A Dress for Meg - 6 - Preparing the Collar

The collar is made from two identical pieces cut from the pattern piece that I drafted.  The two pieces are sewn together with right sides facing each other, with the stitching about a quarter of an inch from the edge.  Then the seam allowance is trimmed down to about an eighth of an inch or a fraction over.

The easiest way to turn a curved seam the right way round is with the rounded end of a spoon handle.

Next comes a bit of fuss which is well worth the effort.  It is nice for the actual join of the seam to disappear out of sight to the underneath of the edge of the collar.  To do this I pin alongside the seam, pulling the join just into sight.

Then I iron down the seam, initially with the tip of the iron while the pins are still in place.  Here is the ironed seam showing the underneath of the collar...

... and here is the upper side of the collar.

Once the collar has been ironed the neck edges of the upper and under collar no longer lie one on top of the other.  There is no need to trim it, because the seam allowance will need to be graded once it is sewn.

To stabilise the seam at the edge of the collar I like to do edge stitching.  To keep the stitching even and close to the edge, I use the adjustable cording foot and the seam guide.

The stitching stays parallel to the edge, even when going round curves.

Now it is time for the narrow rick rack.  Again I am using the seam guide, and feeding the rick rack through the braiding foot.

Because the rick rack is woven on the bias it curves evenly.

Here is a close-up of the edge stitching and rick rack...

... and here is the completed collar, ready to be attached to the bodice.

Linking up with Connies blog Freemotion by the River for Linky Tuesday.

Buttonholes on Tweed

Today I got to grips with the tweed cushion that I am making for my husband.  I needed to cut the quilted panel to size and bind the edges, and then do five buttonholes.  It was a replay of last week when I did the buttonholes on the 1940s blouse - attaching the buttonholer to the 201K treadle and trying not to go crossed eyed at the blur in front of me as the work is swung rapidly side to side beneath the needle.

Here is the back.  I used quilting thread and went twice round the buttonhole to get a nice firm finish. If anything I think the buttonholes turned out better on the tweed than they did on the cotton for the blouse.

I always used to do my buttonholes by hand, which was very time consuming.  Now with the buttonholer how long does one buttonhole take?

About 30 seconds.  Total pleasure.

Linking up today with Kelly's blog My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday 

Testing the Ruffler

Yesterday I spent a fair portion of the day playing around with rufflers.  It is about four years since I last used a ruffler and I needed to refresh my memory.

I have four of these gadgets, and I tried out three of them.  One is jammed and needs a good cleaning and oiling.  Another is out of shape and it needs some gentle persuasion with a pair of pliers.  Another is a much older model and I didn't try it.  Those three will all have to wait until another day.

However, this one did what it was supposed to do.  Here it is attached to the Singer 201K treadle, and the camera was just sitting on the bed of the machine.  Now I am looking for ways to use it in my next project, which will probably be another little dress.

Quilts are taking a back seat at the moment.  All I want to do is dressmaking - hardly surprising, being hooked on the Great British Sewing Bee at the moment.  Tonight's instalment promises to be interesting...  I think we shall be seeing some vintage machines in action.  Can't wait.

Linking up today with Connie's blog Freemotion by the River for Linky Tuesday.  Lots of interesting projects to see there.

Experimenting with Home Made Braid

This is a detail of a project I have just finished.  I tried out the instant braid made with twisted embroidery cotton, with several strips laid side by side.  It gave just the effect I wanted.  There was a slight problem with a bit of pulling, leaving the background fabric with a tiny bit of fullness, but this was all absorbed by the quilting.  It was fun to do, a bit time consuming, and I think I shall be doing this again in the future.

Instant Home Made Braid

Using the braiding foot was so much fun that I have been mulling over ways to use it in future projects.  I thought that finding braid was going to be tricky, until I had a brainwave.  This is a quick test I have done today.

If you twist strands of embroidery cotton together, you can make an instant braid in any colour you like.  

The weather is far too sunny at the moment to get down to any serious sewing, but as soon as it rains again, I know what I will be doing...

