Sewing tips

Thousands of beginners have completed our kits without problems. The more experienced, the more professional looking the results. But even most beginners can make perfectly functional items. All that is required is a bit of patience, and the determination to follow the instructions carefully.

What type of sewing machine?

We recommend a used Pfaff, Elna, Bernina, or Viking. Look in the phone book for sewing machine sales & repair. Call a few shops and ask if they have any of these brands in used machines in your price range. The older ones usually cost between $50 and $175, and will sew ray-way projects all day long.

However, one model of Pfaff we do not recommend is the twelve hundred series, such as Pfaff 1209, 1212, 1217, 1220, 1221, or 1222. If you have one of these and like how it sews, then great. Otherwise, we would stay away from these particular models. If not working correctly, they can be hard to adjust, even for a pro.

In our experience, buying a sewing machine on eBay or some other unseen source can be a waste of money. The fraudulence rate seems to be very high on these sites, with a lot of deception and misrepresentation, as people try to unload non-working machines on unsuspecting novices. Don't believe the glowing write-ups and the positive feedback. If you can't try it out first, don't buy it.

If you are having trouble with your sewing project, the problem is likely to be with your sewing machine. A shoddy machine can make you wrestle the materials as you sew, rather than letting the feed dogs pull the materials with the proper tension. That causes stretching, and can result, among other things, in a serious mismatch at the end of the seam, with much more material leftover on one side.

Two items on these older machines may be worth checking: the motor brushes, and the feed dogs. Both can become worn with extensive use. How to tell? When the brushes wear out, the machine quits running. When the feed dogs lose their edges, they quit pulling the materials through the presser foot area, especially thin and slippery materials.

In fact all sewing machines - old and new - have mechanical limitations, and once in a while they might need servicing. For the less mechanically inclined, a sewing machine repair shop can do the work probably at reasonable cost. If you purchase a used machine from one of these shops, they will normally have already done this work for you.

Many sewing machines besides the big four, mentioned above, will do a fine job. How to tell? Sew a few scraps of your intended fabric, and check the stitch balance. Adjust the lower bobbin and upper thread tension as necessary, and try again. If the machine will produce a even, balanced stitch, then you are all set. Remember that the materials in our kits are very thin and do not require industrial-type machines.

Models to avoid: Any machine with a horizontal bobbin. Any that automatically adjusts the lower thread (bobbin) tension. Any sold in department stores. These machines tend to be cheaply made. What is wrong with cheaply made? Problems with the adjustments, difficult and poor quality sewing, and short working lifetimes.

Even a machine producing an unbalanced stitch can be forced to do the job. The sewing may not be easy, and the results might not look as nice, especially with the flat-felled seams and the small reinforcement pieces. Even so, such a machine will get you camping. At least as long as it runs. But for the easiest and most gratifying results, look for an oldie but goodie from among the big four.

Definitions

Cutting lightweight fabrics Use a new pair of Fiskair scissors, available inexpensively at most department stores. Avoid the cheap imitations, which, in general, do not cut nearly as easily or cleanly. Alternatively, you can use a rotary wheel and plastic mat.

ALWAYS START EACH PROJECT WITH A NEW NEEDLE Synthetic fabrics easily damage sewing machine needles. If the needle from the last project has been bent, dulled, knicked, or scratched - however imperceptably - you may have difficulty sewing. It will seem like the thread or the machine is the culprit, when actually it is simply a damaged needle. Needles are inexpensive and easily replaced. For peace of mind, don't skip this step.

Needle size We recommend the universal 80/12 with our Ray-Way thread on all our kits. See page 113 of the Tarp Book. Most important with each new project is to start with a new needle.

Stitches per inch For a straight stitch, use something like 10 to 12 stitches per inch.

Marking silicone-nylon We use a black Sharpie permanent marker on all colors of silicone nylon. It is visiable even on the dark fabrics. We do not mark in places that will be visible on the finished tarp. In other words, we mark, then cut off the marks or fold them into the seams. Sharpie also sells a Metallic version for dark surfaces, and this works exceptionally well, but again is "permanent." However, such marks are easily removed with many types of household cleaning chemicals. But be sure to experiment on a few scraps first.

Silicone nylon too slippery to feed through the sewing machine properly? On an old machine, (we mean really old) the feed dogs could be worn. Replacement feed dogs are sometimes available. But on most machines, the feed dogs are not likely to be worn.

First, check that the upper thread is not stuck or caught on something, preventing the thread from unwinding off the spool.

