sschick

Hi All, I am working on a special non-quilting project for my favorite aunt. She has asked me to make her a stuffed teddy bear from a mink stole that was my uncle's grandmother's. This bear will ultimately go to her sister-in-law. I have been having an issue with Mable (my singer 201-2) when sewing the pieces. I am not sure what the problem is. It is skipping stiches or just not sewing in places. It sews fine on a test quilt sandwich, perfect stitching on that. The bear pieces are real fur with some cotton interfacing so it is rather thick and I am basting the pieces together with scotch tape. I am trying not to sew real fast, and it mostly does it when I turn a corner, which is happens a lot if you think of what a stuffed bear looks like. So when I notice this, I just take it over to Ernestine (my Singer 66 treadle) and fix the problem spot by hand cranking. I am not sure if I should loosen or tighten the presser foot adjustment on the 201. I don't think it is a tension issue since it does sew good stitches most of the time on the piece. I know this isn't really a quilting question, but I was hoping someone might have an idea to try. If not, then I can just use the treadle and sew the pieces together by hand cranking.

Shari

oregongirl

Did you put in a heavier duty needle? That would be the first thing I would try.

sschick

I can try that. I do have one leather needle, but it is not the size I typically use. Worth a shot though. Hand cranking a bunch of pieces for this bear would be a bit tedious.

OurWorkbench

I've noticed that turning corners can sometimes be tricky. There is a sweet spot to have the needle when pivoting the corners. Although since the 66 does okay, evidently, you are doing the same pivot. Since they both have the horizontal bobbin, one would think that it should be the same. As I was typing I had a thought. While both the 201 & 66 have a horizontal bobbin, they are different in that one threads from the left and the other from the right. Also, the 66 has an oscillating hook, but the 201 has a rotary hook. I'm wondering if that is what the difference is in turning corners.

I think Ernestine has a motor boss, so technically you could put a motor on it, since that is the machine that works the best.

sschick

Janey, thank you. I put a leather needle in this afternoon and that seemed to fix the issue for now. I still have several parts to the bear to sew, so that could change. I could convert Ernestine to electric, but I really like using it as a treadle. I always have to stop and think which way the bobbin and upper thread go on each machine since they are opposite of each other. That also is true for how you put a needle in. At least they both use the same bobbin and presser feet.

Shari