Using the Braiding Foot

Yesterday I finally got round to using the braiding foot that came with the Serata treadle.  I put it on the Singer 15K hand machine and fed through some teeny tiny ric rac.  The braid waved a bit from side to side as it went through, but lined up perfectly with the needle and the stitching went straight down the middle.

I think I might have to stock up on more braid.

Hopping Feet and Singer 201s

This is a bit irritating.  I was looking forward to trying out a bit of free motion work on the 201K treadle and found that my hopping foot wasn't compatible.  The lever above the needle clamp stops dead when it reaches the screw on the cylinder that contains the needle bar, so the needle can rise no higher than shown in the picture.  The screw is essential because it fixes on the last but one hook that the thread passes through.

My brother in law looked at this picture and suggested that because the lever doesn't actually need to be so long the end could be sawn off to give it clearance.  He tells me he has the tools if he wants me to do it.  Otherwise, I can get a different type of hopping foot.

Agonising decisions.  

Update - Decision made...

I've had a think and had good look at how much extra lever there is to play with.  When the foot is attached to the 15K and the needle is in the highest position there is a good quarter of an inch spare at the top.  You can guarantee that if we tried cutting the lever to fit the 201K we would shave off a fraction too much.  I am going to get another type of foot for the 201K - could be interesting!

The Mystery Buttonholer

Here it is with its clothes back on.

It came in a plastic box (only slightly cracked),

along with all the extra bits and pieces.

I love these little half cams.

But it is still a bit of a mystery.  There is no clue as to who manufactured it or where.  I got in touch with Helen Howes because she has a similar buttonholer on her website - it's the one in the brown tin, which looks like an earlier version of mine.  She very kindly sent me a copy of the instructions. These confirmed what I suspected - no details of the manufacturer there either, otherwise Helen would have said who made it in the description of the item.  Also I was pleased to see that I had been getting everything right when I had been trying it out the night before.

Now I have to do some serious practising on some scrap material.  I haven't tried it out again since cleaning and oiling it.  Before I cleaned it the bight adjustment lever made no difference whatever position it was in, even though when I had the cover off I could see it was moving freely.  It all remains to be seen...

Today's Mystery Attachment

It looks like a mousetrap with inbuilt instruments of torture - a miniature rack perhaps.

I spent yesterday evening working out how to use it.  It is from a charity shop, complete in its box with all the necessary parts, but no instructions.  I had to take off its plastic cover and see what was going on inside because it wasn't doing what it was supposed to.  The insides were gummed up with ancient oil.

It has spent the night with the sticky end in a jar of paraffin (our Transatlantic Friends call it kerosene).

The paraffin is a lovely shade of pink.

This morning I have cleaned off the residue, which was softened to a slimy consistency, and washed out the excess paraffin with washing up liquid and hot water.  After that it had a good rinse in clean water, a quick go with the hair drier, and now it is sitting on a radiator to dry it out thoroughly.

Next week I will be trying it out properly.  (Anything to put off all that hand sewing).

What is it?  

Big fat clue - my husband's first words to me today were "Good morning Mrs. Hutton-Bowler."

Attaching the Zigzagger to the Machine

The notch of the lever at the front fits over the needle clamp, so when sewing the lever is moved up and down to operate the zigzagger.

It looks heavy and bulky, but even though it is attached to the presser bar with just one screw, it  is held securely in place.

Although it is photographed attached to a hand machine (too much fuss dragging the treadle into the kitchen, which is where we have the best light), I would only use it on a treadle.  Operating the zizagger is hard work, an extra bit of strain being taken with every move of the needlebar, and hard work when turning the machine by hand.

Y S Star Zigzagger

This intriguing little box was sitting in a charity shop waiting for me.   The dodgy spelling is a bit of a giveaway - I did a bit of research later and found out that it was manufactured in Japan.

Inside was the zigzagger.  Nothing dodgy about that.  A good bit of sturdy metal equipment.

It came with four little metal templates, three of them double ended and one single ended.  The different templates set the zigzagger for the whichever one of the seven different stitches you want to use.

The needle passes through the wide hole in the black plate at the front of the zigzagger.