Then check that you have properly fed the upper thread through all the guides. Once you have checked visually, with the presser-foot down, pull gently on the free end of the top thread to feel if it is running smooth and clear. Do the same pull test on the bobbin thread. If either one feels like it is caught, or does not unwind smoothly, check your machine's instruction manual to make sure you are threading the machine and bobbin correctly.

Next, remove top thread, the bobbin, and the needle. With no thread or needle, try "sewing" the fabric: in other words, see if the machine will feed the fabric under the presser foot. If it does not, you may need to increase the spring tension of the presser foot just a bit. If you can't do that, you might need to look for another sewing machine. A shoddy machine can make you wrestle the materials as you sew, rather than letting the feed-advance automatically pull the materials with the proper tension.

Sewing tips

Using a sewing machine is a simple matter of guiding the materials through the working area, while pressing the foot pedal to regulate the speed. The secret of success for beginners is to sew very slowly.

Before starting, make sure the upper and lower threads are tensioned properly. Read the manual that came with the machine, or look for the information on the internet. That, or ask someone to show you how to adjust the thread tensions. Then sew a few small scraps and check that the seam looks the same on both sides.

Stack the pieces to be sewn and align their edges, place them under the needle, lower the needle, and press lightly on the foot pedal. For the first few stitches only, hold the lose ends of the thread to prevent them from being pulled down into the bobbin housing.

Again, sew very slowly while guiding the fabrics. Let the machine do the work; do not pull the materials from the back side. And make sure that some other part of the fabric does not get caught under your working area - unnoticed - and accidentally sewn into the seam. If this happens, use a seam ripper to remove the incorrect stitching, the re-sew that part. No matter how many times you have to use the seam ripper, don't worry; it is all part of the process. One big advantage to sewing is that if you make a mistake you can disassemble the work in that area, and sew it again.

While sewing, if you need to stop part way along a seam, always stop with the needle fully down. This will hold your place while you change direction or whatever.

Extra fabric folding under and getting caught in the stitching? While sewing you must continually check under the work to make sure no extra fabric creeps into the area. If it does, the sewing machine will stitch it to your work. If this happens - and it seems to happen to nearly everyone at times - you simply use the seam ripper to remove the stitching in that area, then sew it again more carefully.

Flat-felled bunching: "I bought the tarp kit and am having difficulty with the flat-felled seams. When I do the second row to complete the seem, the material sort of bunches up as I sew, or slides to one side, and the seam is not flat. I've tried creasing the material by "finger pressing" like you say in the book but the silicon coated nylon is so slippery and does not want to lay flat. I have the presser foot tension set light and have tried different feet that come with the machine but to no avail. Do you have any tips additional tips for getting the material to lay flat and dealing with it's slippery nature?"

The problem is not that the silicone nylon is too slippery. Rather, it is that the machine is not adjusted correctly for top and bottom thread tensions. In the Tarp Book I explain how to tell, by comparing the stitching on both sides of the fabric and seeing whether they are identical. If the first row of your flat-felled seam is unbalanced, then the second row can be difficult to sew, with problems exactly as you describe. This is true, not only with silicone nylon, but with most other light and medium weight fabrics.

We recommend you sew a few sample strips of silicone nylon while adjusting the machine as necessary for a perfectly balanced seam. If your machine will not balance its stitches, then take it to a sewing machine repair shop and ask them to show you how. If they cannot balance the tensions, then you might need a new machine. Some of the cheaper types can plague you with problems of this very nature.

Once you have balanced the seam, practice sewing flat-felled seams on a few test pieces.

That done to your satisfaction, consider removing all the previously sewn unbalanced stitches from your project, using a seam ripper. This is not as difficult as it might sound, and can save you further difficulties. Do not worry about the needle holes, they will not affect the finished tarp. Any that are still visible on the finished project can be sealed with silicone compound while you are sealing the seams.

If you cannot balance the seams, and decide to tough it out, don't worry - your tarp will preform as well. The flat-felled seams might not look very flat, but this is mainly cosmetic.

Repairing a small, accidental cut: "While sewing the quilt stowbag I needed to rip out a seam, and in the process put a slit in the fabric about 3/8" long (seam ripper newbie:)). What would be the best way to repair that type of cut?"

Basically this is no problem. You can close the slit by zigzagging over it, or by hand-stitching it closed, then applying seam sealing compound to both sides, one at a time. For larger slits, sew a patch over the damaged area, and apply seam seal around its edge and on the stitching.

