And ejecting another shuttle

This is a Serata treadle, which is shown in the "How to Treadle" video.  It has a very handy little lever.

The shuttle doesn't just pop up, it practically comes flying out.  It is a very nifty little mechanism.

Ejecting the Shuttle

Some machines have a little tab or button to press to make the shuttle pop up out of the shuttle carriage.  Make sure the shuttle is as far forward as possible... 

...press the tab, and up it pops, just enough to enable you to take it out of the machine without putting any pressure on the tension spring.

These photographs are of a Singer. 

A peep inside the pub

What has this video got to do with sewing?  Absolutely nothing.  Today has been one of those rare days where I have been nowhere near sewing or a sewing machine.  It started with breakfast in bed and ended with supper in the pub.  Yes, you guessed it, it's my birthday.   And for the first time in weeks it DIDN'T EVEN RAIN.  Truly wondrous.

Treat your shuttle with respect

They look like bullets.  Hardly surprising then that sewing machine manufacturers readily changed over to arms manufacture in the two World Wars.

This shuttle is from a Singer 28K.  Shuttles from other makes of machine may look slightly different, but the bobbin is loaded and threaded in the shuttle in the same way in most cases.

The cut out plate of metal which is screwed onto the outside is the tension spring.  Never pull at the tension spring to get the shuttle out of the machine. 

 A sharp tip is essential for stitch formation.  The shuttle has to pass through a loop of the upper thread.  If the tip is damaged it could snag or miss the loop.

I used to rack my brains trying to work out what happens when a long bobbin machine forms a stitch, until one day the light dawned... 

Tuesday's Top Tip - Tea Break

Every serious sewing session includes a tea break.  Five minutes in the kitchen for a breather, dreaming up marvellous projects and scoffing biscuits, back to the sewing machine with the second mug of tea, put it on the table, start stitching again from where you left off... aagh... oh horrors...

The moral of this story applies mainly to right handers using a hand machine.

Don't put your tea on the table too close to the sewing machine.  As soon as you start sewing again the tea goes flying.

How do I know?  Bitter experience, many years ago when I was young and foolish.  Such an awful waste of tea.  I just want to spare you all the same agony.

The Stitch Length Regulator

On older machines the stitch length is regulated by turning the large screw on the pillar of the machine.  For the longest possible stitch, turn the screw all the way in, as shown above...

... and for a smaller stitch, turn the screw out.  Test the stitch length before you thread the machine by stitching on a piece of paper.  You will see how far apart the perforations are and can set the stitch length without using up material and thread.

A Pretty Picture for Sunday - A Flower Beetle on a Thistle

This is a picture I took last weekend whilst out on a walk.  Over the past few weeks I have been doing an applique of a thistle - more about that later - so I took this picture to remind myself of what they look like in real life.  The beetle just happened to be there, which was good of him, and he was happy to pose while I fooled around dangling the lens cap dangerously close to his antennae.  A quick bit of research on the internet revealed that he is a flower beetle and feeds on pollen, which explains why he was able to ignore me while he concentrated on lunch.  All that pollen plainly goes straight to his thighs.