The underneath of the black plate is ridged, enabling it to grip the material firmly.

Tomorrow's photographs will show the zigzagger attached to the machine....

Welcome to the latest follower, Baukje - thank you for joining!

A Braiding Foot

This is one of the feet that came with the Serata treadle, a really nice braiding foot.

Feed the braid over the bar at the front and through the V-shape and it lines up perfectly with the needle.

The Willcox and Gibbs Automatic is Beginning to Shine

It didn't take long to get the metal to shine.

When I was cleaning the foot I realised that it has a bar and groove so you can use it as a braiding foot.  Where I would find tiny narrow braid today I can't begin to think.  Six stranded embroidery thread just fits through.

French Seams

Work has started on the little dresses, using the turquoise batik that Sew Scrumptious Louise brought round here. 

With my machines there is no such thing as zigzagging or overlocking, so seams are made the old fashioned way.  French seams take a lot of hard wear and washing and are ideal for children's clothing.

Here is the latest video, showing how to make a French seam quickly and easily with the help of the seam guide.

And for the sharp eyed, you can just see what is stamped on the slide plate, the date of the patent for Singer's vibrating shuttle machine - 1886.

How the Hopping Foot Works

This is the foot that I use for free motion quilting on the Singer 15K treadle.

The hopping foot has to be put on with the lever in position above the screw of the needle clamp. When sewing the motion of the machine will move the lever up with every stitch.  The spring in the hopping foot will make the lever come back down as the needle goes back down. 

When the lever is down the foot will give light pressure on the work, sufficient for the stitch to form through the layers to be quilted.

When the lever is up the foot is raised so that the work can be moved in any direction you want. 

The Ideal Foot for Free Motion Quilting

For ages I was looking forward to trying out free motion quilting on the Singer 15K treadle, but first I had to clean up the machine.  Then I had to find a suitable foot.  I was lucky enough to find this hopping foot in a second hand shop in an attachments tin, along with one or two unremarkable oddments.

A few weeks later, I eventually took the plunge...

It is interesting that on close up photos you see things that you wouldn't necessarily have noticed otherwise.  Was it me who caused that nick on the right hand side by bashing the needle down onto the foot (all part of the learning process) or was it the previous owner?

Tuesday's Top Tip - Felt under the Seam Guide

The seam guide needs to be screwed down tightly so it doesn't shift out of position while you are working.  The danger is that a touch too much pressure can damage the surface of the bed of the machine.  If your machine is beaten up already, then a few more scratches add a bit more character. However, if you want to prevent damage, the answer is a piece of felt.  Cut a little hole for the screw to go through, and you have the perfect protection.

Quilting Around the Edge of Appliqué

After all the work I put into the appliqué on the Diamond Jubilee wall hanging, I had to work out the best way of quilting around the edges before I launched into the free-motion quilting.

The ideal foot to use was the adjustable cording foot, usually used for zips.  Not only is it adjustable, but also it is hinged, so it rides easily over the inevitable bumps.

The red arabesque at the top of the hanging was nothing but curves and corners, but the cording foot made relatively easy work of it.

I was pleased with finished effect - the blanket stitch edging really stood out in relief.

The Quilting Foot

Often an old Singer machine will have a quilting foot with the attachments, together with a quilting guide. 

Once the foot has been attached to the machine, the rod of the quilting guide can be inserted through the groove at the top part of the foot.

The quilting guide can be inserted from either the right or the left, depending on which way you want it to face.

I have to admit that I have yet to master the use of the quilting foot.  There has been too much rumpling and skidding going on, which may be partly due to the fact that I have only ever tried it out with synthetic wadding.

The other slight problem I have had is that I am used to occasionally letting my finger touch the front part of the foot while I am sewing.  This gives no trouble with a regular foot, but because with the quilting foot there is such a short distance between the front of the foot and the needle, I have had the needle come down on my fingernail a couple of times.  Stupid, I know.  Fortunately I have always had tough fingernails, so the needle has come off worst - just a slight bend making it come bashing down on the side of the foot with my next stitch.