Wrinkled insulation: "I am getting close to done on the quilt kit I purchased from you and I have a question. After turning the whole thing right-side-out and sewing around the edges (but before sewing up the foot or quilting) I have noticed some wrinkles in the insulation. Will these always be present? Maybe I messed up cutting it and got it slightly different sizes, or maybe turning it inside out caused this. How can I fix it? I figured that if I tried to distribute it evenly between the quilting stitches that might help. Do you have any tips or tricks to fix this? Other than this, and in spite of my pathetic sewing, I think it's gonna turn out great."

If you were careful when turning the quilt right-side out, then the wrinkles you describe are most likely fairly minor. These are common, and are caused by the insulation having shifted somewhat between the layers. Lay the quilt flat on the floor and grasp the upper layer of insulation with one hand, and the lower layer with the other hand - pinching them through the fabric - and pull the layers of insulation apart. Repeat in several different areas. This will encourage the layers to re-distribute.

At this point, any remaining wrinkles can be ignored. They will settle nicely with just a bit of use. As you suggest, distribute them somewhat evenly prior to the quilting operation.

If the wrinkles are not minor, then this would indicate a more significant shifting of the layers of insulation relative to each-other while turning the quilt right-side out. In such a case, turn the quilt inside-out and adjust the layers, then more carefully turn the quilt back right-side out.

Pin holes in the selvage "Ray, I have a question concerning the tarp kit. I have already cut out my pieces, and am beginning to work on the fell seam that joins the two halfs of the tarp. I am carefully following the directions in the tarp book, I just marked my seam allowance along the two selvage edges.. I noticed that along this edge, there seems to be little pin holes, maybe a quarter of an inch from the edge of the material. I'm guessing that whatever machine seals the edge, has a roller and for what ever reason occasionally pricks a hole in the fabric. I would say there is a pin hole every couple of inches, sometimes closer. Is this normal? Is this going to weaken the tarp? I realize the fell seam will go right over the top of the holes, but that center seam is the main structural seam of the tarp. I would hate to mess up, and have a failure later on - like in the middle of a storm etc.! I am a novice when it comes to sewing, and could sure use your advice. Thanks!"

The pin holes in the selvage, 1/4" from the edge are a normal part of manufacture, and may be enveloped within the flat-felled seam without weakening the structure. The seam sealing will insure against leaks. However, the material is plenty wide, so if the selvage also looks a little ragged you may trim it from the edge, as long as you follow a reasonably straight line. If in doubt, go ahead and trim; it takes only a few minutes. Mark the edge distance every 6" or 12" along the length, and simply eyeball the trim with scissors or rotary cutter.

Can't balance the stitch "Ray, A quick note on my sewing machine. I could never get a perfect balanced stitch, so I sent the machine to the shop. They cleaned, polished and retimed it, Now it sews perfect. It was worth the $65."

The problem was not likely the timing. Depending on the degree of severity, in ascending order, improper timing results in skipped stitches, broken needles, or a machine that will not even budge. Installing the needle improperly, or installing an improper size or type needle, can cause the same symptoms. A needle that is not pressed up fully to the stop before tightening the thumb screw will throw the timing instantly off. How to fix that? Loosen the screw and press the needle fully up to its stop. Skipped stitches are also caused by a dull or bent needle. And by feeding the thread improperly through the guides.

The inability to achieve a balanced stitch usually means that the upper tensioning wheel is not working properly. This is caused by improper feeding of the thread, or by a bit of lint jammed deep inside the tensioning wheel wedges. The lint is of course the result of using cotton thread. Our Ray-Way thread produces very little lint.

Removing lint from deep within the tensioning wheel wedges is easy. Simply cut a long, thin strip of clean cotton cloth, dab it lightly with solvent, and sea-saw it up between the wheel wedges as though it were the thread. As you pull the cloth back and forth it will grab the lint and pull it free. This is likely what the shop meant by "polishing." And when they said they "retimed" the machine, what they probably did was merely check the timing. If you know what to look for, checking the timing takes about two seconds.

The important thing is that your machine is again working properly. And really the servicing did not cost all that much. As for my own sewing machines, all five of them, I enjoy tinkering. Once in a great while, Jenny will be sewing along and the machine will start acting up. Soon I have dozens of parts spread across the table. Then with the machine back together, I get a real sense of satisfaction from the sweet purring and the beautifully balanced stitches rolling out from behind the needle.