag stitches. That's a stretch blind hem, and I don't like it. If
you only have the stretch blind hem, you might find a plain zigzag is
easier. No matter which of these stitches you choose, the process is the
same. (And it can also be done with a straight stitch with some practice and
a minor variation.)

Next you need to fold the quilt. With the back of the quilt facing up, fold
the top under so only about 1/4" or so of the sleeve is peeking up above the
fold. The first few times you do this technique, it may be easier if you pin
the fold in place. Now you can *carefully* sew the sleeve in place -- the _
_ _ part of the stitch goes on the part of the sleeve that's sticking up,
and the / \ part takes the *tiniest* bite into the fold of the quilt, being
careful to catch only as much as you would if stitching by hand. If you're
using the straight stitch, every stitch is just the tiniest bit into the
fold. Still works great, and this is how I do mine because I really detest
that stretch blind hem stitch. (Did I mention I hate that stitch? LOL)

The first couple of times you do this, it will be a bit slow because you
won't be quite confident how far in you can go. Once you get a feel for it,
the whole thing goes really fast.

HTH!

--
Kathy A. (Woodland, CA)
Queen of Fabric Tramps
http://www.kayneyquilting.com ,
remove the obvious to reply


"Pat in Virginia" wrote in message
...
A while back we discussed how to attach sleeve to back of quilt. I thought
on would have to do the final stitching by hand but was told it is possible
to do it ALL by SM. I *think* it was Talented KathyA who mentioned this.
Well, I need to know HOW this is accomplished. Any help from anyone would
be greatly appreciated. Thanks bunches.
PAT
ps: I needed it yesterday - LOL!

Thanks so much, Kathy!! I have the hem
stitch for both straight and stretch. I
just finished the sleeve, using your
instructions. It came out "okay" ... at
first the stitches were too short ...
lengthening stitch and fidgeting the
fabric made it come out fine in the end.
So I know I will improve with practice.
I used the specific blind hem foot this
time; will try with an appliqué foot
next time. What foot do you use?
Again, thank you very much for your help!
PAT in VA/USA
PS: I am leaving Kathy's entire message
in case anyone missed it. This is one
you will not want to miss!

Kathy Applebaum wrote:

Sorry I didn't answer you before you posted (ie when you needed it) -- my
ESP is in the shop for repair! LOL

Apply the sleeve like "normal" (I sew the raw edges into the binding). To
sew down the fold, do it exactly like a blind hem on a dress, just catching
your stitches through the batting, and not going all the way to the front.
I've done this even with really thin batting and never had a problem (unless
I'm sewing past my bedtime, which is a different story altogether.)

Since it's probably been as many years since you've done a blind hem by
machine as it's been for me, I'll try to describe the process. Look for a
stitch on your machine that looks like _ _ _ / \ _ _ _ / \ _ _ _ . On some
machines (like mine -- grrrr) the horizontal lines are replaced by little
mini-zigzag stitches. That's a stretch blind hem, and I don't like it. If
you only have the stretch blind hem, you might find a plain zigzag is
easier. No matter which of these stitches you choose, the process is the
same. (And it can also be done with a straight stitch with some practice and
a minor variation.)

Next you need to fold the quilt. With the back of the quilt facing up, fold
the top under so only about 1/4" or so of the sleeve is peeking up above the
fold. The first few times you do this technique, it may be easier if you pin
the fold in place. Now you can *carefully* sew the sleeve in place -- the _
_ _ part of the stitch goes on the part of the sleeve that's sticking up,
and the / \ part takes the *tiniest* bite into the fold of the quilt, being
careful to catch only as much as you would if stitching by hand. If you're
using the straight stitch, every stitch is just the tiniest bit into the
fold. Still works great, and this is how I do mine because I really detest
that stretch blind hem stitch. (Did I mention I hate that stitch? LOL)

The first couple of times you do this, it will be a bit slow because you
won't be quite confident how far in you can go. Once you get a feel for it,
the whole thing goes really fast.

HTH!

there is a specific foot for blind hemming?
whats it look like please.
i've used the blind hem heaps for hemming, funnily enough, lol.
never thot to use it for the sleeve tho.
very clever indeed. big {{{{{{{{{{{THANK YOU, KATHY!!!!! }}}}}}}}}}}}}
yes that is with a hug, well deserved for that information.
cheers from winter in the south pacific,
jeanne
--
san-fran at ihug dot co dot nz
nzlstar on yahoo msg'r
nzlstar on webshots
gen.gen.co.nz

"Pat in Virginia" wrote...
Thanks so much, Kathy!! I have the hem stitch for both straight and
stretch. I just finished the sleeve, using your instructions. It came out
"okay" ... at first the stitches were too short ... lengthening stitch and
fidgeting the fabric made it come out fine in the end. So I know I will
improve with practice.
I used the specific blind hem foot this time; will try with an appliqué
foot next time. What foot do you use?
Again, thank you very much for your help!
PAT in VA/USA
PS: I am leaving Kathy's entire message in case anyone missed it. This is
one you will not want to miss!

