Twin needle
#21
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My mother used a piece of wood in the foot pedal to slow the machine when she taught us to sew. My machine has two speeds, which I have used the same way.
Some machines allow you to insert two needles into the shank.
With the machine you have, are you sure it was designed to handle twin needles? Or is there a width setting you are exceeding to allow it to work with them?
Charging your neighbor for breakage sounds like a good idea.
Some machines allow you to insert two needles into the shank.
With the machine you have, are you sure it was designed to handle twin needles? Or is there a width setting you are exceeding to allow it to work with them?
Charging your neighbor for breakage sounds like a good idea.
#22
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I think I would make it worth her while to slow down. If she's old enough to use a sewing machine, she's old enough to learn how to use it responsibly. Either she can start doing things to earn money to pay for the new needles, or once the needle breaks, she can't sew for a couple of weeks because you have to wait for payday (or some similar logic) to buy a new needle.
I think it's sweet that she's sewing with you, but I don't think it's fair that you bear the cost of her recklessness.
I think it's sweet that she's sewing with you, but I don't think it's fair that you bear the cost of her recklessness.
#23
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I'm glad you found a couple solutions to try. I think what you are doing is wonderful...you will have such an impact on her young life. I've taught kids before and it is a challenge to have both limits (speed, safety etc) and enthusiasm for learning a new skill. Kudos to you! You are teaching her so much more than sewing!!
#25
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so glad you came up with a good solution. I think it's wonderful that you are engaging a youngster in sewing and quilting--they truly are our future! And as a g-parent of 3 that have a hard home situation due to my DIL mental illness and my son's having to work many hours to support them and not living near us, I certainly appreciate that you are reaching out to this girl and provide a refuge for her where reasonable ways to deal with situations are being learned plus kindness and compassion--wish I could hug you!
#27
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Rather than looking for an adapter of some sort (which I don't think is possible). I think teaching her responsibility & doing things properly is more important. Not to make her feel bad but so she knows there is a right way & a wrong way of sewing & "pedal to the medal" is not the way to go. I congratulate you on passing on your skills to a young girl & there is so much for her to learn but she needs to learn some patience too. I also like the idea of placing something under the foot to prevent her from pressing the foot down so far, kind of like a "speed inhibitor" which could also slow her down. I know my 2 machines have speed control buttons on them but I know that is not a feature on all machines.
Last edited by callen; 05-21-2016 at 07:18 PM.
#28
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I think you have identified the problem, but are having difficulty with the solution. It really isn't an adapter for the needles, it is correcting how she is using them. This will benefit her much more and keep a wonderful relationship growing with student and teacher! Bless you for working with her.
#29
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Besides all the other answers, I've thought of one other thing. Twin needles come in different widths(space between the needles), are you sure you're not using a twin needle with too large of a width for that machine? Or a size too small for the fabric being sewn? Either of these can cause a needle to break easily.
Cari
Cari
#30
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Join Date: May 2011
Location: Pacific NW
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Besides all the other answers, I've thought of one other thing. Twin needles come in different widths(space between the needles), are you sure you're not using a twin needle with too large of a width for that machine? Or a size too small for the fabric being sewn? Either of these can cause a needle to break easily.
Cari
Cari
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