Kathy Applebaum wrote:

Sorry I didn't answer you before you posted (ie when you needed it) -- my
ESP is in the shop for repair! LOL

Apply the sleeve like "normal" (I sew the raw edges into the binding). To
sew down the fold, do it exactly like a blind hem on a dress, just
catching your stitches through the batting, and not going all the way to
the front. I've done this even with really thin batting and never had a
problem (unless I'm sewing past my bedtime, which is a different story
altogether.)

Since it's probably been as many years since you've done a blind hem by
machine as it's been for me, I'll try to describe the process. Look for a
stitch on your machine that looks like _ _ _ / \ _ _ _ / \ _ _ _ . On
some machines (like mine -- grrrr) the horizontal lines are replaced by
little mini-zigzag stitches. That's a stretch blind hem, and I don't like
it. If you only have the stretch blind hem, you might find a plain zigzag
is easier. No matter which of these stitches you choose, the process is
the same. (And it can also be done with a straight stitch with some
practice and a minor variation.)

Next you need to fold the quilt. With the back of the quilt facing up,
fold the top under so only about 1/4" or so of the sleeve is peeking up
above the fold. The first few times you do this technique, it may be
easier if you pin the fold in place. Now you can *carefully* sew the
sleeve in place -- the _ _ _ part of the stitch goes on the part of the
sleeve that's sticking up, and the / \ part takes the *tiniest* bite into
the fold of the quilt, being careful to catch only as much as you would
if stitching by hand. If you're using the straight stitch, every stitch
is just the tiniest bit into the fold. Still works great, and this is how
I do mine because I really detest that stretch blind hem stitch. (Did I
mention I hate that stitch? LOL)

The first couple of times you do this, it will be a bit slow because you
won't be quite confident how far in you can go. Once you get a feel for
it, the whole thing goes really fast.

HTH!

nzlstar* wrote:
there is a specific foot for blind hemming?
whats it look like please.
That depends on what kind of machine you have. There is usually a guide
to run along the fold. The one for my Elna looks like this
http://www.elna.com/en/accessories/sewing/blind_hem I have also found
it useful for SITD. I often sew my bindings to the back of the quilt by
folding them to the back and then doing SITD from the front; this is the
foot I use, because I can adjust it that the needle is right behind the
guide and then simply run the guide down the "ditch". I also use it for
piecing batting; I use a large zigzag and run the edges of the batting
along either side of the guide of the foot.

Julia in MN

--
This message has been scanned for viruses by Norton Anti-Virus

http://webpages.charter.net/jaccola/

"Pat in Virginia" wrote in message
...
Thanks so much, Kathy!!
You're welcome!
..
I used the specific blind hem foot this time; will try with an appliqué
foot next time. What foot do you use?

Depends on the thickness of the quilt, phase of the moon, and which way I
stick my tongue out. Sometimes I use my clear appliqué foot (if I need a
good view of what I'm doing), sometimes I use the walking foot (if the quilt
is extra thick or just persnickety).

--
Kathy A. (Woodland, CA)
Queen of Fabric Tramps
http://www.kayneyquilting.com ,
remove the obvious to reply

"Julia in MN" wrote in message
...
nzlstar* wrote:
there is a specific foot for blind hemming?
whats it look like please.
That depends on what kind of machine you have. There is usually a guide to
run along the fold. The one for my Elna looks like this
http://www.elna.com/en/accessories/sewing/blind_hem

Piggybacking on to your answer...

And this is the Janome one: http://www.janome.com/product_show.php?id=18

and the Berina one:
http://www.berninausa.com/product_de...=1152710822232

In all cases there's a guide you use to follow the fold of the fabric, and
the sewing machine stitches just a smidge past the guide. DH really likes
this foot for blind hems (yes, I make him hem his own pants. He's a big boy.
*grin*), but when I learned to sew the very idea of different feet for
different tasks was science fiction in our house, so I'm more comfortable
just watching the needle.

--
Kathy A. (Woodland, CA)
Queen of Fabric Tramps
http://www.kayneyquilting.com ,
remove the obvious to reply